Sugar free, gluten free, cruelty free and delicious!
Who doesn’t love a breakfast bowl? Healthy, filling and this one is especially refreshing for those days when it’s oh so hot out. It can easily be made the night before and stored in the fridge, ready to eat in the morning or, if you’re like me, at the office. This bowl consists of simply fruit, dairy free milk and homemade granola, so no excuses for skipping breakfast anymore!
I make a big batch of granola at the weekend and keep it in an airtight container. This gets raided for a quick snack most days, sprinkled over porridge if I’m feeling very greedy, or eaten with some yoghurt and cacao nibs for dessert. My favourite though has to be mixing it with a thick fruit smoothie for a simple yet luscious breakfast bowl.
Having frozen berries and bananas in the freezer is a must for me in the summer. I chop up uneaten ripe bananas, and the mushy brown ones are great too, and store them in freezer bags ready to be chucked into the blender for a quick smoothie fix. You can use any frozen berries but here I used a shop bought bag of mixed berries with blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries which gives the smoothie a lovely deep colour. When assembled with the granola and some fresh fruit its good enough to serve to friends for brunch at the weekend.
Heavenly Brekkie Buddha Bowl
Serves 6 l Prep Time: 10 minutes l Cook Time: 45 minutes l Total Time: 55 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Sugar Free Granola
2 ripe bananas mashed
2 cups gluten free rolled oats (regular oats are fine too)
1 tablespoon pepitas or pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon walnuts roughly chopped
½ tablespoon chia seeds
1 cup shredded coconut
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon of coconut oil melted
Good pinch of salt
METHOD
1. Pre-heat the oven to 150°C / 300°F / Gas Mark 2
2. Mix all ingredients until the oats are well coated and leave to stand for 5 minutes
3. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof baking parchment
4. Spread mixture evenly and press down gently to compact it
5. Bake for 45 minutes, turning and breaking up clusters every 15 minutes
6. Once golden brown remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tray
7. Break up any last clusters and store in an airtight container
Granola Smoothie Buddha Bowl
(Serves 2 l Total Time: 10 minutes)
INGREDIENTS
4 cups frozen mixed berries
1 banana (frozen or not)
1 cup dairy free milk
1 tablespoon granola
To Serve
2 tablespoons granola
1 banana
Small handful strawberries
METHOD
1. Whizz up frozen berries and banana with the milk in a blender until smooth
2. Add granola and pulse for a few seconds to mix – I like to keep some of the texture so no need to over blend
3. Pour into a bowl and top with the fresh fruit and granola