Healthy Chia Seed Pudding//New Blog Name

Today I'll be sharing a couple of things with you and one of them is a delicious recipe for chia seed pudding! Yes, you heard me right, chia seed!

You are probably thinking this, right?

Isn't this little guy adorable?! Let's eat it!

Yes, the chia pet that we grew up loving is indeed made up of the SAME chia seed that I'll be showing you how to turn into a delicious pudding. Salvia Hispanica is a little gem of a seed from Mexico/Guatemala, and it's a fiber/good fats power house! It's also a really great ingredient to keep around because of it's ability to turn into a gel, which can be substituted for fat in some recipes and can act as a thickener. I'll mix up some chia seeds and water to get the right consistency when I make protein bars and want to skip adding any extra stuff like syrup.

On to the recipe, which I can't take credit for because the amazing Gina @Skinnytaste is where I found it! Find the original recipe, here. I LOVE YOU, GINA!

Ingredients:
1 cup Almond Milk (I used original, but you can use the unsweetened vanilla variety as well.)
2 tbs of Chia Seeds

I'm really on a 2 ingredient kick, aren't I? Ok, so this is what we do!

Ok, so take the milk and chia seeds and mix them together. Make sure that you thoroughly mix them together because if you don't the chia seeds will just clump together at the bottom of the milk and you won't get the pudding consistency that we are looking for. I mixed mine with a spoon, let them sit for a few minutes and then gave them a good few shakes, which is why my container is a hot chia seed mess!

Once you've made sure that your seeds and milk are all shook up stick it in the fridge and let it sit for at least 3-4 hours or better yet, OVERNIGHT! It was so awesome waking up to my chia seed pudding for breakfast. :)

Look at how pretty it turned out?! Doesn't it look great? Don't worry the seeds won't be chewy at all since they sat overnight in your milk. I added a few berries because I want a little somethin' extra...and then I got an idea!

Oh yea! If you want to change it up and get a little more color and flavor out of the chia seed pudding then feel free to add 1/2 cup of berries to the mix and blend for a great pudding/smoothie treat! I went with a blueberry, raspberry, cherry mix and I loved the way it turned out. You can even go crazy and pop this in the freezer for half an hour or so to thicken it up to a more yogurt-like consistency. YUM!

Nutrition:
Fat: 8.78g
Fiber:6.55g+2.68
Carbs:11.58g
Protein: 4.68g+.67
WW points+: 3pts

with berries:
Fat:8.78g
Fiber:9.23g
Carbs:21.58g
Protein:5.35g

WW points+: 4pts

Makes one serving.

If you are thinking, "Wow what a great recipe, but where the heck do I find chia seeds?!" Don't worry! Head down to your nearest health food store or co-op grocery store and you can usually find these little babies, but if you come up with nothing then just head to Amazon.com I had NO LUCK tracking these down in Korea and so I just had them shipped from Amazon for a really affordable price. I got 2 pounds sent to me for a grand total of around 26 bucks and that was WITH shipping. If you are not wanting to take the plunge they also sell them in 1 pound bags for around 13 dollars, find it here. AND Bob's Red Mill even sells chia seeds so I bet you could find these at your local supermarket for an affordable price.

Ok, so not only did I want to share the super yumminess of the chia seed with you, but I also wanted to let you all know that I'll be switching blog names pretty dang soon. I'm really excited to make the switch because this blog hasn't been that focused on the shop in a bit, whoops! >.>  I can't help but feel guilty about not just focusing my blogging efforts on the vintage shop and I can't wait to have a blog purely for posting about things I find interesting or want to share. The next post will be purely focused on vintage shopping, I promise!

So, you may remember me saying that I had been having the worst time coming up with a blog name and thankfully I FINALLY DID IT!! When I make the change I'll be going by TheHappyType.com!

I'm a genius, right? Every time I see the blog address which is just waiting for me I want to do a little dance because the name makes me so glad that it came to me.

 Now that I have a sweet name picked out and I know exactly what type of content I'll post, I just have to decide what kind of blog design I want. I am really excited to try and figure out the look that  I want. I'll be gathering up some inspiration for the next step and I can't wait to see what I'll see around Seoul to get my creative thinking going.

I hope you enjoy the healthy pudding recipe and please share how and what motivates you to be your most creative. I'd love to hear how you got your current blog look and the process that you went through. :) Have a wonderful day!

