How was your Christmas?! It was really nice to have a three-and-a-half day weekend. The best part is I get to do this all over again this week! We work today, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We have a half day on Thursday and Friday we get the whole day off for New Year’s Day. We also have our company retreat on Wednesday so we’ll all be out of the office starting at noon on Wednesday. I’m sure this week will fly by!
We had a great time celebrating Christmas this year. It was pretty laid back actually. We celebrated with my side on Christmas Eve and Donny’s side Christmas day. Most of Christmas day we hung out at home so Donny could rest. We then enjoyed prime rib, ham, twice-baked potatoes, corn, and plenty of desserts for dinner! We opened presents that night and hung out with all the kiddos.
Saturday night we were back at Donny’s parents’ house for a Cajun boil. We had originally planned to do that Christmas night until we found out that some of the extended family was going to be in town Saturday, so we pushed it back. Over 30 of us were there to enjoy crab legs, shrimp, crawfish, sausage, potatoes, sweet corn, Brussels sprouts, and jambalaya! It was so much fun.
There was a ton of extra jambalaya so Sunday morning the crew ventured over to our house for some breakfast burritos! Eggs, potatoes, cheese, and leftover jambalaya were all cooked together and then people wrapped it all up in tortillas. Very interesting combination I’d say. After a while all the guys went to watch football so I went grocery shopping and did some meal prep for this week.
The weekend seemed very go-go-go, plus I’ve felt tired (emotionally & physically) just trying to keep up around the house with Donny being laid up. I decided to hang out at home and do what I love to do — grocery shop and meal prep it is! Donny’s cousin’s wife Kelsey brought her three kids back to take an afternoon nap so I got to chat with her for a long time. It was fantastic.
I don’t know about you, but I have quite the sugar-hangover from the weekend! If you are looking for something slightly sweet, but with good-for-you ingredients then try chia pudding. It is extremely versatile and, if you have been reading my blog for a little while, then you know versatile recipes are my favorite recipes!
I like to have a “base recipe” for something and then customize it based on the ingredients I have and the flavor combo that I’m craving. Overnight oats are a great example of a versatile recipe and chia pudding is similar. Chia pudding only takes 5 minutes to whip up, but you do need to refrigerate it for at least two hours.
Start with a base of 3 tablespoons of chia to 1 cup of liquid. Add any other flavorings you would like. Protein powder (flavored or unflavored), berries, fruit, chocolate, peanut powder, etc. I like to use unsweetened almond milk as the liquid but you could use regular dairy milk or even water.
If you aren’t familiar with chia, it gelatinizes when it is added to a liquid. It does have a unique texture once it creates that gel. If food textures bother you then you could substitute ground chia for the whole seed chia. I have not tried chia pudding with the ground chia, but I might have to give it a try!
This Mocha Chia Pudding could make a great breakfast or mid-morning snack because it has a hint of coffee flavor! Raw cacao powder and coffee are the two ingredients that add the most flavor. Truvia adds a touch of sweetness to cut the bitterness of the cacao. This recipe doesn’t have a ton of caffeine, but coffee is on the ingredient list so be aware of that if you are sensitive to caffeine. I won’t typically eat this for an after-dinner dessert, but will have it earlier in the day.
I use chia seed in a lot of my snacks. Occasionally in oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt, etc. I also made jam out of chia seed including Grape Chia Jam and Raspberry Habanero Chia Jam.
- 8oz boiling water
- 1/2 Tbsp instant coffee granules
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 Tbsp cacao powder
- 2 Tbsp Truvia baking blend
- 6 Tbsp chia seed
- In a small bowl or cup, combine instant coffee with boiling water and allow to dissolve.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add almond milk, cacao, and Truvia. Stir until well combined. Once the coffee is completely dissolved add it to the mixing bowl. Add the chia seed to the bowl and stir until combined.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- 1 cup of brewed coffee may be substituted for the instant coffee.
- Stir mixture occasionally to redistribute the chia. If you do not, the chia will settle towards the bottom and will need to be incorporated before serving.
- Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to one week.
