Chia Pudding Breakfast Bowls with Kumquats, Berries & Lavender Honey {gluten-free, dairy-free}

Creamy chia pudding gets gussied up for spring with a drizzle of lavender honey, fresh fruit, and bee pollen.

I'm super excited to share today's post. Not only does the recipe brim with creamy deliciousness, springy produce, crunchy coconut flakes, and floral lavender honey that will make you glow from the inside out, it's also a collaboration with my latest obsession – Grace Green Beauty – who are giving away a box of loveliness curated by yours truly. {See below for details.}

I'm just as particular about what I put on my skin as I am about the food I put in my mouth. For this reason, I'm not usually one for fancy skincare products, which tend to scare me off with unpronounceable ingredients. But when Grace's founder, Tempal, sent me a box of goodies a few months ago, I got majorly hooked. Grace's lotions, cleansers, and serums are all handmade from food-grade ingredients, and they smell and feel like love. Their CLEAN oil cleanser makes every shower feel like a spa treatment. Their PEACEful Face lotion smoothes and nourishes. Their BodyFood keeps my dishpan hands baby-soft, comforting me with the scent of earth and spice before bed every night. And their Everything Chapped Stick tastes like chocolate ice cream and feels just as yummy on the lips.

The folks at Grace pay attention to every little detail: they make each product by hand, use exclusively organic ingredients, and they package with glass, wood, and paper that feel good in your hands. Despite their earthy aesthetic, their products are the pinnacle of luxury, enrobing your skin in unparalleled nourishment from your face to your feet.

Since reading Grace's ingredient list is a bit like reading a menu, I concocted this healthy breakfast treat inspired by some of their contents: coconut, almond, citrus, lavender and honey.

Chia pudding is about the easiest thing in the world to make. My version uses a combination of almond milk and coconut cream flavored with vanilla bean and a dash of honey. My favorite toppings of the moment include kumquats and strawberries for brightness and acidity, toasted coconut flakes for crunch, lavender-infused honey for sweetness and a floral kick, and bee pollen for color and a touch of bitter complexity.

These ingredients turn out vibrant bowls of nourishment full of good fats and fiber that will add a little sunshine to your morning, or pick you up for an afternoon snack. Make the pudding and infuse the honey the night before, and breakfast will come together in a snap. You can also layer the pudding in jars for a meal on the go. And feel free to change up the toppings based on what's in season. I couldn't resist the first local strawberries, but segments of pink grapefruit, blood orange, and slices of sweet dates or banana are equally delicious. For a spicy variation, add 1/4 teaspoon cardamom or cinnamon to the pudding.

***Best of all, the folks at Grace Green Beauty let me curate a box full of my favorite products to give away to one lucky reader: BodyFood Lotion, PEACEful Face Nourishment, CLEAN Oil Cleanser, ReAct Exfoliating Mask and Everything Chapped Stick, all bundled into a reusable gift box. To enter, leave a comment below by midnight PST March 6th, 2016 letting us know your favorite nourishing breakfast treat. U.S. Residents only (though Grace also ships to Canada!).

Also for U.S. residents, Grace is offering 10% off any and all products + free shipping using the code BOJONBOX. 1 code per user.***

Peruse Grace's full line of products here. Pssst, they've also got stuff for guys, stuff for babies, stuff for tattoos, and customizable gift boxes. {I, for one, have gifts covered for the foreseeable future.}

Many thanks to Grace Green Beauty for sponsoring this post AND for sponsoring the blog {and my face} this month! All fangirly opinions and gushing words are entirely my own.

More Healthy Breakfast Recipes that use chia seed:

• "PBJ" Tahini Chia Pudding Cups
• Super Seedy Vegan Baked Oatmeal with Peaches & Berries
• Hibiscus Berry Smoothie Bowls
• Golden Milk Overnight Oats
• Super Seeded Nearly-Instant Oatmeal
• Seedy Whole-Grain Gluten-Free Vegan Bread
• Browse more breakfast recipes on TBG

More Breakfast Recipes:

• Migas
• Breakfast Bars with Tart Cherries, Toasted Pecans and Chocolate Chunks
• Fluffy Gluten-Free Pancakes {dairy-free & vegan options}
• Gluten-Free Amaranth Tortillas + Vegetarian Breakfast Tacos

*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram,  Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this chia pudding bowl recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet  and  #bojongourmet.*

5 from 1 vote

Chia Pudding Bowls with Citrus, Dates, and Lavender Honey

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Creamy chia pudding gets gussied up for spring with a drizzle of lavender honey, fresh fruit, and bee pollen.

Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Resting time: 3 hours

Total: 30 minutes

Servings: 3 -4 servings

Ingredients

Pudding:

• 1 small can unsweetened coconut cream (such as Native Forest) (5.4 ounce / 160 ml)
• 2 tablespoons mild honey (40 g)
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons chia seeds (I use black seeds) (105 g)
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk (preferably fresh or homemade) (475 ml)

Lavender Honey:

• 1/4 cup mild honey (85 g)
• 2 teaspoons lavender buds (culinary-grade), plus a few extra for topping

Toppings:

• ~12 fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
• ~12 kumquats, thinly sliced, seeds removed
• a large handful toasted coconut flakes
• bee pollen (optional)

Instructions

• In a large saucepan, gently warm the coconut cream with the 2 tablespoons honey, salt, and vanilla seeds and pod until the honey is melted, 1-2 minutes over medium heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chia seeds, then the almond milk. Let stand 5 minutes, then whisk again (this prevents the seeds from clumping) and pour into a quart-sized jar or other container. Chill until thickened, at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.
• Meanwhile, combine the 1/4 cup honey and lavender buds in a small saucepan and heat over a medium-low flame, stirring occasionally, until the honey is very warm. Turn off the heat, cover, and let steep to infuse the honey, 20 minutes to 1 hour. Rewarm the honey until liquid, then strain into a small jar, pressing on the lavender to extract all the flavor. Store at room temperature indefinitely.
• To make the bowls, divide the pudding between 3-4 bowls and top with the strawberries, kumquats, and coconut. Drizzle each bowl with a bit of honey (1-3 teaspoons per bowl depending on your sweet tooth) and sprinkle with lavender and bee pollen if you like. Serve right away.

Notes

Be sure to allow at least 3 hours for the pudding to chill and thicken.

As I mention above, feel free to change up the toppings based on what's in season.

For a spicy variation, add 1/4 teaspoon cardamom or cinnamon to the pudding.

If you can't find coconut cream, chill a can of full-fat coconut milk for several hours. Without tilting or shaking the can, open and scrape off the thick cream on the top to use in the pudding.

And feel free to make this with light maple syrup and no bee pollen for a strictly vegan variation.

Nutritional values are based on one of three servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 553kcalCarbohydrates: 68gProtein: 10gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 19gSodium: 331mgPotassium: 529mgFiber: 18gSugar: 45gVitamin A: 220IUVitamin C: 63.9mgCalcium: 447mgIron: 4.5mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!