Let’s face it – most of us don’t have the time or energy to make acai smoothie bowls every single morning before work. When I was brainstorming Whole30 breakfast ideas, I knew several things had to be taken into consideration:
First off, minimal prep. I wanted to be able to prep once on Sunday afternoon and have my morning fuel ready for the whole week.
Second, it needed to get the job done – the job, was keeping hunger away through lunchtime. There’s nothing worse than resorting to a bag of Lays at ten in the morning because it’s all you can get your hands on in the midst of meetings and multitasking. When I created this recipe, I was working as a pastry chef and social media manager at an all-dessert restaurant in Richmond, Virginia. Yup, that meant desserts at my disposal all day long. Not a good combination with skipping breakfast!
Not to mention, a small portion of this protein-packed mixture goes a long way. 1/3 cup or so fills me up and I can finish it quickly when I’m rushing in the morning – I can’t say the same for a stack of flax seed pancakes! Lastly… I like something that will compliment my morning coffee. Almonds, cinnamon and coconut meet this criteria. The crunchy mixture needs something a bit softer though to balance it out, which is where the sliced banana fits in perfectly.
I’ve been using this recipe on a regular basis for almost four months now. I made it when I first started Whole30, while I was still in the United States. Upon relocating to Spain, I was pleased to find that all of the same ingredients were easily accessible and – gasp – cheaper than in the US! I’ve even found almond milk without sugar here in Spain (or as they would say here ‘sin azucar’). My go-to almond milk brand in the US that is Whole30 compliant is commonly found at Kroger. I typically use Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk by Simple Organic (https://www.simpletruth.com/products/unsweetened-vanilla-almond-milk1/).
Five Ingredient Paleo Cereal
Servings: 1
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup pepitas
- ¼ cup roughly chopped or sliced nuts, such as almonds, hazelnuts or cashews
- 1/8 cup raw, unsweetened coconut
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 sliced banana
Instructions
- Toast your pepitas and almonds on the same baking sheet in the oven at 375 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until almonds are golden. Stir around once half way through baking to ensure even toasting.
- Repeat the same with your coconut on a separate baking sheet. You may want to stir the coconut around twice to prevent too much browning on the edges.
- Once cooled, combine the coconut, almonds and pepitas with cinnamon in a bowl.
- Top with sliced banana, almond milk and enjoy!
Notes
- The cereal base of this recipe works great as a granola as well!
- In order to maximize meal prep efficiency, feel free to multiply this recipe! Who has time to wait for their cereal to cool every single morning, right?
- If you’re on Whole30 and using this recipe, remember to triple check the ingredients in unsweetened almond milks – some of them still contain ingredients that are non-compliant. I typically use Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk by Simple Organic https://www.simpletruth.com/products/unsweetened-vanilla-almond-milk1/