Ever since the very beginning of my blogging days with my OG Rainbow JOY recipe, my “Jars of Yumminess” have been a frequent recipe request around these parts. And for good reason (in my humble opinion) — they are bright, colorful, delicious & packed full of fiber, protein and antioxidant fruity goodness.

I also thought it would be a great recipe video to share with you guys because even though the JOY recipes are quite simple, achieving the photo-worthy aesthetic quality and presentation of a true Jar of Yumminess is something I get asked about a lot.

Not only are JOYs fun to bring to events, share with friends and eat for breakfast throughout the week, I think they are also really fun to make. In the video I explain the layering effect, how to combine nutrient-dense superfoods like cacao powder (I use Philosophie superfoods, as you’ll see in the video!), how to layer the fruit so that it keeps the next layer in tact, and of coooourse my own little tips & tricks for how to add as much chocolate as humanly possible. (Duh!!)

And just to get you extra pumped up about Jars of Yumminess and all they have to offer, here is a walk down memory lane from some of my all-time favorite JOYs (and some of my very first!) on the bloggy…

Now, without further ado, let’s get this video WATCHED ! And, if you haven’t yet, subscribe to my YouTube channel so I can keep making fun videos for you guys! And please, please tell me your suggestions so I can bring you lots more fun recipes & other videos that you want to see!

Also, huuuuge thanks as always to Enjet Media for producing such a fantastic final product. I continue to be amazed by your endless talent. Go team!!

Another behind the scenes shot…

Thoughts on the video?! Thoughts on Jars of Yumminess? Thoughts in chocolate IN YOUR OATS? I want to hear it all! Xox 

Anywho, I’ve gotten a lot of requests for new JOY recipes, and I couldn’t be more game! I’ve missed these delicious little gems.

The thing about JOYs is that, well, they’re a lot of oats. I use about a cup and a half of dry oats to make a full JOY because the aesthetic effect of the quadruple layering is just way too fun to pass up. Because of the amount, you will probably end up with a nice jar of leftover oats that will last you for several days. And that’s pretty awesome, because oats keep very well in the refrigerator and are the perfect go-to breakfast, snack or even dessert.

This recipe is super healthy because there are not three, four, or even five or six superfoods packed into it – there are seven! Boy, oh boy is this nifty little jar bursting with nutrients and deliciousness. (What is a superfood?  By dictionary definition, it is a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being.)

The superfoods in these JOY are: spirulina, acai, cacao, cinnamon, berries, almonds, and of course oats.

Note: if you don’t have some of these foods in your pantry, you can easily omit them and create a very similar recipe without them. If you’re wondering where to find superfoods, check out my Grocery List post for a detailed guide.

Ingredients:

–       1 ½ cup oats (I use a gluten-free brand)

–        1 teaspoon spirulina

–       1 handful spinach

–       2 teaspoons acai powder

–       3 fresh or frozen strawberries

–       2 teaspoons cinnamon

–       1 tablespoon cacao powder

–       1 overly ripe banana

–       OPTIONAL: granola or coconut shreds or nuts on top. I used a homemade trail mix with coconut shreds, goji berries, golden raisins and pumpkin seeds.

Directions:

1. Boil the oats in water until the water is fully soaked in. For 1.5 cup oats, use about 3 cups of water.
2. Green layer of oats: combine 1/3 cup oats with the spirulina and spinach, and blend on high until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Layer at the bottom of a jar or a glass.
3. Pink layer of oats: combine 1/3 cup oats with the acai powder and strawberries, and blend on high until ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Layer on top of the green layer in jar or glass.
4. Cinnamon layer of oats: combine 1/3 cup oats with cinnamon. You can do this by mixing with a spoon, or if you want the oats to be a creamier and thinner consistency like the blended oats, go ahead and blend these too. Layer on top of pink layer.
5. Chocolate layer of oats: combine 1/3 cup of oats with the cacao powder and almonds, and blend on high until thoroughly mixed. Layer on top of cinnamon layer.
6. Blend the very ripe banana with the leftover oats you have in your pot. This will create a sort of “banana fluff” as I like to call it, and is the perfect topping for your oats. You can also add coconut, walnuts or peanut butter to this fluff if you want to make it even creamier and richer with flavor.
7. Top with any other toppings you would like.

Enjoy!

This recipe was inspired by The Original Rainbow JOY – one of my very first TBV recipes! Think my photography skills have improved a bit?

