The Ultimate Breakfast Adventure Jar

The Ultimate Breakfast Adventure Jar

Hey, friends!  How are you?  Please tell me; I really want to know.  Are you just here to see what the “Adventure” part of Breakfast Adventure Jar is?  If so, that’s okay, too.  See the recipe at the bottom of the page 🙂

I need to talk about some thoughts first.  Just today, I was scrolling through Instagram and got to talking with a friend about passions.  I started thinking of how we may dive into something as a follower but down the line it ignites a fire that motivates us to be a leader in that same field.  For my friend, it was fitness.  Following Tone it Up encouraged her to pursue personal training and nutrition coaching—both very different from her day job. Similarly, I started my fitness journey with Tone it Up and that transcended into an exploration of healthy eating and now I’m basically a nutrition fanatic.

I strongly believe in a whole foods way of eating.  For me that is mostly vegan but, I recognize that for others, a whole foods way of eating could be varied.  Plus, we all have to start somewhere.  I try to keep my preferences to myself but the few times I do talk about food, I think it influences others.  I get asked all sorts of things about what I eat, how to cook quinoa, and how to de-bloat. 

Of course, I’m not a dietician so I can only offer my personal experience and knowledge from reading but I wish to do more.  Here on the internet, especially in the health and wellness community, there isn’t a question about how to use kale.  Though, offline, I need to remind myself that many people still have trouble formulating a plate of nutritious food. 

I thought of a quote I’ve seen floating around but I haven’t ever resonated with until now:at first they'll ask why...find your passionRight now, my ability to influence the community or public’s view of nutrition is limited as my day job is an office assistant.  Though, I do hope that if someone has questions, they can have the courage to seek out answers.  I enjoy helping steer people on the right path but fully want them to create their own healthy relationship with food.  I don’t yet know how I can further advocate for this subject which I feel strongly about IRL but I know it isn’t going away soon. 

In the meantime, let’s get to the Breakfast Adventure Jar.

The adventure part of the name comes from a few different places.  One, it stems from the fact that your jar is never going to look or taste the same way twice.  It is a complete mystery based on whatever fridge or pantry goods you’ve got to use up.  The idea for the Breakfast Adventure Jar came one day when I had baked a gingerbread loaf that wasn’t terrible but just wasn’t that great for snacking. I turned it into a parfait with some chia pudding, peanut butter, sliced nectarine, and cocoa coconut chips. That was the moment I knew.

Second, the adventure comes from looking around for goodies to put in your jar.  Half of an apple?  Throw it in! Mostly empty coconut butter jar?  Use that to build the mish-mash concoction!

So, I guess I should say, this isn’t so much of a recipe as it is a guideline to make a bomb, texture-filled, parfait!  (Keep reading for my suggestions.)  Lastly, the jar is the vehicle for a delicious set of ingredients that you may have otherwise lain out on a plate at home.  Now the goods are all conveniently packed into a jar for the ease of portability for you to take on YOUR adventures. 🙂

breakfast adventure jar

The idea for the Breakfast Adventure Jar came one day when I had baked a gingerbread loaf that wasn’t terrible but just wasn’t that great for snacking. I turned it into a parfait with some chia pudding, peanut butter, sliced nectarine, and cocoa coconut chips. 👌

Be sure to tell me what adventures you go on with your      delicious on-the-go breakfast parfait!

Breakfast Adventure Jar
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Author: Melanie
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 parfait
Ingredients
  • 1-2 homemade loaf slices or muffins* (I use 2)
  • Chia pudding, yogurt of choice, or leftover protein smoothie
  • A bit of whatever fruit you like: berries, sliced stone fruit, or good ol’ banana
  • Granola, crushed up nuts, toasted coconut chips, and/or cacao nibs
  • Peanut butter or other nut butter for drizzling
Instructions
  1. If making chia pudding for your Breakfast Adventure Jar, start with that. Add the chia seeds and milk to the jar and let set at room temperature for 10 minutes or so until thickened. If using yogurt or smoothie, save that for after the loaf/muffins.
  2. Next, you can top the set chia pudding with crumbled up loaf slices or muffins OR, use them as the base of the parfait and top with yogurt/smoothie. Personally, I like adding the loaf to the base of the jar but the chia pudding wouldn’t be able to set properly that way—and we want to keep this a 1 jar recipe!
  3. For the third layer, add chopped fruit or omit if your loaf, yogurt, smoothies, etc. have fruit already.
  4. Finally, top it all off with crunchy goodies of choice and perhaps a hefty drizzle of nut butter.
Notes
*There is no science to this. Literally use whatever bread you have and just add flavor pairings that you like. Banana bread, zucchini bread, or protein muffins are just A FEW possibilities. I’ve even used brownies once before 😊

