Strawberry Overnight Bread Pudding

Guess what?! We just booked tickets to Europe for later this summer. Our plan: explore Barcelona, eat as many tapas as our bellies can hold and then drive across the border to France to eat as many French-everything we can. Oh, and to see the sights. I just can’t help it as our vacations revolve around food. Isn’t that best (um, only) way to experience a culture?

In celebration of our summer trip and Mother’s Day, I’m incorporating a French classic into a perfect breakfast for serving in bed to Mom (or in all honesty, to yourself). Strawberries are a sign that spring is in full force, so I used Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves and juicy strawberries to flavor an irresistible bread pudding that’s sweet and fruity but not too sweet it leans more dessert. Although I won’t tell if you top it with ice cream and call it dessert. But the best part about this whole thing? It can be made the night before and baked in the morning for a fuss-free breakfast. While it’s baking, you can slice fruit, make coffee, arrange flowers, and write that Mother’s Day card you remembered to get...

What I love about Bonne Maman is that they preserve fruits at their peak, so the natural sweetness and fruit flavors really come out. They are also non-GMO project verified, use no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial coloring, and no preservatives. That's a lot of wins in my book. In this bread pudding, to make sure every single bite has a punch of strawberry, I make strawberry preserve sandwiches and cut them into cubes. Those cubes get tossed with fresh strawberries and bathed in an egg and almond milk mixture. After soaking overnight and baking in the morning, each slice is topped with toasted almonds, coconut, and coconut whip (or real whipped cream or Greek yogurt if dairy-free isn’t your thing) and drizzled with maple syrup.

What better way to celebrate spring and the best Mom in the world?

Strawberry Overnight Bread Pudding

Coconut oil, for greasing the pan
10 slices whole grain sandwich bread (I used a seeded bread), preferably a little stale
5 tablespoons Bonne Maman Strawberry preserves
1 ¼ cups chopped fresh strawberries, plus more for serving
5 eggs
1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup, plus more for serving
½ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt

For serving:
½ cup toasted almonds, chopped (optional)
¼ cup toasted shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)
Coconut whipped cream, whipped cream, or Greek yogurt (optional)

Grease bottom and sides of 1 ½ quart baking dish. Make preserves sandwiches. Spread 5 slices with 1 tablespoon each of Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves. Top with another slice to make a sandwich, pressing gently to adhere. Slice each sandwich into 16 cubes. Spread half of cubes in bottom of baking dish. Scatter with half of chopped strawberries. Top with remaining sandwich cubes and strawberries.

Whisk eggs until no longer stringy. Add almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt and whisk to combine. Pour mixture over bread and strawberries and press gently to submerge as best you can. Not everything will be covered, but you want each piece to be in some of liquid. Cover with foil and allow to sit in fridge for 8 hours or overnight.**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pan in oven and bake, covered, for 55-65 minutes. After 40 minutes, remove foil cover to allow top to brown. Pudding will be done when it is no longer jiggly, the top is golden, and it feels just firm to touch. Remove from oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing. Resting will allow you to get the cleanest slices. Top with almonds, coconut, freh strawberries, and whipped topping of choice. Drizzle with additional maple syrup, if desired. Serves 6

**Pudding can be baked immediately and the flavor will still be delicious, but the texture improves with an overnight soak as the bread softens in the egg mixture.

This post was sponsored by Bonne Maman but opinions expressed are entirely my own. P.S. They are running an awesome giveway. Click below to enter!

Apple, Date, and Almond Butter Overnight Oats + Terrain!

I love making resolutions. As a list-maker and checkbox-ticker, resolutions are my jam. I love the idea of making goals that are so much bigger than what my day-to-day lists consist of like laundry, water plants, call insurance company, and confirm dental appt. Yeah, those lists are way less cool.

While I'm not going to share my full list of resolutions, I do have a few things that I'm focusing on like eliminating mind clutter, staying more connected to friends and family, and being more strategic about grocery shopping. For the last one, I'm not talking about strict menu planning, but rather, I'd like to start cooking many of the recipes that I've dogeared in the cookbooks I have, recipes I've pinned from blogs, or copied and pasted in some long lost file on my computer. This has been a struggle in the past because I tend to go to the market and grocery store without a list, buy what looks good, and then come up with a recipe when I get home. Fun stuff because I love creating new recipes and cooking by the seat of my pants, but I know that I can also learn a lot about more complex flavor development and more unfamiliar spices, etc. if I were to actually follow a tried and true tested recipe.

