Strawberry Ice Cream Chia Pudding Parfaits

Please tell me I’m not the only one who loves whipping up on-theme food for my kiddos on holidays and special occasions.  I know, it’s a little bit nerdy and over the top, but I love it so much.  Last Valentine’s Day I made the kids these strawberry ice cream chia pudding parfaits and oh my word…  You should have seen their little eyes light up when I set breakfast down in front of them!

Besides the fact that they’re both nutritious and super delicious, the thing I love about these ice cream chia pudding parfaits is that they’re a lot easier to make than they look.  In fact, you can do most of the prep work the night before so they come together super quickly come morning.  

First up, you’ll want to cut a bunch of strawberry hearts…  Just cut the green leafy part of the strawberry off to create a ‘v’ shape at the top, then slice!  You’ll want  fairly thin hearts to place along the inside of the mason jars, so keep that in mind while slicing.  If prepping these the night before, just pop them into an air-tight bag or container in the fridge. And while you’re at it, wash and dry a few blueberries and add them in there too.

Next up, your chia pudding.  I have a couple of posts about chia pudding (our tropical version | our chocolate version), but if you haven’t tried it, you really must.  It’s so unique and delicious and my kids just love it!  To make it, pour 1 cup of coconut milk into a jar along with 3 tablespoons of chia seeds, 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup, and a little splash of good vanilla.  Shake it up like mad and then place it in the fridge overnight to thicken.  If you can, give it a couple of extra shakes before going to bed for the night to help prevent clumping.  If not, no worries – it’ll be fine either way.

Alright…  Now for the part that has to be made in the morning…  The strawberry ice cream!  Or nice cream as it’s often called.  

Chuck 3 frozen bananas, along with 5 big frozen strawberries and a splash of good vanilla, into a food processor.  I find this works best if the frozen fruit has had just 5 minutes at room temperature, but you can do it straight from the freezer too.  Basically, you just need to blend it like CRAZY.  It’ll take a little while and will most likely require you stopping the food processor to scrape down the sides a few times, but keep going {past the chunky stage, past the mealy stage} until your bananas and strawberries are the consistency of soft serve.  Mmmm… so good!

Now it’s time to assemble!  Line a mason jar with your strawberry hearts simply by pressing them against the glass surface…

Then gently fill the jar about halfway full of chia pudding…

And generously top with strawberry ice cream.

Finish off the strawberry ice cream chia pudding parfaits with a strawberry heart and a few blueberries on top and breakfast (or snack) is served!

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