 

breakfast adventure jar

Incase you wonder what went into the parfait in the cover image of this post here ya go: Blueberry Breakfast Adventure Jar featuring Rachel Mansfield’s Blueberry Banana Breakast Bread, homemade coconut yogurt, frozen blueberries, ground flax, cocoa sea salt coconut chips, and peanut butter!

If you liked this post, then be sure to also check out my Yogurt Pro Bowl post where I share how to make a great yogurt bowl with unique topping ideas!

5 Minute Peanut Butter Apple Crisp for One

5 Minute Peanut Butter Apple Crisp for One

I know what it feels like to get major cravings all of a sudden and desire immediate satisfaction.

I try not to keep unhealthy snacks or desserts around my house because I do not want the temptation.

Sure, I could make myself a healthy dessert but the thought of going through a lengthy process to whip up something is not always appealing.  Plus, what would I do with the leftovers?  Or, more likely, the problem will be that there are no leftovers.

Sometimes I have no self-restraint 🙈

Thus, I have created a treat to satisfy the quick snack cravings in a way that won’t leave you feeling yucky from an overindulgent dessert.

I cover all the sweet treat bases:

Warm

Crispy

Fruity

Peanut-buttery

Crunchy (Wait, is that the same as crispy? Nope!)

The most delicious crisp texture comes from broken down Ginnybakes cookies.  They are very firm, gluten-free cookies.  I  personally like microwaving them for a few seconds to soften them up, if I’m going to eat them on their own, but their hockey-puck like texture is perfect for adding crunch to this dessert snack!

Also, in the recipe, I used half of a large Gala apple but feel free to use an entire apple if you don’t want to leave half of an apple lying around.  Alternatively, double the recipe and share the snack-sized crisp with a friend! 😉

 

I’m aaaall ready to dive headfirst into this easy to assemble snack! Let’s go!

5 Minute Peanut Butter Apple Crisp for One
Recipe Type: Snacks
Author: Melanie
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 serving
A quick and easy apple crisp that is healthy enough for a snack and filling enough to satisfy a sweet tooth for dessert.
Ingredients
  • ½ tsp of Nutiva butter flavored coconut oil or plain coconut oil
  • ½ a large Gala apple or apple of choice, chopped
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 Ginnybakes Coconut Oatmeal Bliss Cookies*
  • 2 tsp of peanut butter (I used Wild Friends Pumpkin Spice peanut butter)
Instructions
  1. In a small, nonstick pan, warm up the coconut oil over medium heat.
  2. Add chopped apples and sprinkle with cinnamon. Stir the apples around in the pan until warm. Pour apples into a serving bowl.
  3. Place the nonstick pan back on the stove, turning the temperature down to the lowest heat. On a cutting board, chop up the 2 cookies until there is a mixture of fine and medium-sized crumbs.
  4. Add cookie crumbs to the pan and turn off the flame. Let sit for 1 minute, swirling the crumbs every few seconds. The crumbs should already be crunchy so they just need to warm up.
  5. While the crumbs warm from the heat of the pan, add the 2 teaspoons of peanut butter to the cinnamon apples and stir until coated.
  6. Remove the pan from the stove and pour cookie crumbs over the apple-peanut butter mixture. Pat yourself on the back and eat!
Notes
*You can use another crunchy cookie of your choosing. The classic Nature Valley granola bars are the kind of firm, crispness that you’re looking for. Alternatively, you can sub 2 tbsp of pre-made granola for the cookie crumbs.