Good morning!

I am one of those people who doesn’t have time to eat breakfast at home before I leave for work. If I’m working out in the morning, I gobble a quick muffin, energy bite, or bar before I exercise, but my main breakfast is usually consumed at my desk (with coffee, obv) as I settle into my work day. One of my go to weekday breakfasts are yogurt bowls, which I prep ahead of time on Sunday nights to save time later in the week. I recently had a few readers ask what I like to stack my yogurt bowls with, and I will say that lately I am obsessed with caramelizing apples for my morning eats.

Here’s how I do it:

Caramelized Apples

Ingredients

• 4 apples, cored and cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Coconut oil cooking spray

Directions

1. Spray a medium to large sized skillet with coconut oil cooking spray, and heat to medium heat.
2. Drop the cut up apple pieces into the skillet, and saute for one minute.
3. Add the maple syrup, coconut sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
4. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the syrup thickens, about 8-10 minutes.

If you don’t like yogurt but want to give it another shot, adding these caramelized apples to a cup of plain Greek yogurt is a great way to get acclimated to the taste. Store bought yogurt with fruit on the bottom often is chock full of sugar, and even though I use maple syrup and a little coconut sugar to caramelize the apples, I prefer to be in control of the amount of sugar that goes into my food. Sometimes I only caramelize two apples at a time, and then I’ll decrease the amount of maple syrup to 1/4 cup instead. Just depends on how much I’m prepping that week.

In my morning yogurt bowls, I’ll usually scoop 2-3 big spoonfuls of yogurt into a container that travels well, mix in some of the caramelized apples, and add nuts or seeds for a little extra crunch. I like walnuts, slivered almonds, or pecan halves with either chia or flax seed for an extra punch of nutrition.

This breakfast is also a great choice for anyone who usually prefers something sweeter/syrupy like pancakes, french toast, or breakfast pastries and trying to make the switch to healthier morning eats. Any leftover caramelized apples that don’t make it into the yogurt are also yummy as a late night snack or a topping for protein pancakes on the weekends.

Readers, let’s chat! Do you like yogurt? If so, what are your go to yogurt mix-ins? 

My other favorite yogurt bowl combos include:

• Berries with slivered almonds/seeds
• Bananas with cinnamon/walnuts/seeds
• Pineapple on its own

Have an awesome Monday, friends!