Banana, almond & pecan breakfast parfait

Going back to school or work after the holidays is a very hard thing to do, for some reason Christmas holidays pass more quickly than any other holiday and it sometimes seems impossible to find the motivation to complete your everyday tasks. One routine I find hard to get back to is breakfast. During the holiday is all about late morning breakfasts, pancakes and comfort food, so when I am back to my 15 minute breakfast routine I need to make sure that something very special is waiting for me in the fridge. This year I came up with this “indulgent yet not so bad for you” breakfast parfait, made with maple caramelized almonds, Greek yoghurt and roasted bananas. It’s super easy to put together and can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge, just make sure you add the almonds and banana slices on top right before serving to have an extra crunch.

Almond, maple & banana breakfast parfait

For the almonds:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole almons
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbsp butter

Instructions:

1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside
2. Heat the butter and sugar in a medium pan over medium heat.
3. When the mixture is boiling, add in the almonds and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the “caramel” is reduced and looks more like a paste than a syrup.
4. Transfer to the baking tray and set aside to cool completely.

For the yoghurt:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Greek yoghurt
• 1 vanill bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Maple syrup to taste (optional)

Instructions:

1. Scrape the vanilla bean and combine the seeds with the yoghurt.
2. Sweeten with maple syrup if you wish to.
3. Set aside.

For the Bananas:

Ingredients:

• 4 bananas
• 1 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 pinch cinnamon.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 C and prepare a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
2. Slice the bananas in two lengthwise and place them on the baking tray.
3. In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over the bananas.
4. Bake for 5 minutes or until the sugar on top looks golden.

Assembling

Ingredients:

• 1  (sliced) banana for decoration

Instructions:

1. Prepare 4 small glasses or jars.
2. Roughly chop 3/4 of the almonds.
3. Place 1/2 of a caramelised banana on the bottom of each glass.
4. Add 2 tbsp of yoghurt the sprinkle some chopped almonds over the top.
5. Add the other half of the caramelized bananas and top with more yoghurt, refrigerate overnight if you wish to.
6. Right before serving, decorate with chopped and whole almonds, and fresh slices of banana.