I’m super excited to be working with The National Hispanic Milk Life Campaign to share with you this delicious and kid-friendly coconut chia and berry nice cream parfait recipe. This is a nutritions after school snack that can be prepared in minutes and your kids are sure to love!
Now that my kids are back in school I have to find ways to make sure they are getting all of the nutrients they need. To accomplish that I have created an after school snack made with milk and has lots of vitamins and minerals. It’s very nutritious yet it still look and taste like a fun dessert. My kids look forward to having their after school snack and these are easier to make than you think!
Did you know that one out of two kids ages 9 and up fall short on essential nutrients they need to grow? More than half of kids don’t get enough calcium, vitamin D and potassium. Milk is a top food source for calcium, vitamin D and potassium so making sure your kids are drinking more milk or adding milk to recipes they will enjoy helps us, as moms, make sure that we’re providing our kids with all the nutrients they need to grow and thrive!
Coconut Chia and Berry Nice Cream Parfait Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 1/2 cups of milk
- 2 bananas, sliced and frozen
- 2 cups frozen berries (I used blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries)
- ¼ cup granola
- Maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- Fresh berries to use as garnish
- Mint leaves for garnish
- Kiwi for garnish
Instructions
- Add the chia seeds to a medium bowl. Wisk in one cup of milk, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and coconut extract. Let it soak overnight or at least 3-4 hours in the fridge.
- Place banana slices and berries in a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze overnight.
- Right before serving put the frozen bananas and frozen berries in a blender.
- Add ½ cup milk to the blender. Blend until they start to break down.
- If desired add a tablespoon of maple syrup or honey and a squeeze of lime to sweeten and brighten up the flavor.
- Turn off the motor and stir the mixture two or three times if necessary.
- Process until smooth and creamy.
- In small mason jars or cups layer the parfaits starting with the granola, then a layer of chia pudding and finally a layer of berry nice cream.
- Top with fresh or frozen berries and garnish with kiwi and mint leaves.
The nice cream is an easy alternative to ice cream made with frozen bananas and if you’ve never tried it you will love it; it’s smooth and delicious! The nice cream doesn’t freeze well but it’s easy to make if you have your fruit pre-frozen so it’s quick to make fresh every day.
To make this recipe even more fun for you kids cut fruit into shapes; you can even get the kids to help you with that. We cut some hearts and stars from kiwi slices using mini cookie cutters and added them to the parfaits.
You can make most of this ahead. I always have frozen berries and bananas in the freezer ready so I can make nice cream or smoothies anytime and I make the chia pudding the night before. I usually also make enough chia pudding to last a few days.
These parfaits also make a great breakfast and you can play around with different flavors and make nice cream using other favorites fruits like mango, coconut, pistachios or chocolate.
There’s always milk in our home and drinking milk or adding it to favorite recipes is a great way to get kids the nutrition they need. Milk is a no sugar added beverage with 9 essential nutrients including 8 grams of protein in every 8 ounce glass. Now that’s hard to beat!
Be sure to visit fuertesconleche.com for more nutritions and kid-friendly recipes and to follow Milk Life on Facebook (facebook.com/siempreleche), Twitter and Instagram for delicious inspiration!
Paula studied architecture and now makes a living as a freelance writer,traveler and amateur photographer.She started her writing & publishing career as the editor of Bebé y Mamá, the first parenting magazine in Guatemala.She is the founder of www.GrowingUpBilingual.com and www.365thingsswfl.com and writes articles in Spanish and English for both magazines and the web on travel,food and bicultural and bilingual parenting .
When she is not on a plane or road trip she likes to create recipes inspired in the flavors of her native Guatemala.
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Doesn’t it look tasty. Wish I could have it all.This recipe is little time consuming, but yes we sure can make it. Love the idea that you can make your own shapes for fruits like Kiwi. I am thinking that it should be my part of my snack break also.
What a nice dessert for folks that love chia. I love what you did with the kiwi shapes, I would have never thought of that.
Love chia and milk so this is definitely something I would enjoy to try as a dessert of for breakfast yummy!
My kids won’t eat chia seeds unless they’re hidden. I like to put them in pancake batter because you hardly know they’re there. I’ve tried chia strawberry jelly and didn’t notice it too much. This recipe sounds yummy and slimy at the same time. I can handle it, though.
So pretty, I love the fruit shapes and that its something your kids can contribute to their own snack.
OK how good does this look and sound! I love the idea of adding in the chia and of course the fresh fruit and berries! YUM
This looks so delicious, although it seems a little time consuming, but I would know that better when I try this out. Plus this is so nutritious, a perfect snack I would say.
This is really delicious and nutritious. I will check more of your healthy recipes.
That is just yummy. A healthy and tasty snack idea, I must try this and my son would love it for sure.
This looks amazing and like something I’d love to make for me and my family! I love anything that’s like a parfait and uses fresh fruit and berries!
It looks tasty and pretty. I think it is healthy too because of fruits and milk. Will try this soon. Thanks for sharing.
Honestly, I wonder how Chia seeds taste like. Anyways, my taste buds are kind of adventurous. Well, the recipe looks nutritious and delicious. I’m gonna try this.
IMO you just can’t be a good parfait as an afternoon pick me up. I’ve not tried one like this before but it looks absolutely delicious so I want to give it a go myself.
The creams looks so healthy and refreshing. The berries and coconut make it even yummier.I’d just want it so cold during a hot sunny day.
This is something healthy I could definitely use adding to my diet. I have to find good ways to introduce more healthy items into it, and this is something which looks delicious.
Those look amazing! I think I could totally get my kids to try these and they would be a great start to any morning!