P.S. A lot of people ask me how long it takes to make a Jar of Yumminess. It depends on how fast you are going, but I like to take my time and make a JOY when I have time to make a more leisurely breakfast. If you aren’t focused on the presentation you could easily make a JOY in about 20 minutes. I prefer to take my time, and I would say I spend about 35-45 minutes preparing a JOY!

This morning’s breakfast was the quintessential autumn in a jar. (Does anyone else ever struggle to decide whether to call this season fall or autumn? Fall is more common, but I’m always afraid people are going to think I’m writing about the act of falling… and the word autumn is so pretty!)

This recipe reminded me of when I was little when my family and I used to go to a ranch right outside of Sacramento called Apple Hill every fall to ride hayrides, pick apples and check out the Christmas trees. And drink the best apple cider there ever was. It’s a staple in the Sacramento area, and I have such pleasant memories of going there all bundled up right when the weather started to change.

When I think of Apple Hill, the memory of two aromas fill my nose: apples + cinnamon. This morning, I covered my apple slices in cinnamon and honey before I covered them with cinnamon oatmeal (mixed with a super ripe banana). May I tell you… it was so good! And this is the perfect time of year for it. 

P.S. with the changing season, its time to start really thinking about which fruits are best in the fall/winter, and sadly time to say goodbye to all of those yummy summer fruits. I was heartbroken when fresh figs started being sold fewer and further between around here (now I can’t find them at all!) and my yummy blackberries, strawberries and blueberries started becoming less plump and juicy and a little more tart. Apples are at their peak right now, so stock up! They are bigger, juicier and sweeter than ever. Pears are great at this time of year. Same with grapefruit and oranges. And on a veggie note: squash, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts are all at their peak. We have been LIVING on Brussels Sprouts at my apartment this week.

Ingredients:

–       ½ sliced apple

–       2 dates

–       1 T honey

–       2 T cinnamon

–       ½ cup oats

–       1 extremely ripe banana

Directions:

1. Boil the oats in water over a medium-high heat until they are fully boiled and the water is soaked through.
2. Slice the apple into small cubes, and cover it in 1 T cinnamon. Put them at the bottom of a mason jar or bowl, and then cover in honey.
3. Top the apple cubes with two sliced dates.
4. Once the oats are boiled, mash in the overly ripe banana. Once the flavors combine, this will taste like baked banana oats. So good. Then mix in the cinnamon.
5. Pour the oats over the apples and dates. Top with a bit of granola if you’d like, or eat as is! I also topped mine with a fun cinnamon stick, to make it even more seasonal and awesome.

Nutrition Information:

That’s right. Banana walnut cookie dough protein fluff. Layered on top of cinnamon oats, cacao oats, and a mighty layer of chunky strawberry oats. With some banana slices, almond butter, raisins and cacao nibs smooshed in there I’d say it sounds like a jar descended from the breakfast gods.

Tasted like one, too

And since I haven’t given a life update in awhile, I thought it would be fun to tell you about a typical day in NYC for me. I wake up, respond to emails (love hearing from you guys), create a delicious breakfast (healthiest meal of the day!), take some photos of it (like the dorky food blogger that I am), write a blog post if I have time, go to yoga (we are still working on the yoga tab on TBV! Should be up very soon), shower and make lunch (usually a yummy salad), go to a café and write the day away (working on my novel), spend the evening with my amazing roomie (who also happens to be my life long best friend) or meet up with friends for a well deserved drink! And two nights a week I have class (getting my creative writing MFA).

It’s busy, and there’s lots of writing, and that’s exactly the way I like it. I feel so very fortunate to be in New York City living my dream.

Ingredients:

Oats:

–       1 cup rolled oats (I use gluten-free)

–       1 T cacao powder

–       5 fresh strawberries

–       2 tsp cinnamon

Banana Walnut Protein Fluff:

–       1 very ripe banana

–       1 handful of walnuts

–       2 tsp vanilla extract

–       1 T almond butter

Toppings:

–       1 T cacao nibs

–       1 T almond butter 

Directions:

1. Boil the oats in 2 cups of water until the water is fully soaked in.
2. While the oats are boiling, blend the banana, walnuts, vanilla extract and almond butter until smooth. Set aside in a glass for now.
3. Once the oats are boiled, remove 1/3 cup and mix it with a dash of cinnamon. Layer it at the bottom of your jar or glass.
4. Remove another 1/3 cup and mix it with 1 T cacao powder until your oats are chocolatey. Add more cacao if you want them even creamier. Layer on top of the cinnamon oats.
5. Pour the rest of the oats into a blender (or use a handheld blender), and blend with the strawberries. You can blend until smooth, but I like to blend just a little bit so that some of the strawberries remain whole or chunky and then you have chunky strawberry oats. Layer on top of the chocolate oats.
6. Top the strawberry oats with the banana walnut cookie dough protein fluff, and then the rest of your toppings.

