I’m not really sure what made me interested in healthy food. I’m not referring to vegetarian food only (you can read about why I decided to not eat meat here) since vegetarian food can very well be unhealthy as well. For example, I spent a whole year in college eating a diet of fries, pasta and veggie dogs. I was also sick most of that year, catching every single bug that was going around and my mental state was also deplorable. It’s not like I don’t ever eat fries or pasta these days, but the occasions are very rare. I think that my desire to eat clean stuff (raw vegetarian food for example) came from my urge to have some kind of control over my body. Let me explain: according to allopathic medicine, the body is doing it’s own thing. I went to a doctor a few years ago who told me: “It’s normal to have some pain in your back, you’re getting old.” I was 25. So you get old, you have some bad genes, the environment is polluted, you’re stressed, therefore the body will get sick and do it’s own thing that you cannot really control unless you take some pills that may help you a bit in the beginning but in the long run they fuck you up even more…It’s life, get used to it and get out of my office.
Well, I’m not the kind of person who would fall for this. I’m a little bit of a control freak and a nerd – terrible combination in a life partner. So I started doing my own research, trying to come to terms with my body and have some kind of control over my life and the way I feel. There are other things I do besides eating (mostly) healthy food, like yoga and meditation (I’ll write about those in another post). Does this lifestyle work? I think so, at least for now. I mean, how would I know for sure? I can only say that I am rarely sick (I was a very sickly kid and teenager, nowadays I rarely get the flu), if I feel down or tired it is because I messed up somewhere, like I either didn’t sleep enough, I skipped my yoga practice, I didn’t meditate or I ate pizza late at night. If I had a clone, I could maybe do a test and ask her to eat crappy food, never exercise, watch Transformers 11 times, play video games and smoke hashish, then I would make a comparison between the way we look and feel. Poor clone.
The idea is that I am trying to nurture my body so that I’m not completely in the hands of The Fates. In ancient Greek mythology, the three Fates (Μοῖραι) are the ones who control the life of mortals and the life of gods too! Even Zeus, the father of gods and ruler of Olympus doesn’t have complete control over The Fates. So I am trying to tame them by making them an offering of flowers and a delicious breakfast parfait, which is made with coconut yogurt, overnight oats and fruits. I hope they accept them and keep us all in good health for many years to come.
- 2 400ml organic, BPA-free coconut milk cans
- 1 Tbsp powdered probiotics
- 1 cup steel cut oats, soaked overnight
- ½ cup cubed fresh mango
- ½ cup goji berries, soaked for 20 minutes
- ¼ cup green apple, cubed
- raw pistachios and pumpkin seeds for garnish
- Place the coconut milk cans in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- For a thicker, Greek style yogurt consistency, scoop the cream out of the cans and transfer into a jar or any other container, leaving the coconut water out (you can use the water for smoothies, soups , etc. up to one day later if you refrigerate it).
- Add the powdered probiotics to the coconut cream and stir well. Cover the container loosely.
- Heat your oven to 85˚F (30˚C). Turn the oven off and put the coconut cream contained inside. Leave for 12 hours.
- Put the contained in the fridge and leave for another one hour minimum. You can also eat it right away but it will be too soft to make a parfait with.
- Add the chilled coconut yogurt, soaked steel cut oats, mango cubes, apple cubed and goji berries in layers.
- Garnish with pistachios and pumpkin seeds.
- Serve for breakfast or as a snack during the day.
This colourful parfait is pretty much the healthiest thing you can have in the morning. I love mornings but I’m not necessarily a morning person, meaning I’m usually not very energetic in the morning. For example, yoga in the morning (especially a fast paced practice such as Ashtanga) is quite a challenge for me. Also, I cannot have a heavy breakfast because my body is not prepared for digesting dense foods. I usually crave liquids in the morning, like a smoothie, green juice, lemonade or simply warm water. So, what I usually do is I have a juice or lemonade when I wake up and I have this parfait a little bit later, in two hours or so. I eat about 4, 5 times throughout the day, small meals. It works best for me.
This parfait has pretty much everything you would want in your breakfast from a nutrition point of view. It’s got the probiotics, the antioxidants (from goji berries), lots of vitamins from all the fruits, healthy fats from the coconut yogurt, fiber and minerals from the soaked steel cut oats. The Fates would be silly to not accept my offering. Watch how I get struck by lightning next time I take a shower.
How do you tame The Fates? What do you do to keep healthy?
Καλή όρεξη! Bon appetit!
How lovely !! These parfaits look so delicious. A perfect summer treat, or as you mentioned the perfect breakfast.
It’s true, they’re especially good on a summer day after they’re refrigerated for a bit – very refreshing. Merci pour le commentaire
Which brands of coconut milk are BHA-free?
Hi. I use Native Forest Organic Coconut Milk. If you are in Toronto you can easily find it – there’s a grocery store in the Manulife Center I always buy it from. Outside of Toronto I’m not sure but you can also order it from Amazon. I hope that helps.