A lot of my recipe inspiration comes from Instagram, which isn’t surprising given that I spend roughly 98.75% of my time there. This cherry almond chia jar is a perfect example.

I saw a recipe for a cherry chia overnight oats breakfast jar and I decided to adapt it. The original recipe called for making a smoothie with a 1/2 cup of cherries and some maple syrup. I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried blending fruit, but that combination is basically just sugar water.

For my jar, I added yogurt to the smoothie to give it a thicker consistency and balance out the sweetness. I used the original recipe for overnight oats, though, and it turned out really well.

So I guess the lesson here is to halfway follow a recipe and then throw the other half out the window. It’s always worked for me.

In other news, I recently bought a ceramic teapot with a built in loose leaf tea strainer and it is LIFE CHANGING. I’m not exaggerating. There’s something very soothing about being able to have a small teapot on my desk in the morning and to casually refill my mug with tea.

The tea comes from a local company, Conscious Apothecary. I’d highly recommend it even if you don’t live in the St. Louis area. I bought the “Moon” tea with mugwort, meadowsweet, cardamom (because I’m obsessed), and tulsi, and it’s fragrant, slightly sweet, and calming.

In semi-related news, I’m very excited because I recently booked a trip to L.A. I’ve been to Santa Barbara before but I’ve never been to L.A. or the rest of southern California. I’m thinking about road tripping and visiting some small towns. Ojai is at the top of my list.

Even though I’m partly going to L.A. to see the sights, I’m mostly going to eat the food. I want to go to Nancy Silverton’s restaurant and to some other L.A. staples. But I also want to check out some new establishments. I just read this article about the L.A. dining scene, which is apparently on the rise. Restaurants in far corners of the city are drawing crowds and chefs are becoming more inventive with ingredients.

Here’s a song that I’ve been jamming out to lately. It comes to you care of my younger sister, who just came home from college and shared a bunch of new music with me.

Cherry Almond Chia Breakfast Jar (from me, to you)

Ingredients

for the overnight oats:
4 tbsp rolled oats
1 tbsp chia seeds
100 ml unsweetened almond milk

for the cherry smoothie:
1/2 cup cherries
1 tsp maple syrup
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
sliced almonds, granola, cherries for topping

Directions 

To make the overnight oats, combine the rolled oats, chia seeds, and almond milk in a jar and mix well. Seal or cover and let it rest overnight in the fridge.

In the morning, make the smoothie. Blend the cherries, maple syrup, yogurt, and almond milk in a blender on high until smooth. Pour on top of the oats and garnish with sliced almonds, granola, and cherries. Enjoy!