Enjoy!

ALSO… because of yesterday’s Vegan Grocery List post, I wanted to give you something fun to make this weekend with your new grocery goodies.

While I have always been a sucker for the delicious blend of tangy berries with sweet, gooey chocolate… I have to admit, when I was a kid I didn’t always spring for the berry + chocolate combo on the dessert table. I usually picked desserts that were either entirely chocolate, chocolate + mint or chocolate + peanut butter. I left the berries right on out.

But as I grew older and healthful eating became such a priority in my life, a chocolate dipped strawberry seemed like the greatest negotiation for a dessert that I could find. You have your fruit and healthy carbs covered, and you have the chocolate that makes a dessert necessary covered… so I started gravitating toward those berry + chocolate combos.

It wasn’t until I got even more invested in the healthful eating movement and eventually into veganism that I realized even those chocolate dipped strawberry treats were full of preservatives, fake sugars and additives that I didn’t want in my body. I experimented with vegan chocolate dipped strawberries, and let me tell you, they are GOOD – but I decided it was about time I made a super healthy, super yummy breakfast out of the two.

And then… voila. The Strawberries Dipped in Chocolate JOY was born. It’s simple… oats + raw cacao powder + more oats + strawberries + coconut yogurt + bananas, annnddd because I’m fancy like that, some cacao nibs & chia seeds (optional).

P.S. When I posted this photo on Instagram the other day, this awesome little Q&A a Day journal got just as much action as the breakfast shot itself. It’s a pretty amazing idea!

Ingredients:

–       1 cup oats

–       6 fresh strawberries

–       1 banana

–       ¼ cup cacao powder

–       ¼ cup coconut yogurt

–       OPTIONAL: sprinkle of cacao nibs & sprinkle of chia seeds

–       1 strawberry for garnish

Directions:

1. Boil the oats in water until they are fully boiled.
2. While the oats are boiling, slice the strawberries and banana, and get out your blender.
3. Blend ½ cup of the boiled oats with the 6 strawberries, and layer into the bottom of a mason jar or glass.
4. Layer the coconut yogurt over the strawberry oats, and then layer the sliced banana on top of the coconut yogurt.
5. Blend the other ½ cup of oats with the cacao powder.
6. Layer the chocolate oats on top of the banana.
7. Top with the cacao nibs and sprinkle of chia seeds (or whichever toppings you normally prefer)! Garnish with strawberry.

EnJOY!

Interested in more Jar of Yumminess (JOY) recipes? Visit JOYs on my Recipes page! Have a very happy weekend, beautifuls!

Sushi is great because it has the rice, the seaweed, the veggies, the fish, the spicy mayo, the soy sauce, the wasabi… You get the picture. Explosion in your mouth! So, funny enough, sushi may have been a subconscious inspiration in the creation of my beloved breakfast twists.

The key to my twists is LAYERING – I layer the crap out of those things. Different flavored oats, a variety of fruits & nuts, several smoothie combos, and even some coyo and granola when I’m feeling wild (which is often). And unless you follow me on Instagram, you’re probably thinking, “what the heck are flavored oats? Those sound processed and peculiar.” Well, think again. My flavored oats are simply fresh fruit blended with boiled oats.

These layered breakfast treats also have the distinct quality of looking awesome. Unless you’re a food blogger like me and you live for snapping a good quality pic of your meals, you might not necessarily care about this aspect. But I have a proposal for you: when your food looks pretty, you appreciate it more. When you appreciate your food, you are more aware of what you are putting into your body. When you’re aware of what you’re feeding yourself, you are a more balanced eater throughout the day. More balanced eater = more balanced individual. Needless to say, balanced individuals are usually happier, healthier, lighter and more confident.

So take the initiative to make your food look attractive! You don’t have to spend tons of extra time doing it – but rather than slopping a smoothie in a red solo cup and rushing out the door, carve out an extra 15 minutes to sit and enjoy it out of a nice glass or mug.

