Donny had a catering job to do this last weekend that was quite over due! The couple had purchased a dinner for 10 people catered by Donny four years ago. Yes, FOUR YEARS AGO. Donny’s schedule is kind of crazy and there had been twice that we’d booked it and then something came up with us or them and we had to reschedule. We finally got it done and it was a blast.
Donny made a bunch of amazing food including chipotle sweet corn chowder, a salad with a crispy egg, homemade pasta with sausage and kale, New York strip and scallops. It was a ton of food and all of it was awesome!
Donny does a great job with all the food, but he admits he does not do desserts. He doesn’t bake and he doesn’t really like to make desserts. That is where I come in! I love to bake and make all sorts of desserts. Nothing fancy, but I can make some good stuff.
One of he new up-and-coming desserts that is hitting restaurants lately is Sticky Toffee Pudding. It is an English dessert and FREAKING FANTASTIC! It is more of a cake rather than pudding if you haven’t had it before. Sticky Toffee Pudding is the bomb, but it is absolutely not healthy. Unless you think brown sugar, corn syrup, and molasses is healthy…… I wish.
I told Donny I wanted to make the dessert for the dinner and he was happy to let me! After some research, we decided on Sticky Toffee Pudding even though we’d never made it before. I found this recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding on Pinterest from the blog Rock Recipes. It was really good.
We made the cakes in muffin pans like the recipe says and placed one in each bowl top side down. Then we topped each cake with homemade caramel, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and more caramel. Everyone seemed to like it and I was in heaven! It is really rich, but fantastic. It has quite a bit of molasses in both the cake and the caramel, so we might back that off a little next time we make it. And we WILL be making it again…..
Now this Blueberry Chia Parfait is not quite as rich as Sticky Toffee Pudding, but it is pretty awesome. Chia pudding makes a great snack or breakfast and is quite versatile (my fav….).
The heart of this Blueberry Chia Parfait recipe is obviously chia, but also Greek yogurt and coconut milk. Make sure you use canned coconut milk, not the coconut milk you can find in the dairy section. They are different.
Also, I suggest using 2% Greek yogurt for this Blueberry Chia Parfait, but you can use nonfat if you prefer. Nonfat Greek yogurt is slightly lower in calories and obviously slightly lower in fat. However, I’ve recently seen the light when it comes to 2% yogurt. I honestly do not know if I’ll ever go back to eating nonfat Greek yogurt! I love the consistency and flavor of the 2% variety. It isn’t quite as sour as nonfat and it is super thick and creamy.
You’ll want to make the chia pudding first and wait to make the blueberry portion until just before eating. Lately I’ve been microwaving fruit with coconut oil to make a warm, syrup-like concoction for waffles, pancakes, yogurt, and oatmeal. I am addicted! It is so good and super simple. You can use any type of fruit you’d like, but my favorites are blueberries, strawberries, or bananas. Nom nom nom.
Feel free to add some fun toppings to your parfait. I chose to use toasted coconut, but you could use toasted oats, granola, nuts, nut butters, pepitas, etc. Get crazy!
Also, check out my Mocha Chia Pudding recipe if you want another flavor idea!
- 8 oz 2% Greek yogurt, plain
- 1/2 cup light coconut milk, canned
- 2 Tbsp chia seed
- 1 1/2 tsp stevia
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, divided
- 3/8 tsp salt, divided
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp coconut sugar
- In a medium bowl combine Greek yogurt, coconut milk, chia,1 tsp cinnamon, stevia, and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir until ingredients are evenly distributed. Cover and place bowl in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- To prepare the blueberries place them in a medium microwave-safe bowl with the coconut oil. Microwave on high for 45 seconds or until oil is complete melted, stirring once. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon, salt, and coconut sugar. Stir until evenly combined and so all blueberries are coated in oil.
- Divide yogurt evenly into two bowls. Divide blueberry mixture evenly between each bowl of yogurt. Top with additional toppings of choice*.
- *Additional toppings: toasted oats, granola, toasted coconut, chopped nuts, nut butter, etc.