In the spirit of resolutions, I've teamed up with Terrain, Anthropologie's beautiful home and garden shop (and where we happened to get married), to bring you a series of tips to make healthy happen in the kitchen. No matter where on the healthy eating spectrum you lie, we can always use a little reminder and inspiration for how to make healthier decisions in the kitchen and tips that are easy to incorporate into your every day. Many of us know how to eat healthier; it's usually a question of how to fit it into the craziness of real life.

In the first installment, I talk all about why I love overnight oats, and finish with a recipe for Apple, Date, and Almond Butter Oats that I know you're going to love. It's been a favorite around here since I could buy apples at the local market. The best part is that you can make a big batch on the weekend, store it in cute jars, like Terrain's Weck jars, and then enjoy a nutritious breakfast (or snack) ALL WEEK LONG. Amazing, right?

Check out Terrain's blog for the recipe and my tips.

For more recipes for overnight oats, check out my pumpkin pie oats, coconut oats, and chia seed variation.

What New Year's resolutions did you make this year?

Chai Spiced Coconut Pancakes

When I was in high school, one of my favorite things to do with my girlfriends was to go to Panera, order chai, and sit by the fireplace...oh, and gossip. Yeah, we weren't above that. We felt like such cool kids / pseudo adults sipping from our giant mugs like we had nothing better to do. As the temperatures drop, I find myself craving those same cozy flavors and warming spices (and fireplace chats). I also find ways to mix up my usual cold overnight oats with something a little less chilly.

I took chai spices—cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves—and put them in pancakes, another food that transports me back to when Bisquick pancake mix was our Sunday morning go-to as kids. These pancakes may be a whole lot more wholesome than those Bisquick pancakes, but they are just as comforting. Sweetened with coconut sugar or maple syrup, they have a base of oat flour (I show you how to make homemade), whole wheat flour, and shredded coconut. They are slightly more dense than fluffy buttermilk pancakes or my Lemon Ricotta Pancakes due to the whole wheat flour, but you can lighten them up if you're not a fan of whole wheat flour by subbing more oat flour in its place.

These pancakes are perfect for lazy weekends this winter or perhaps you make a batch and store them in the fridge to enjoy throughout the week as snacks.

Chai Spiced Coconut Pancakes

½ cup rolled oats (or ½ cup + 2 tablespoons oat flour)
⅓ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
½ cup whole wheat flour (or additional oat flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoons ground cardamom
¾ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten or flax egg**
1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened nut milk
3 tablespoons coconut sugar or maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted + more for cooking
Maple syrup, for serving
Shredded and flaked coconut, toasted

Make oat flour. Place oats in coffee grinder or mini food processor and process until it resembles flour. Mix oat flour and remaining dry ingredients in small bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together egg (or flax egg), nut milk, maple syrup, and melted coconut oil. Slowly whisk in dry ingredients until combined.

Preheat flat griddle or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add thin layer of coconut oil to coat. Add batter by ¼ cupfuls to griddle and allow to cook 2-4 minutes or until you see batter starting to dry out around edges. Flip and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes more. Remove from pan.

Move to a wire rack and keep warm in a 200 degree oven if not serving immediately. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing pan with coconut oil as necessary. Serve with maple syrup, and toasted coconut. Enjoy! Makes 8-9 pancakes.

**To make flax egg: Stir 3 tablespoons water with 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed and allow to rest for 15 minutes

Plant-Based Egg Nog + G I V E A W A Y

I sort of contradict myself here calling this a plant-based egg nog because there are no eggs in this nog. There's also no dairy milk nor granulated sugar like in the traditional stuff. So where do I think I get the liberty to call this egg nog in the first place? Because this really does take like the real deal...with the same rich and festive taste, albeit lighter. In a good, still satisfying way. Not in the oh, this will suffice kind of way. And it has a pretty awesome nutrition profile if we're comparing things.

