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!

Baked Brown Sugar Acorn Squash

I love the holidays for many reasons: time with friends and family, the decorations and lights, the great parties and clothes, the wintry weather, AND..... THE FOOD.

I can sometimes go overboard with throwing parties and making elaborate menus. My husband is a witness to me being covered in flour sitting on the floor at nearly 4 a.m. after having baked for nearly 12 hours and whining about the roast which hasn't been prepped. 

Holiday food should be delicious, but it should be simple. Time spent with family and friends is more important than slaving away in the kitchen and this recipe for baked acorn squash with brown sugar is a tasty time-saver. 

I got this wonderful recipe from Gina over at Skinny Taste and the only change that I made to it was halving the "I can't believe it's not butter" from 1 tbps to 1/2 tbsp per squash, and the brown sugar from 2 tbsp to 1. I found that letting the squash roast for an extra 15 minutes or so compensated for it and I didn't miss it when I seasoned the squash with brown sugar. Plus, it saved me a whole point which means I can eat more cake. ;)
 

Ingredients:
1 Acorn Squash
1/2 Tbsp I can't believe it's not butter
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Reynolds foil wrap to cover chosen pan
Baking pan large enough to put squash in
1/4 cup water

First take your medium sized Acorn squash, give them a good wash, and cut them half.  Cutting the acorn squash can be little tough since they are pretty thick so make sure to use a really good knife with a serrated edge to make speedy progress.

Next, scoop out the seeds and insides of the squash, and then evenly spread the I can't believe it's not butter evenly on the squash and top with brown sugar.

Put the squash in a baking pan and add ¼ cup of water to the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan with foil and put in the oven to bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

Remove from pan, allowing the squash to cool for about 5 minutes and enjoy!

Nutrition:
Serves 2! Each half is 1 serving. 

Carbs: 54.24
Protien: 3.45
Fiber: 6.46
Fat: 8.43

Weight Watchers points +: 3 per serving