5 Chia Pudding Flavors to Try

Oh man, I am such a fan of chia pudding! It’s such an easy make-ahead breakfast, and, most importantly, it keeps me full all morning. I already shared a recipe for traditional chia pudding, but now I wanted to share all of the different chia pudding flavors I make.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

If you’re someone who likes sweet breakfasts, this is a great option for you. And, believe it or not, because the chocolate flavor comes from cocoa powder, it’s actually not even “bad for you”, so you don’t need to have any guilt about eating it for breakfast. That being said, this makes a great dessert as well!

Sugar-crusted snacking peanuts

We’re all handing this time in isolation a bit differently. Some people are stress-eating; some people are throwing themselves more into their work; some people are exercising more; and some people are crossing off as many things as they can from their to-do list. I’ve spent a good amount of my spare time on cleaning and reorganizing parts of the house, including the kitchen.

I took some time to go through my cabinets and fridge. I cleaned everything out, put things away in spots that made more sense, and checked expiration dates. I also made a note of some less-used items with a challenge to myself to find something to do with them.

One of the things I found was a big bag of peanuts. I had bought it for pad thai, so I had quite a bit of the bag leftover. So I challenged myself to come up with something to do with them, and I came up with these sweet & salty snacking peanuts.

Coconut almond granola

It’s Sunday, and for me, that means getting prepared for the work week ahead, and one of the major ways I do that is by meal planning.

To prep for my week ahead, on Sundays, I like to visit my Pinterest board, instagram, and other bookmarked websites, and pick out which meals I want to cook for the week. I usually cook one or two new meals each week, and then mix it in with tried-and-true meals, such as repeat meals from my blog, or recipes I know that I love. I type up an email with the meals planned for each day of the week, adding a link to the recipe. Then I go into my shopping list app (I use AnyList, which I love), and add all the ingredients I need for each of the recipes. Then, grocery shopping is quick and easy.

Taking this extra step of planning my meals means that I don’t ever have to make last-minute runs to the grocery store after work, and it also means I waste less food, because I have a plan for everything that I buy.

Ep. 6 – Australia – Floral Frosé + Anzac Biscuits

For Episode 6 of Cocktails Under Quarantine, we’re traveling down unda’ to ‘straya, mate!

Australia holds a special place in my heart. I lived in Sydney for 2 years, from 2016-2018. Moving abroad in general was a huge milestone and proud life moment for me, but then, on top of that, I got to fall in love with a whole new country while I was over there. Australia is probably the most beautiful country in the world, and has some of the nicest people, plus, they serve hot dogs in a piece of folded white bread at garden stores, so how can anyone not get on board with a country like that?

Ep. 4 – USA – Old Fashioned + Bourbon Balls

For Episode 4 of Cocktails Under Quarantine, we’re traveling to…… well, we’re actually staying put in the good ol’ US of A!

When I think of cocktails of the USA, the first liquor that comes to mind is bourbon, and the first bourbon cocktail that comes to mind is definitely an Old Fashioned. I admit, I’m not a hugely experienced bourbon or whiskey drinker. It’s a taste that I’ve started acquiring only in the last few years, and Old Fashioned has definitely been my drink of choice.

I decided to pair it with a bourbon-based dessert, and one I’ve been wanting to try: bourbon balls. Bourbon balls are a boozy, nutty, decadent dessert that you certainly want to reserve for a weekend of treating yourself, because they are rich, and they pack a punch.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Fall is here! The temperature has finally dropped for the first real time in Texas and I’m so incredibly excited. Now that it’s less than 95 degrees, it’s officially ok to say that it’s fall. And if it’s fall, then it’s time for pumpkin stuff!

I made these pumpkin pancakes on a whim this past weekend. I had leftover pumpkin in the fridge (leftover from making these pumpkin cookies), and thought I’d whip up some festive pancakes.

How to roast pumpkin or squash seeds

Whenever I use a pumpkin or another type of squash, I want to get the most out of it that I can, so I save and roast the seeds to eat as a snack. Since I inevitably end up using spaghetti squash, butternut squash, acorn squash, or pumpkin at least a few times in the fall season, I’m left with plenty of yummy squash seeds to roast up.

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Do you have this same problem? : I find that, when I’m on Pinterest looking for new recipes to try, I often skip past the normal-looking recipes or staple recipes, in search of something new and different. But then, I find that I’m missing some really good staple recipes in my arsenal. This is how I felt about chocolate chip cookies – I felt like I was missing a really, solid, perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe!

So I looked around and gave this oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe a try. It had solid reviews and seemed pretty popular, so it seemed like a good one to try. After just one try, I knew it was a keeper!

Banana Nut Bread Pudding

Have I ever mentioned that I am a huuuuuge breakfast fan? (I mean huge!) I absolutely am — but — believe it or not, decadent, bread-y breakfasts aren’t usually my go-to. Much to Mitcher’s dismay, I don’t regularly make french toast, pancakes, crepes, or waffles — I tend to lean more toward savory dishes. So the fact that I decided to make a bread pudding is certainly a bit out of the ordinary.

Chocolate chip banana oatmeal pancakes

Usually I am very good about planning my recipes out in advance, getting just the specific ingredients I need for the week, and effectively minimizing my food waste. However, occasionally I’ll be overzealous with my banana purchases and end the week with one or two extra bananas. Overly ripe bananas are not my favorite to eat by themselves, so I found myself on the lookout for more recipes to use them with.

I had seen some recipes online using mashed bananas in place of other ingredients, and I was intrigued. So, on a whim, I gave this recipe a try. It uses mashed bananas in place of sugar and oil. So on top of being a convenient way to use up my leftover bananas, it’s also a healthier pancake option. The recipe is called “chocolate chip oatmeal cookie pancakes,” which, let’s be honest, an amazing name! So I had to give it a try.