Banana Chia Cardamom Cereal 

I know, I know, another breakfast recipe?! What can I say, I love breakfast. It’s the reason I bound out of bed each morning.

Weather wise, New England is always a crap-shoot. Last night we had epic winds that gave me heart palps. Sleet pummeling the windows, a dusting of snow, changing to an onslaught of rain. Lordy lordy. For many in the southern parts of the states you have been basking in spring like weather for weeks, if not months. Up north we are oscillating between spring/winter/spring. This is confusing for the perennials that were brave enough to bloom. For the robins that ventured back up to the shire. It’s confusing for me, my wardrobe, and my thermostat. 

Breakfast wise, I gravitate towards less grains come April. ‘Tis the season for a more austere approach to diet. Spring is dominated by earthier qualities: heavy, slow, sticky, cold, dense, cloudy…did I already say dense and heavy? Rather than leaning into those wintertime breakfasts like oatmeal, pancakes, fruit crisps, (yes I eat apple crisp for breakfast) quiche, or noodle kugel, I go the chia route. 

What makes this recipe a smidge different is that I am incorporating the banana, which offers a bit more heft to the chia cereal seeing as how we are still getting those weird arctic blasts. Bananas are a funny food in Ayurveda. They do not combine super well with many foods and are best eaten with other fruits or alone. As a student I was crestfallen when I found out that bananas and milk are a big Ayurvedic no-no. There went my banana kefir I was absolutely hooked on, sigh. However, I found a way in which bananas can be worked into a breakfast (besides fruit salad) that is amenable to the digestive system, or at least mine. 

Energetically, bananas are classified as sweet, astringent and sour. The hot & sour piece is the reason why bananas and milk are contrary. Milk is sweet and cooling and when the two are combined it becomes a hot mess energetically, too diametrically opposed. 

When ripe, bananas are vata pacifying and can relieve constipation.

When under ripe bananas are astringent, rather than sweet, and best for balancing pitta and kapha…oh, and they help manage diarrhea. 

Cardamom is an acquired taste, and I adore it. Energetic wise, cardamom is sweet and pungent, and fires up the system. Cardamom increases pitta (which I always seem to forget, sorry world that I have been a tyrant as I sip my cardamom medicated water) and balances vata and kapha. This floral spice helps with absorption of nutrients AND

• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Colds
• Cough
• Indigestion
• Loss of Taste
• Excess mucus in the lungs and stomach

Are you picking up what I’m throwing out? Good. Cardamom is a heavy hitter in the spring when allergies, mucus, and congestion abound. Now let’s make some breakfast. 

Banana Chia Cardamom Cereal 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Chia seeds

1 Tbsp Coconut – shredded, unsweetened

1 Tbsp Raisins

¼ tsp Cardamom – ground

½ – 1 tsp Cinnamon – ground

Pinch of pink salt

¾ cup water (add more if you prefer a thinner cereal)

1 small mashed banana – very ripe, with spots! 

Method:

Add chia, coconut, raisins, spices and salt to a small bowl, or mason jar if storing overnight. Add water, stir to combine. Allow the mixture to sit for a minute or two. The seeds on top will start to form a crust. Stir again, making sure all the chia seeds are submerged in liquid. Let sit for an hour, stirring occasionally, or even overnight in the fridge. Once the seeds have absorbed the water, fold in the mashed banana, using the tines of a fork to break up any chunks. Enjoy as is, or top with a drizzle of raw honey, a few slices of bananas, and a dash of cardamom.

Toodles!