Kiwi & Aloe Smoothie

Today I am going to share my newest smoothie creation and it's a drink that I feel is absolutely perfect for spring! Before moving to South Korea I knew about aloe juice, but I had never really paid it much attention. What a mistake!!! I LOVE aloe juice and thankfully it's really popular in South Korea and can always be found in any convenience store or sidewalk stand. Upon discovering my love for aloe juice I also rediscovered how much I enjoy kiwis!! While out in the city I got a really great deal on about half a dozen or so ripe kiwis for around 2 bucks yesterday and I instantly knew that I had to figure out how to make a green smoothie in honor of the warming weather.

I really love this smoothie because it isn't too thick and is more of a juice, and it's tartness from the kiwis is so refreshing! If you prefer a thicker smoothie I would try tossing in a frozen banana or maybe yogurt.

The great thing about this smoothie is that is is really light and delicious and so SIMPLE! You only need 3 ingredients and a blender. How great is that?

Ingredients:

1 cup of ice

1 cup of Aloe juice

2 kiwis

1. Peel the kiwis with a paring knife. Make sure to cut the ends off first before attempting to slice off the skin so that you can get a solid base to make skinning the kiwi a breeze.

2. Put ice, kiwis, and aloe juice into blender and make some magic.

3. Pour and enjoy!

Nutrition:

Fat: .67g

Carbohydrates: 45.6g

Fiber: 5.14

Protein: 1.48

WW+ points: 3 pts +

Makes one serving.

I hope you enjoy my creation and let me know what you think! What are some of your favorite smoothie recipes?

SPAM! It's for breakfast!

I love Spam...I cannot help myself!!
I love that delicious concoction of canned meat, and I <3 it for breakfast!

While I love Spam it's not really the most nutritious thing to eat on a regular basis, BUT to ease my guilty cravings I have turned to..... Turkey Spam!

Stop looking at me like that.

It is actually very tasty. I promise.

Ingredients:

1 Red Bell pepper
1/4 c of Egg whites
1 egg
4 oz of Turkey Spam
Pam Non-stick Spray

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the bell pepper in half and then into quarter inch strips. I find that cutting them down to manageable strips lets me see how much bell pepper I really have to work with. I like to cut them down into small bite size pieces, but it is really a matter of opinion cut as large or as small as you like.

Slice up the spam into quarter inch pieces.

Spray pan with non-stick spray and saute bell pepper and spam for 5-8 minutes.

Remove the pepper and spam and place in a dish off to the side.

Measure out a 1/4 cup of egg whites, add egg into the mixture and beat thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour egg mixture into the skillet and cook for a few minutes, which will allow the egg mixture to begin to set.

Generously spread the spam and pepper mixture into the eggs, and make sure to season generously with salt and pepper.

 Put skillet into the oven and allow to finish for 5-10 minutes.

Pull out your guilty pleasure breakfast and enjoy!

Makes one serving.

Nutrition:

Fat: 14g

Carbohydrates: 5g

Fiber: 1g

Protein: 36g

Weight Watchers Points+ 7pts

Breakfast : Asian Pear Honey Oatmeal

I love breakfast. 

Hands down, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and I love to keep switching up what I start my day with.  If you haven't had Asian pears, then prepare to have your mind blown! I usually HATE pears....the texture...the taste, bleh. However, when I moved to Seoul, I saw the enormous fruit that is an Asian pear and decided to give it a whirl.....DELICIOUS. I love the crisp, light, clean flavor and the satisfying crunch you get when biting into a piece of that pear.

Here is a favorite way of mine for spicing up oatmeal with Asian pear!

Asian Pear Honey Oatmeal

Ingredients:
 1/2 cup of quick oats
 1 Tbsp Honey
 1/4 cup of Asian Pear

Makes 1 serving

I chop up my Asian pear before I get my oatmeal going because I like to have a delicious piping hot bowl of oatmeal, and I find that sometimes I take too long to cut it and my oatmeal gets gummy. I like to cut the Asian pear in half and then in fourths, from here I slice them into matchsticks.

My husband and I love to make this breakfast when we have a lazy Sunday together; you can see him helping with the slice and dice action.

 Next make your oatmeal as directed from the instructions on the container. I really love using Quaker Oats Quick 1 minute oats, but you can use any quick oats that you prefer.
Serve up the oatmeal, top with pear, and finally drizzle the honey over the top. Stand back, admire your work, and eat up!

I hope you enjoy this healthy and filling breakfast, which will be sure to keep you going until lunchtime!

Nutrition
Fat: 8g
Fiber: 9g
Carbs: 59g
Protein: 4g

  
Weight Watchers points +: 8 for 1 serving