Here are the recipes for two of my favorite “Party on the Top, Party on the Bottom” creations:

Tie-dye Swirl Smoothie over Chocolate Oats:

Ingredients:

Green portion:

–       1 cup spinach

–       1 banana

–       ¼ cup blueberries

–       2 tbsps spirulina powder (optional)

–       1/3 cup almond milk

–       3 ice cubes

Pink Portion:

–       5 strawberries

–       5 raspberries

–       5 cherries

–       ½ banana

–       1 tbsp acai powder (optional)

–       1/3 cup almond milk

–       3 ice cubes

Chocolate Oats:

–       ½ cup gluten-free oats

–       2 tbsp raw cacao powder

–       1 spoonful almond butter (optional)

Directions:

1. Boil the oats in water over medium-low heat until the water is fully soaked in. This should take about 10 minutes depending on your stovetop.
2. While the oats boil, prepare the “green portion” of the smoothie. Blend the spinach, banana, blueberries, spirulina, almond milk and ice cubes until smooth. Pour it into a cup for now (I use plastic cups to eliminate the number of dishes I clean at the end.)
3. Rinse out the blender, and then prepare the “pink portion” of the smoothie. Blend the strawberries, raspberries, cherries, banana, acai powder, almond milk and ice cubes. Pour this into a different plastic cup for now.
4. Once the oats are boiled, blend together the oats and the cacao powder. You can either mix it with a spoon, or blend it. My favorite way to do this is use my Bamix (handheld blender) because it doesn’t grind the oats down to granules but it also gets the job done better than a simple spoon. If you are using almond butter in this portion, I would suggest blending over mixing.
5. Once the oats are blended, pour them into the bottom of a jar or glass. Smooth over the top with a spoon to make sure it is a flat surface for the smoothie.
6. Pour the green portion of the smoothie in about a quarter of the way, and then pour in the pink portion. Pour from high above to get the desired “Tie-dye” look. Then pour the rest of the green portion, and then the rest of the pink portion. Since they are of a similar consistency, they should “tie-dye” quite well. If it doesn’t look perfect, don’t stress. It is still an awesome combo of flavors.
7. I garnished mine with a mint leaf for the sake of appearance (balanced eater = balanced individual… remember?!)

Peachy Keen Pairfat topped with Chocolate Avocado Pudding:

Ingredients:

Peach Smoothie:

–       1 peach

–       5 cherries

–       2 dates (optional – only use if you have high-speed blender)

–       ½ cup almond milk

–       1 tbsp raw honey

–       3 ice cubes

Chocolate Avocado Pudding:

–       ½ very ripe avocado

–       2 tbsps raw cacao powder

–       5 walnuts

–       2 dates (optional – only use if you have high-speed blender)

–       1 tbsp raw honey

–       ¼ cup almond milk (optional – depends on consistency you’re going for. This will make it thinner, but if you have a lower speed blender it will help it blend easier.)

Toppings:

–       1 spoonful of coconut shreds

–       1 small handful dry roasted almonds

–       2 cherries

Directions:

1. Blend the peach, cherries, dates, almond milk, honey and ice cubes. Pour into the bottom of a glass or jar.
2. Blend the avocado, cacao powder, walnuts, dates, honey & (optional) almond milk. Scoop it out with a spoon and layer on top of the smoothie until desired aesthetic has been reached.
3. Top with coconut shreds, almonds and cherries.

Voila! Dig in. These are both breakfast treats meant to be enjoyed with a spoon. There you have it – your double party. And you know what they say… ain’t no party like a breakfast party! (Sorry, I’m a dork. But you’ll be saying the same thing once you make them!)

But just because this breakfast concoction isn’t a cocktail doesn’t mean it is remotely boring – the maca gives it a flavorful zing, and the pairing of the carrots, bananas and figs is so creamy and thick it practically tastes like a pudding. And we already know the cherry-strawberry oats on the bottom are a given in the taste department.

This JOY will forever be special in my book because a) it was the first meal I made in my new apartment in New York, and b) it was the first meal I made with my brand new Vitamix. I made this on Saturday morning – my mom had flown back to California the evening before, and my best friend who I’m living with here wasn’t arriving for another week and a half … so I definitely needed to cook/eat something that was going to make me feel a little more at home. And this was the perfect thing.

I am seriously amazed at how great the Vitamix works. If you have any specific questions about it I would be happy to answer them, as I was on a long and hard search for the perfect blender for smoothies, juices, soups and nut butters. I am VERY happy with the one I ended up with.

I went so crazy with this JOY I basically made it way too large to finish in one sitting – but it was fun to go back and pick at it throughout the rest of the day. Especially because it was so refreshing and it was blazing hot in the city. Perfect for any summer morning!

