A Food Blogger’s Superfood Secret to a Hosting a Very Chill Weekend Brunch

Getting your friends to your place on a Saturday or Sunday morning for an afternoon brunch sounds like the best plan ever. But let’s face it: Spending hours in the kitchen whipping up breakfast for guests is the complete opposite of what you want to do after a long work week.

The answer? Set up a DIY brunch bar, of course. You can make it super-customizable so that all of your friends, no matter what their food sensitivities are, can partake.

Founder of Kale & Caramel and whole-foods-centric recipe developer Lily Diamond hosted brunch at Well+Good’s latest retreat in Austin, Texas, and has the perfect party-made-easy dish in mind: DIY chia pudding parfaits in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and green tea. With this brilliant layout, your guests can easily tweak the flavors and colorful mix-ins to their liking.

“Visually, you can elevate a simple breakfast to a work of art with naturally gorgeous colors and textures,” Diamond says. All you need are bowls, several superfood toppings like anti-inflammatory turmeric or antioxidant-rich matcha, and LACTAID®—100 percent real milk, just without the lactose, and Diamond’s secret for a creamy, dreamy pudding base. It’s so easy you won’t think twice about sending out invites to everyone you know, including your friends who are sensitive to lactose.

Watch the video above to see the brunch hack in action, and scroll down for the full recipe.

Vanilla, Chocolate, Matcha, or Strawberry Chia Seed Pudding

Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients
1 cup LACTAID® Whole Milk (or LACTAID® Chocolate Milk, for chocolate chia)
⅓ cup chia seeds (white chia if possible)
1 Tbsp honey or maple (omit if using LACTAID® Chocolate Milk)
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch sea salt
Optional Matcha or strawberry powder (from 1⅓ cup freeze-dried strawberries, crushed into powder)

Optional toppings
Mixed berries, banana, or kiwi
Cacao nibs
Raw walnuts, pecans, or pistachios
Sesame seeds
Tahini, almond butter, or peanut butter
Unsweetened coconut flakes
Ground turmeric, cinnamon, or cardamom

1. For vanilla chia, mix together all ingredients in a bowl, whisking to ensure no clumps of chia form. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

2. For matcha chia, add matcha powder and 1 tablespoon of milk to a bowl, and whisk vigorously to blend, eliminating all matcha clumps. Add remaining ingredients and continue whisking to ensure no clumps of chia form. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

3. For strawberry chia, use a mortar and pestle or blender to pulverize the freeze-dried strawberries. Add strawberry powder and 1 tablespoon of Lactaid to a bowl, and whisk vigorously to blend, eliminating all clumps. Add remaining ingredients and continue whisking to ensure no clumps of chia form. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

4. For chocolate chia, follow recipe for vanilla, using LACTAID® Chocolate Milk instead of LACTAID® Whole Milk and omitting the honey or maple syrup.

In partnership with LACTAID®