peanut butter cup chia pudding

Nothing makes you feel more like a hippie than looking at the huge jar of chia seeds in your pantry.  I mocked chia for the longest time, remembering it as the dreaded chia pets my friends would tease me that they'd get me for my birthdays.  Oh, the horror.

 During a shopping trip to Winco recently I bought a tiny amount of chia seeds to try out.  I found them in the huge bulk section (which is mostly the reason why I love shopping there).  I loved how versatile chia is, how easy they are to add to a recipe, or just store, and if you can find them in bulk they are dirt cheap.  For reference, I got several cups at Winco for like $2, but a barely one cup pouch of them at Trader Joe's cost $4! No thank you.

My favorite use for chia seeds currently is chia pudding, ever popular on places like Pinterest.  It takes about two minutes to make at night, then all you have to do is let it sit overnight in the fridge.  Done.  Chia pudding is the perfect breakfast for busy chaotic mornings.  Plus, it tastes like dessert, is crazy delicious and filling, and doesn't kill all my allotted calories for the day.

All you need for the chia pudding is cocoa powder, sugar, PB2 powder, chia seeds, and milk.

Add all the ingredients into a cereal bowl and whisk well.  Then place in the fridge for at least one hour, or overnight.

I like using cashew milk because it makes the chia pudding really rich and creamy with only 60 calories a cup!  That's 30 less calories a cup than the watery skim milk I used to use.

I love having chia seeds on hand now because I know I can always make this for breakfast (or a snack!), or I can toss a tablespoon or two in with a bunch of other recipes.  And how cute to the chia seeds look in this cute jar?  I find that I eat healthier when my options are visible and pretty in my pantry.

If you really dislike the tapioca like bumps in the pudding (I know some people just despise that texture, and that's okay) just can stick the chilled pudding in the blender for a minute to smooth it all out.

Also, this chia pudding keeps me super happy full and energetic all morning.


peanut butter cup chia pudding
makes 1 large bowl (but feel free to share!)

ingredients:

• 4 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp PB2 powder
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup milk

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients into a large cereal bowl and whisk well.  Refrigerate overnight for a quick breakfast.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour if you want to eat sooner.  Stir well, enjoy!  Feel free to puree if you want a smooth texture.

Note: I used cashew milk for this recipe because got a free carton of it from Bzzagent and I wanted an excuse to try it out.  I love it!  I'm lactose intolerant so I like alternative diary options.  The cashew milk is delicious!  Its so rich and creamy.  IT makes this pudding taste so much more fattening than it really is.  That's fine with me.  :)

Nutrition Facts User Entered Recipe
1 Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories		370.4
Total Fat		22.2 g
	Saturated Fat	2.4 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.0 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	1.2 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		255.1 mg
Potassium		147.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate		41.5 g
	Dietary Fiber	23.8 g
	Sugars	13.7 g
Protein		18.1 g

Vitamin A	11.0 %
Vitamin B-12	50.0 %
Vitamin B-6	0.3 %
Vitamin C	0.0 %
Vitamin D	25.0 %
Vitamin E	50.1 %
Calcium	70.7 %
Copper	10.2 %
Folate	0.4 %
Iron	22.2 %
Magnesium	10.7 %
Manganese	10.4 %
Niacin	0.6 %
Pantothenic Acid	0.1 %
Phosphorus	8.0 %
Riboflavin	30.8 %
Selenium	1.1 %
Thiamin	0.3 %
Zinc	10.5 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

classic strawberry ice cream

I LOVE ice cream.  I really love ice cream when I can make whatever flavor I want (can you say mint gummy bear?) whenever I want.  I love it even more when its free of unnecessary chemicals and preservatives and still tastes yummy.

This strawberry ice cream totally fits the bill.  Plus, who doesn't love being able to tell people they made ice cream (custard base and all) from scratch?  It makes it sound like you're a kitchen whiz, but really, its SO easy!

I love this ice cream recipe because its a great simple base with pureed strawberries added.  You could change the mix-in(s) to make so many different flavors.  Next time I'm adding melted chocolate.  I can't wait!

This recipe does use lots of egg yolks.  It's really the only reason I don't make ice cream more often.  I run out of eggs really fast around here, and sometimes I just don't have enough.  This time it was perfect though.  I had just made about a million sugar cookies for Liam's birthday and my royal icing uses egg whites instead of meringue powder.  I saved the yolks to make ice cream!  Other ways to utilize the whole egg include using the whites for omelets, baking, etc.

Begin by pouring 2 cups each of whipping cream and milk (I used 2%), and 1 cup of granulated sugar into a medium sized saucepan on medium heat.  Stir gently and allow to simmer.

Meanwhile, puree the washed and stemmed strawberries with 1/2 cup of sugar.  My ice cream was a nice light strawberry flavor, but if you want to kick up the strawberry part more, add an extra cup of them.

Whisk the egg yolks and vanilla together in a small bowl.

Once the yolks are smooth and the milk mixture has simmered, ladle a cup of the milk mixture slowly into the yolk mixture, whisking well.

Pour the yolk bowl contents slowly into the milk mixture and whisk well.  Continue to simmer about 5 more minutes, until thickened slightly.

Remove from heat and stir in the strawberry puree.

Pour the mixture into a preferably glass bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly over top to prevent it from getting a skin.  Allow the mixture to cool completely.

Pour mixture into a prepped ice cream maker and churn according to instructions.  I churned mine for 25 minutes.  My machine says not to add more than 1 1/2 quarts of liquid into the machine, which is exactly how much this recipe makes.

My machine is crazy loud, so I like to stick it in a far corner of my kitchen and place a large dish towel over top.  Anything to drown it out!

Scoop the ice cream out of the machine and into a large freezer safe container with an airtight lid.  Go ahead and eat it now if you want, but I like my ice cream very firm, so I freeze it at least one hour before eating.

Ice cream doesn't last long in this house, even if we only take tiny portions!

There's nothing like fresh fruity creamy ice cream on a nice warm day!

I love that this recipe is so simple, and only uses a short ingredient list.  Its also the creamiest ice cream I can remember eating for a long time.  I think I need to go make some more.  Bye!

classic Strawberry ice cream
makes 1 1/2 quarts

Ingredients:
4 cups strawberries, washed and stemmed
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups whipping cream
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 egg yolks

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan on medium heat, combine the whipping cream, milk, and 1 cup of sugar.  Bring to simmer.  Meanwhile, use a blender to puree the strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar.
2. Whisk the egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.  
3. Once the milk mixture has simmered, ladle a cup of it slowly into the egg yolks and whisk smooth.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and whisk to incorporate fully.  Simmer for several minutes until the mixture just begins to thicken.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the strawberry puree.
6. Pour the liquid into a large bowl (preferably glass) and cover directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.  Cool completely.
7. Pour cooled mixture into an ice cream machine and mix according to instructions.  (I used my ice cream machine for 25 minutes).  Scoop out of ice cream machine and into a seal-able freezer safe container with an airtight lid.  

Note: Ice cream can be consumed directly after churned in the ice cream machine, but I like mine a bit thicker.  I allow mine to sit in the freezer at least one hour after being churned.

If you eat your ice cream directly after being churned this recipe take 2-3 hours to finish, depending on how long your ice cream take to cool completely before adding to your machine.