I've tried making a plant-based nog in the past because the ingredient list of Silk Nog left a little more to be desired (caraggean and turmeric in your beverage, anyone?), but my results were mediocre. One tasted too much like almond milk with spices and the texture was too thin. I thought coconut milk would lend a nice rich texture, but it tasted too much like well...coconut. Duh. I tried maple syrup but that was overpowering and coconut sugar, but it didn't wow me. I even tried throwing in frozen banana thinking that would give a nice creamy texture, but it resembled a smoothie too much. I consulted other recipes out there, but results were lackluster. All of the experiments were certainly edible, but they just didn't taste like the egg nog I grew up with. In the end, as much as I would love to get a recipe right on the very first go, all of this experimenting was worth it because I'm always learning something new about the potential and limitations of certain ingredients.

That's why I am so proud of this recipe. Really, I am. Like I'd totally serve it to plant-based skeptics knowing that it tastes delicious. It took a lot of trial and error, but it's all worth it.

Because I'm so excited about it, I'm giving away a box of goodies to one lucky someone who would like to recreate this delightful drink at home. To enter, comment below and on my Instagram post announcing the giveaway. The winner will receive all of the ingredients plus a handy-dandy nut milk bag(!) for future plant-based milk endeavors. Contest ends Monday, December 12 at 8pm EST.

But of course, you can still make this at home even if you don't win. Cashews and almonds get soaked overnight and made into an almost-nut milk. Almost because it's going to be thicker than your average nut milk. Dates give a wonderful caramel note and also contribute a velvety texture. Cinnamon and vanilla are added for a festive touch, but not too much as to overwhelm, and the quintessential egg nog spice—nutmeg—goes into the mix as well. A bout in the blender and then chilled in the fridge, it thickens up even more. Don't forget to sprinkle a hefty portion of nutmeg on top either. It's all the merrier that way.

Spike it with a little bourbon, drink it on its own, or sip it with some Christmas cookies—healthy ones, of course ;).

Plant-Based Egg Nog

½ cup cashews, soaked overnight and drained
½ cup almonds, soaked overnight and drained
3 cups water
4 medjool dates, pitted (soak overnight if on the drier side)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 to ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, depending on preference, plus lots more for serving
Pinch of salt

Make nut milk. Add soaked nuts, water, and pitted dates to blender. Process on high for about 3 minutes. Mixture will get hot. Pour mixture through nut milk bag (or unused clean stocking or pantyhose!) into a bowl, squeezing excess liquid from bag until left with mostly dry pulp in bag. Discard or reserve for another use*.

Return milk to blender (or just use a whisk) and add vanilla, ground cinnamon, generous amount of freshly grated nutmeg, and salt. Blend briefly just to combine. Taste and adjust spices. Pour milk into clean jar and allow to cool in refrigerator until well chilled. It will thicken a bit as it cools. Shake jar before serving, and top with an extra sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg. Mixture will last 3 days in the refrigerator. Makes about 3 ½ cups.

*I swirl leftover nut milk pulp into my oatmeal just so it doesn’t go to waste

Chia Seed Overnight Oats

Overnight oats are a workhouse around here. They are filling, packed with protein, and make the perfect Sunday assembly project for the work week ahead. Perhaps most importantly, they are extremely versatile. I've made a few different variations here on the blog already (pumpkin, chocolate, and coconut), but this one is a true blank slate. Oh, and it's vegan. Instead of yogurt, which often acts as a thickener and protein boost in these soaked concoctions, chia seeds thicken the mixture and add healthy fats and plant-based protein.

Depending on the season, my toppings change, but I love a blueberry and almond butter combo with a dash of cinnamon. Another fave? Peanut butter, banana, chocolate chips, cacao nibs, and toasted coconut.

As the weather starts to cool, there's a natural craving for something warm and cozy in the morning. You can make the base overnight without the fruit, and in the morning warm it over low heat on the stove (or in the microwave) to take the chill off. Then top with fruit. It also makes a perfect afternoon snack (for kids and adults!). 

Chia Seed Overnight Oats

¾ cup unsweetened nut milk
1 tablespoon peanut butter
2 teaspoons maple syrup
½ cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons chia seeds
Pinch of salt
Optional toppings: additional nut butter, blueberries, chopped strawberries, sliced bananas, ground cinnamon, cacao nibs, chocolate chips, toasted coconut

Mix together nut milk, peanut butter, and maple syrup until smooth. Stir in oats and chia seeds. Add toppings of choice, and cover and refrigerate overnight. Serves 1.