Stephanie Achar recipe: Chia & Vanilla Breakfast Bowl

Chia seeds are a great addition to breakfast recipes: they taste like tapioca yet provide longer-lasting energy due to their protein content. They are also packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre for good digestion, and anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids that are essential to your health.

Try mixing them with vanilla for breakfast, or pamper yourself and transform the recipe into an indulgent dessert with raw cacao.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 3 to 4

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked 3 hours in one cup filtered water

2 cups filtered water

3 medjool dates, pitted

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

pinch sea salt

1/4 cup chia seeds

Fresh fruits, to serve

2 tsp raw cacao per cup (Optional)

METHOD

Drain and rinse soaked cashews.

Add them to a blender with 2 cups filtered water, dates, vanilla bean paste and salt. Blend on high speed for one minute.

Mix with chia seeds. Let it sit to allow it to gel for 30 minutes, then give it a stir with a fork to avoid lumps.

Divide into 3 or 4 bowls.

Place them in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight. Top up with fruits.

If you'd like a chocolate pudding add 1 tsp of raw cacao per cup or 4 tsp to the whole batch. Enjoy!

Stéphanie Achar is a qualified nutritional therapist and health coach based in South West London. She is collaborating with Culture Whisper to create a series of seasonal, wholesome and nutritionally balanced recipes.

Find more recipes or book a free nutrition consultation with Stéphanie on her website, www.simpleandhealthy.com