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!

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

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.

Shishito and Avocado Breakfast Toast

I have felt compelled to put fried green peppers on just about everything since a dinner earlier this summer at my food blogger friend's house. Linda (of Wild Greens and Sardines) and her husband invited my husband an I over for some delicious pasta, and while we sipped wine and waited for the water to boil, they fried up pan after pan of padrón peppers. Padrón peppers are a staple in Spain, a most-welcome nibble in the late afternoon when you know dinner is still hours away. Sprinkled with crunchy grains of salt, they are mostly mild, but occasionally you get a real hot sucker that makes you reaching for bread, cheese, anything to make the heat go away, even another pepper-just hope that it's a mild one. If you're like me, you somehow manage to grab only the hot ones.

I'll take a minute here and clue you in to a little thing about going to a food blogger's house for dinner. When a bloggers says she's just going to make pasta for dinner, don't believe that she's just going to toss some dried noodles in some water and call it a day. Nope. Linda made the most beautiful homemade pasta in these circular stamp shapes and tossed them with a nutty and herbaceous pesto. Pan fried padrón peppers started off the meal, but roasted maitakes, Green Zebras doused in extra-virgin olive oil and sumac, and specialty chocolate rounded it out. And what in the world did I bring to this feast? I came with a dinky grilled zucchini salad that I swear shrunk even more by the time we got to Linda's. My cup of zucchini and me pretty much wanted to disappear when I saw the spread she had prepared. Yeah, we very much owe she and her husband a dinner. Or wait, a feast.

Back to the peppers. Padrón peppers are deliciously tender and a far cry from rigid (and always hot!) jalapenos and very pungent and vegetal green peppers. Heat makes their thin skin melt, their few sugars just beginning to caramelize. The problem is that they can be a little hard to find. Shishitos, on the other hand, seemed to be everywhere at our farmers' market. While I would be hard-pressed to tell you the exact difference in taste, padrón peppers are a little more petite. I pretty much treat both them the same way. Fry them in a little oil until nice and blistered, sprinkle with some sea salt, and eat, seeds (not stems) included. As much as I love them plain, I thought they could add a little texture and subtle earthy heat to a breakfast favorite of mine, the egg and avocado sandwich.

I feel like I'm cheating calling this a recipe, but I thought the combo was worthy of a share. I tossed on a little fresh basil for a hint of summer freshness. Tomato would be a welcome addition, but as it's breakfast, I didn't want to get too complicated.

Shishito Avocado Breakfast Toast

1 whole wheat English muffin or 2 slices whole wheat bread, toasted
Handful of shishito peppers (or Padrón peppers, if you can find them)
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 eggs
1/2 large avocado
A few basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
Sea salt and pepper, for sprinkling (or a little Parmigiano reggiano is delicious!)

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat. Add peppers, and cook for 7-10 minutes, tossing occasionally. Peppers should be blistered and starting to wilt. Remove from heat, remove stems from peppers, and sprinkle with sea salt.

Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium heat. Crack two eggs into pan, and allow to cook for 5-7 minutes or until desired doneness. You can flip the egg for over easy or I sometimes place a lid over the pan to allow the white to cook and just allow the yolk to set.

Mash 1/4 of avocado on each slice of bread. Top with basil, shishitos, and fried eggs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (and a little Parmigiano reggiano), if desired. Serves 1.

Chocolate Almond Overnight Oats with Coconut Whipped Cream

One of my favorite things about Valentine's Day has always been seeing couples so smitten for one another. Something about the day puts people on their best behavior. I love seeing the guys with bouquets for their special someone, and the girls all dressed up on their way to a fancy prix fixe dinner.  We used to do the whole fancy dinner thing when we first started dating, but we are much lower key now. I actually prefer our quiet night in, leisurely making dinner and lounging on the couch. My fiance also used to get me the most beautiful lilies on special occasions, but then we got a cat who eats anything that she should not have, like lilies, which happen to be poisonous to frisky felines. To be honest, I do sort of miss the flowers, but I can make the sacrifice if it means no vet visits. One thing that has stayed the same over the years is the extra consumption of chocolate on Valentine's Day. Chocolate for dessert is a given, but why not have chocolate for breakfast?

These little cups are rich tasting, but still light on the belly. Nutty almond butter and rich cocoa powder make for a satisfying combo that tastes a bit like a brownie batter, and whipped coconut cream takes it to that extra special Valentine's Day level. If you have never made whipped cream with coconut milk, it is super simple. The hardest part is remembering to refrigerate the coconut milk overnight. Angela from Oh She Glows has a wonderful step-by-step tutorial for Coconut Whipped Cream if you need a visual. Considering the oats have to soak overnight anyway, I promise you cannot and will not miss that crucial first step.

Do your sweetheart a favor- or yourself for that matter, and make this. Combine everything the night before, whip the coconut cream in the morning, and win major brownie points. Pun most definitely intended.

Chocolate Almond Overnight Oats with Coconut Whipped Cream

1 cup rolled oats
3 tablespoons almond butter
1 1/4 cups almond milk
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 1/2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon dark chocolate shavings, divided
fresh raspberries, for serving
2 dollops of coconut whipped cream, for serving (see below)

Combine oatmeal with almond butter, almond milk, cocoa powder, honey or maple syrup, and pinch of salt. Mix well and allow to soak overnight. In the morning, divided into two portions, sprinkle with chocolate shavings, fresh raspberries, and a dollop of coconut whipped cream. Enjoy! Serves 2.

Coconut Whipped Cream

1 can full fat coconut milk
2 1/2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup

Place can of coconut milk in refrigerator overnight. Scoop the thick cream from the top and add it to a medium bowl. The liquid left behind can be added to smoothies. Using an electric mixer, beat the coconut cream until fluffy and light, for about 2-3 minutes. Stir in honey or maple syrup. Store in fridge for up to 3 days. Re-whip as necessary.