I love Sunday mornings. The world has a little more patience. No mad dashing or darting anywhere. Plus, they flow quite nicely into lazy Sunday afternoons. So I thought I’d invite you over for breakfast today.

First, let’s handle the necessities. Coffee. If you like yours black, more power to you. If you are a 22-year-old girl (or just feeling a bit naughty this morning)… round-up this cast of pantry characters.

Ghiradelli Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. A favorite mug. Truvia natural sweetener.

Don’t have any cocoa powder? Buy some. No need to run out now, I have plenty for both of us, but next time you’re at the store make sure it’s in the cart. It blends into smoothies, yogurt, and homemade peanutbutter amazingly well. It also makes mean brownies.

You only need about a tablespoon for the perfect cup of decadence. But before anyone starts accusing me of spooning them decadence as bikini season continues creeping up, read about the health benefits of unsweetened cocoa here (there are many).

Now that our coffee has cleared the cobwebs and our brains are starting to behave like normal adults… let’s eat!

A brown rice-cereal-fruit-parfait…mixture? I’m still working on a name so, in the meantime, let’s back track to the moment where I decided brown rice should be a sweet breakfast item.

If you cook your brown rice like I do (1 cup dry rice, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 cup water) you really get to see what a perfect venue this food is for any sort of dish, not just savory dinners. It has such nice weight to it that throwing it in with milk or yogurt works just as well as making pineapple-fried-rice or pilaf.

Give it a try! It is just rice you know.

Because it’s Sunday, it’s worth a little extra time to find the perfect milkshake cup. If we’re having chocolate coffee (perhaps I should just call it a mocha?) and parfait, the cup is necessary.

1/2 cup cooked brown rice, a dash of slivered almonds, 1 tablespoon of pomegranate seeds,

all topped off with some enormous blueberries, a drizzle of honey, and a nice glug of almond milk.

It’s satisfying in every way. Its creamy. Its crunchy. Its bursting with tart berries, sweetened with a touch of honey. And at just about 360 calories, I dare say it’s perfect.

The only thing that could make it any better is to dash off, coffee and parfait in hand, and nestle right back under the covers to enjoy it with your favorite Sunday magazine… which is exactly where I’m heading

Happy Sunday! How is everyone else spending their morning?