Make ahead blueberry chia and coconut oats

It has been a busy week in the Bite-Sized Thoughts household. My mother-in-law is visiting from Australia and we have enjoyed introducing her to Mini Bite. Mr Bite has taken the week off work to enjoy her company, and I took advantage of that to have a 'keeping in touch' day at work on Wednesday. It was the second time I'd left Mini Bite for more than an hour or so and I'm pleased to report that all went well - for her and for me. It was also rather lovely to have a day of adult company, complete with baby-free train rides into and out of my workplace. Reading a book with a cup of coffee never felt so good.

If you have a similarly busy schedule, this blueberry oat mix is a useful way to make a breakfast (or snack) option ahead of time. It is also adaptable and with a few small tweaks you could turn the recipe into one for blueberry oat balls instead - just omit the milk and use a little more oats to give a sturdier texture.

This does use a food processor and you may be wondering why you would bother with that when freshly made oats and blueberries provide a delicious combination without any meddling. Simply put, this is delicious in a different way. The blended mix is pudding-like and reminiscent of bircher muesli. It is also thick, easily portable, and (or course) can be made well in advance.

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Blueberry and sweet potato mug cake {vegan + fat free}

Mug cakes are excellent for when time is short and/or you want cake in a hurry. They are also handy for making single serve treats and, in this case, using up small amounts of leftover ingredients. I don't really need help with using sweet potato or blueberries - both are foods I'll happily snack on plain - but they are given a boost in this easy recipe.

In truth, this should probably be called a mug pudding as the texture is softer than a traditional cake. With a third of a cup of sweet potato in the mix that is perhaps not surprising. Happily, as you will eat this from the mug with a spoon, a pudding-like texture presents no problems.

This is not overly sweet, which allows the natural sweetness of the sweet potato and blueberries to shine through. However, it would be easy to increase the added sugar if you so desire. As I made it, this could almost be served for breakfast, which I think is a winning outcome.

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Sweet potato breakfast pudding {vegan + gluten free}

Regular readers will know that I love to use sweet potato in non-savoury dishes. My caramel sweet potato fudge and chocolate sweet potato ice cream are two prime examples. This sweet potato pudding is made in the same theme, although it's a much simpler affair.

This is so simple, in fact, that I hesitate to call it a recipe. Basically, it is mashed sweet potato with vanilla and desiccated coconut, topped with cacao nibs and blueberries. If you have children, I suspect they could make it. I suspect they would enjoy it too, but you may not want to share it with them.

This tastes clearly of sweet potato, but the natural sweetness of the vegetable is enhanced beautifully by vanilla and coconut. The tart sweetness of blueberries provides a flavour contrast and the rich crunch of cacao nibs provides a texture contrast. It all comes together to taste delicious whilst also being jam-packed full of nutrition. Getting a serve of vegetables in at breakfast is always a bonus!

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Blueberry tart

In my recent In My Kitchen post, I mentioned buying rather a lot of blueberries. 5 cups worth, in fact. I know this because I measured out 4 cups for this blueberry tart. It was an excellent use of the fruit, and still allowed me a cup to gobble up fresh.

I don't regularly make tarts, but making vegan lemon meringue pie sparked some interest in pie and tart-based desserts. The base for this tart is actually identical to that for the lemon meringue pie, and the filling is adapted from the lemon equivalent.

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Lemon and blueberry oat parfait

I don't have many breakfast recipes on Bite-Sized Thoughts. In fact, I'm not sure where I'm going to file this after hitting post! There is a reason for this: during the week, I eat breakfast at work 4 days out of 5. Weekday mornings are decidedly simple affairs. Even on weekends, my breakfast routines are low-key, revolving around smoothies, cereal, and oats.

This particular breakfast is oat-based, but it is slightly different from my usual concoctions. The idea of lemon oats came to me towards the end of my morning run, and it stuck. (I think I may have lemon on my mind after seeing two vegan lemon meringue pies featured on Facebook this week!) Blueberries seemed like a logical finishing touch.

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Vegan pumpkin pie berry pancakes {Christmas ideas 2013}

Yesterday marked one month until Christmas. Today, I am showing previously unheard of blog organisation and kicking off my seasonal posts. Hopefully by starting now, you'll have a chance to enjoy any recipes you like the look of before Christmas is over for another year.

Unlike my last post, today's recipe has also been trialed, revised, re-trialed, and then posted. You can't take risks with Christmas! These pancakes could also do double duty for Thanksgiving, which I know is almost upon you in America.

Pumpkin and berry pancakes

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Blueberry coconut ice cream (and some firemen)

After the ANZAC day public holiday last Thursday, I've been thinking that it would be really nice if a public holiday could be repeated tomorrow. Or every Thursday, I'd take that too.

As it is, I'm a wee bit overwhelmed. I seem to have a panic-inducing amount of work. I have spent a panic-inducing amount of money on orthotics (more on that another time). My workplace had a (minor) fire this afternoon, interfering with my ability to deal with all that panic-inducing work.

On the plus side, I value my work, the orthotics should help my running, and the fire was minor. I got to watch firemen do their stuff. I made blueberry coconut ice cream this week. It could be worse.

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Blueberry Chai Smoothie

The other week, I tried a chai latte for the first time. I know, I'm only 5 years or so behind everyone else.

The thing is, I don't like coffee in latte form (too milky). And I've confirmed this year that I just don't like soy milk in tea or coffee (tastes wrong!). Thus, since trying to reduce dairy, I've tended to order herbal teas when out at cafes. I still have the odd cappuccino, but not often.

The cafe I was at last weekend didn't have chai tea, or many tea options at all. I didn't feel like coffee. My friend ordered a chai latte and I decided to try it, placing a soy order.

I don't know why I didn't think I would like this, given chai tea is one of my favourite drinks. As it turns out, I loved it. The soy milk worked fine, and I've since had a second chai latte that was even better than the first.


The result of this discovery is that chai has been on my mind. I've been drinking even more chai tea. And with almond milk to use up and a 23'C forecast, a chai smoothie seemed like a good way to start a weekend morning.

Blueberry Chai Smoothie

Makes 1 medium serve

Blend:

• ~1/3 cup chai tea, cooled
• ~1/2 cup - 3/4 cup almond milk, or milk of choice
• ~1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• Optional: ~1 tbsp oats (I didn't include oats, but would next time for added thickness and texture)

The chai flavour didn't stand out, but lent a certain depth to the overall taste. Subtle spice tones mixed with blueberries was just what I was looking for.

The smoothie wasn't super thick, and I would probably add the tablespoon of oats next time. However, on this particular occasion, I was in the mood for a drink smoothie rather than a spoon smoothie.

I served it with a side of chai tea, of course.

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