Ingredients:

Strawberry-Cherry Oats:

–          5 strawberries

–          8 dark red cherries, pitted

–          ½ cup oats

–          1 cup water

Smoothie:

–          1 large organic carrot

–          1.5 very ripe bananas

–          2 large dried Calimyma figs (bought mine at Trader Joes!)

–          2 teaspoons maca (a little bit goes a long way)

–          ½ cup almond milk

Toppings:

–          2 sliced strawberries

–          4 blackberries

–          4 crushed walnuts

Directions:

1. Boil the oats in water on medium-low heat until the water is fully soaked in. This should take about 10 minutes, depending on your stovetop.
2. Once the oats are boiled, blend them with the strawberries and cherries.
3. Pour the oats into the bottom of your jar (or whatever you are using to serve this JOY!)
4. Blend the carrot, bananas, figs, maca and almond milk until fully blended. The consistency should be smooth and creamy. On a fluke I didn’t have ice cubes on hand when I made this, and I actually really enjoyed with without them. Made it more of a pudding consistency that I really enjoyed! If it’s too thick for you, add some ice cubes or water.
5. Pour the smoothie over the oats.
6. Top with sliced strawberries, blackberries & walnuts. If you’re feeling wild you can make a real treat out of this and drizzle with some raw honey or agave.
7. Dig in!

It’s funny because I’m really not much of a perfectionist when it comes to most things in life, but when it involves the creative part of the mind, I’m all in. And I mean I’m one of those people who gets so focused on a project I can hardly hold a conversation until I’ve executed it. That’s how I feel about my Jars of Yumminess (JOYs). That’s also why they are the perfect breakfast food for me to make, because I can take my time mixing and blending and experimenting and positioning and creating until everything looks and tastes just as I’d imagined it in my head.

That being said, certain JOYs can only be made when I have the time to dedicate to them. Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with a simple bowl of oats when life gets in the way. (Darn life!! Always taking up so much time.) This is a JOY I make when I have that extra time. And who doesn’t LOVE waking up in the morning and realizing you have hours and hours to spend doing whatever the hell you want? God, that’s got to be one of the best feelings on earth.

This JOY doesn’t take hours and hours, more like one hour or so. Maybe you should make yourself a mini green smoothie in the mean time because you might start to get a little hungry playing around with all of these yummy ingredients!

I like to call this the OG Rainbow JOY, because it was one of the first of its kind that I made…. And thus began my ardent love affair with layered, fruity, flavor-bursting blended oats. You ready? Here it is:

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

–       2 cups of organic, gluten-free oats

–       2 ripe bananas

–       ½ cup kale

–       ½ kiwi

–       ¼ avocado

–       5 cherries

–       5 strawberries

–       2 tablespoons raw cacao powder

–       1 tablespoon organic almond butter

–       1 tablespoon chocolate protein powder (I use Vega One)

–       Granola of choice (I use Whole Foods’ chia ginger superfood cereal)

–       Sprinkle of coconut shreds

–       Handful of blueberries

–       Extra sliced banana and berries for layering purposes. Refer to step 3 in the directions for more information on this!

• Important to have one medium sized mason jar for all JOYs.

Directions:

1. Boil the oats in water until the water is soaked in. Should be about 10 minutes with this amount.
2. Cinnamon Banana layer of oats: Blend ½ cup boiled oats with ½ banana and sprinkle in cinnamon. Layer this mixture at the bottom of the jar.
3. Green layer of oats: Blend ½ cup boiled oats with the kale, kiwi and avocado. Layer this mixture on top of the Cinnamon Banana oats. (If you are having trouble layering and you feel as if the oats are soaking into one another, you can put a “barrier” between them of sliced bananas or berries. I often do this, and the extra fruit is a great little treat when you’re eating the finished product!)
4. Red layer of oats: Blend ½ cup of oats with strawberries and cherries, and layer mixture on top of the green oats or the “fruit barrier” you’ve created.
5. Chocolate layer of oats: Blend ½ cup of oats with cacao powder, almond butter and chocolate protein powder. Layer on top of red oats or fruit barrier.
6. Top with granola, coconut shreds, and blueberries.
7. Snap a photo of that thing because you’ve just worked your hungry little butt off to make it look pretty.

Voila! Enjoy with a friend or eat the whole damn thing if you so desire. I have been known to do either or, depending on how generous I’m feeling. You can also eat until you’re full and save the rest for a snack later in the day or for the next morning… the flavors soak in and it gets even better!!!