Parfait, meaning perfect in French, is originally a frozen dessert that dates back to as early as the 1800s. And although some of us enjoy dessert for breakfast (I know I eat chocolate cake for breakfast sometimes – if it’s there, you gotta eat it), our version of a parfait consists of milk, yogurt, fruit, oatmeal, granola, and optionally, peanut butter and chocolate sprinkles.

A perfectly healthy breakfast food.

Peanut butter? We’ll just say it’s healthy for its protein.

Chocolate sprinkles? It’s dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is healthy, right?

The key to this parfait is to make it the night or two nights before so the granola and oatmeal have had a chance to soak in the milk, allowing you to enjoy it soft the next morning. The other steps involve basically layering the different ingredients in medium-sized jars and then storing in the fridge overnight. This recipe is a no-brainer and takes no time at all (except for the part where your patience is tested overnight). Let’s get started!

Fruits – I’m using some fresh bananas and mangoes, just because I have them on hand, but other fruits like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pineapples, or peaches would work great.

Yogurt – Plain yogurt will do, but you can use strawberry-, vanilla-, blueberry-, pineapple-flavored yogurt for a little extra flavor.

Oatmeal and Granola – I’m using a mix of whole-wheat oatmeal and granola with nuts and fruits.

Milk – I’m using whole milk, but you can substitute with low fat or skim, almond, or other nut milk.

Extras (Peanut Butter and Chocolate Sprinkles) – These are of course optional, but since I’ve added no extra sugar or salt to this parfait, I like to throw in some chocolate sprinkles!

An important step to remember is to layer your fruit first right to the bottom of the jar so a fruit like banana that turns black quickly will be protected from the outside air and you won’t have to eat black bananas in the morning.

Here’s how I layered mine:

Layer 1 – Fruit
Layer 2 – Granola and Oatmeal
Layer 3 – Milk
Layer 4 – Yogurt
Layer 5 – Peanut butter
Layer 6 – Chocolate Sprinkles

The next important step to remember the next morning is to add a little more milk to make it easy to stir all the ingredients together and to make for a perfect consistency.

A little recap: dark chocolate is good for you.

INGREDIENTS
Banana
Mango
Plain Yogurt
Granola
Oatmeal
Peanut Butter (Optional)
Chocolate Sprinkles (Optional)

This breakfast recipe can, too, be great for those late-night cravings. Instead of reaching for a bag of chips, why not this perfectly nutritious parfait? We guarantee satiation. It’s a fun recipe to make with kids as well – teaches them to use their hands to feel and know fresh and whole ingredients. It feels great to use ingredients that are natural and to prepare your own food so you know exactly what’s going into your bodies. You are what you eat, right?