Ch-ch-ch-chia!

Ch-ch-ch-chia pet pudding!

I stumbled on a recipe for coconut mango "tapioca" the other day and had to try it.  Instead of tapioca, this recipe uses chia seeds.  Yes, the same chia seeds that you use to grow a chia pet.  Turns out these seeds have a high nutritional value.  They're full of omega-3 fatty acids and loaded with fiber.  Awesome!

The pudding, which can be found here on Skinnytaste, is pretty tasty.  It makes quite a bit - maybe 1.5-2 cups worth? - and serves 2, so you get a good amount in a portion.  I prefer warm puddings, so when I tried it right out of the fridge I didn't like it.  I tried warming it in the microwave but it got too runny that way.  Instead, I let it sit out and come to room temp.  That was perfect.  Sweet, creamy, delicious.

Next time I am going to put more coconut in it.  My mom also had the idea of layering it with various fruits for a fruit parfait.  I'm thinking pineapple, mango...what other tropical type fruits could I use?  Anyway, for a 3 points plus treat it was quite delicious!

The Most Important Meal of the Day

I have long been a fan of breakfast.  I'm not sure when or why it started, but breakfast is easily my favorite food group, if you can call it a food group.  From Lucky Charms and Trix (thank you, grandparents) to pancakes, waffles and eggs benedict, I have an affinity for breakfast foods and could easily eat them every meal.

I am not, however, a morning person.  I'm more of a brunch girl, if we're being honest.  I love a nice big "breakfast" of pancakes, eggs, fruit - the works - somewhere around 10 am.  Work, on the other hand, starts at 7, which presents a real problem for this night owl.

Recently I realized that I needed to come up with better breakfast solutions.  I was eating far too much sodium between the instant oatmeals and store-bought breakfast burritos.  Not to mention, that gets expensive!  I decided I needed to find ways to have breakfast that I make without having to get up any earlier.

Enter my new obsession, the pre-made breakfast.

I did a lot of googling, pinteresting, and more googling and found several breakfast recipes that freeze and reheat well.  I also found recipes that are meant to be enjoyed cold.  I've been making this and stocking our freezer with them.  They're homemade, meaning I know every ingredient that goes into them, and healthy.   Some of my favorites are

Refrigerator Oatmeal from The Yummy Life
Cream Cheese Pancakes from I Breathe...I'm Hungry
3-2-1 Custard from The Greenbacks Gal

Finding these recipes has really made a difference for me.  I love that I can have hot pancakes in the morning without having to stand over the griddle.  Truly, 1 minute in the microwave and they're just as good as when I pulled them out!  The refrigerator oatmeals are grand, especially when it's already 80 degrees in the morning.    I also love that I have variety at my fingertips.  I am definitely not one who can eat the same breakfast every day.  I love breakfast and I love variety, and I love that these make ahead recipes allow me to have both without too much stress in the mornings.

Six months? How did that happen?

Somehow I managed to let 6 months go by without a post.  I thought about posting, but never seemed to have the time, energy, desire, motivation, inclination...whatever you want to call it.

Jacko and Cody are still with us.  Cody has only had 1 seizure since that first one, so he doesn't have to be on medication - yay!  Jacko is definitely slowing down.  His breathing is getting more and more labored and he can't play for long, but he doesn't seem unhappy or in pain.  Mostly what he wants to do is cuddle and chew on bones.  He's also discovered how to take the lid off the treat jar (told you he's smart).  He managed to empty the jar one and a half times before I discovered his new knowledge and moved the treats to where he can't get to them.

We recently went through a strike at my job.  I have never been through one before and I hope to never do it again.  It is easily one of the worst experiences of my life.  On the flip side, we discovered just how tight our staff is and how different we are from some of the other schools.  Our staff gets along very well, and the strike just highlighted how much we care about each other and our students.

My Advanced Theatre class produced two successful plays this year.  We opened with The Phantom Tollbooth in February and ended the year with The Jungle Book in May.  Unfortunately, The Jungle Book got overshadowed by all the strike goings on in the district and attendance was less than satisfying.  It's sad, too, because several people said it was our best show yet.

Ricky is still working nights, and I have just 3 student days left at school, plus two staff workdays after that.  Then I have about a month off before the Chinese kids get here!  After that, my cousin is coming to visit to celebrate his high school graduation.  This is the baby of the family, the last of us to graduate high school.

In the meantime, I'm trying to get back into shape again, still, whatever.  My current obsession is make ahead breakfasts. I've been trying lots of recipes and will post them soon, with reviews.

So, that's about it.  Six months in a nutshell.  I'll try to be better about posting, but no guarantees.  It might help if I had some specific things to write about.  Any suggestions?