Strawberry & Banana Chia Pudding Parfait
Light and delicious, these texture-rich, Strawberry & Banana Chia Pudding Parfaits (with granola) can be enjoyed for dessert or even breakfast!
Food fads seem to come and go – and entertain us immensely in the process! Do y’all remember Asparagus Water from last year? It didn’t stick around too long, but, made for some good conversations about the merits of paying $6 for water with 3 springs of asparagus in it!
Then there’s “Soylent” which is a meal replacement shake that has been described as “the most joyless new technology to hit the world” hmmmmm…would you rather drink your dinner or eat it?
Then yesterday, as I was perusing the interwebs, I came across Vegan Sushi Donuts. These donuts are not deep-fried but are made by shaping sushi rice into donut form and decorations of black sesame seeds, ginger, wasabi, cashew mayo and avocado. Will these stick around like Cronuts or Sushi Burritos have? Or, will they go the route of Asparagus Water?
One thing that won’t be a food fad in our house are fruity popsicles in the summer! After a day spent doing yardwork or while people watching from our porch (shhh…don’t tell our neighbors), an ice cold, Outshine® bar made with real fruit, veggies or juice, sure does hit the spot!
Recently when we were at a grocery store stocking up on Outshine® bars, I noticed that they had a new Fruit and Veggie bar that were made with real fruit and veggies, and came in strawberry rhubarb, tangerine medley, blueberry medley, tropical banana medley, peach mango medley, and watermelon harvest. As all other Outshine® bars, these too were said to be gluten and fat-free. Further, they did not contain GMOs, or artificial colors and flavors, or high fructose corn syrup either.
As my daughter and I were putting groceries away and enjoying one of the new Fruit and Veggie Outshine® bars, I figured I’d make a smoothie with the tropical banana medley bar and some fresh strawberries and use this to soak some chia seeds in. The resulting chia pudding would make for one scrumptious dessert later that evening. While Chia seeds have been touted by some to be a food fad, they are definitely a food-trend with staying power in our home.
When I told my daughter of my idea, she said she wanted something crunchy in her chia pudding and I spotted the jar of homemade granola on the counter, and that my friends, is how our chia pudding became these Strawberry & Banana Chia Pudding Parfaits!
Ingredients
For The Strawberry & Banana Chia Pudding Parfait
- 2 tropical banana medley Outshine® bars
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons agave
- 4 whole strawberris + 4 strawberries cut into little chunks
- 13 cup chia seeds
- 1 banana sliced
For homemade Granola
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons flaked almonds
Instructions
For The Strawberry & Banana Chia Pudding Parfait
- Add the tropical banana medley Outshine® bars, milk, and agave, and 4 strawberries to a blender and blend till smooth
- Then pour into a bowl and stir in the chia seeds
- Refrigerate this Strawberry & Banana Smoothie/Chia mix for at least 4 hours
- When set, alternate layers of Strawberry & Banana Chia Pudding mix with granola (homemade granola recipe below) and strawberries and fresh sliced bananas in parfait bowls.
For homemade Granola
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Mix rolled oats, coconut oil, honey, brown sugar, cardamom, almond extract, cinnamon, and flaked almonds together in a bowl.
- Then spread out on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. Then, mix/flip granola and bake another 15 minutes. Then let cool and break apart when cool.
Thats a beautiufl and healthful dessert. I love chia seeds.
Asparagus water??? What the?? Wow, that just goes to show you how behind I am on these food fads. Lol. And I’d like to see a photo of these sushi donuts. I’m intrigued. Well, I’m certainly grateful that you’re here whipping up creative new healthy snacks for us to enjoy. I mean, it’s no asparagus water or anything… 😉 Hahaha. Love that you came up with this idea to blend popsicles into a chia pudding parfait. It’s so creative and fun! Thanks for sharing another awesome mother/daughter kitchen experiments experience with us. 🙂 Have a great weekend my dear! xo Pinning!
This looks delicious
Those pops look delicious and so does that chia pudding! Love the added crunch of the granola, such a great idea.
Hey Shashi – these parfaits look awesome. I love those Outshine bars SO MUCH! The coconut ones are seriously what got me through my recent bout of strep throat. That’s all I had for nearly 48 hours. And they tasted fabulous. So many great flavors to try. I really want to try the fruit and veggie ones too. Hope you and your girl have the best weekend ever – love ya. XO
You have hit it out of the park with these beauties!! Now if I could only reach through this screen and grab one – I’d be a happy girl!!
Oh my gosh – I love the layers!!! This is perfect!
Those outshine bars look great!!! I’ve never tried them but now I’m going to pick some of those up. That parfait looks delicious!
Okay, I am happy to say I missed out on the asparagus water fad.
What a clever idea to use the popsicles (or fruit bars if you will) in a smoothie and then again in a parfait. I don’t think I would have thought to do that! Beautiful.
I really do need to try chia pudding! Love the layers in this – would make a lovely summer treat!
Your dessert not only is healthy but it looks so pleasing that I could devour the whole glass right now.
Oh whata brilliant idea to blend in a popsicle to a lunch dessert. This will be the rage in my house this sumer.m
These chia parfait look delicious and the freshness from the strawberry is perfect for the summer!! And banana addition is absolutely — perfect for summer! I love it! Will definitely try it soon!
My 2 year old loves chia pudding! Definitely going to try this out!
I too love all the beautiful and delicious layers!
They look so perfect! Love those layers.
Hope your summer is off to a great start Shashi!