Gelled strawberry???

Tuesday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

10:00am:  Breakfast- Coconut cherry CHIA SEED PUDDING

So, whipping chia seeds up into pudding is THENEWESTCRAZE going on around the blogosphere the last few months.  The first time I saw a picture, I was MORTIFIED.  It was seriously creepy.  But being the lovah of TEXTURE that I am, I knew I had to try this described "sorta tastes like tapioca pudding" breakfast a try...

• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond coconut milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chia seeds
• Dash of vanilla & honey

You combine all of that in a bowl and let it sit overnight in the fridge.  The chia seeds absorb the milk and create a gel-like 'pudding' dotted with seeds.  I topped the bowl with a few defrosted cherries, 4 diced almonds and a sprinkle of coconut and gave it all a stir...

Looks sorta like caviar, huh??  I tried it with quite a bit of trepidation, but realized I got used to the unique texture after a bite.  How would I describe it???  Not like tapioca, per say.  More like....hmmmm....a gelled strawberry???  That's what the seeds reminded me of, and the pudding is definitely more gel-like than PUDDING.

OH! WAIT!  But was it good???

YES...yes, it really was!  I liked the 'crunch' factor more than the 'chewy' factor of the infamous overnight oats.  And also I had poured about 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract into the bowl and the whole dish was BURSTING with that flavor.  Chia seed pudding is like tofu, where it will take on whatever flavor you add to it, so go WILD!  Definitely a good breakfast add-in for the warmer months ahead.

Oh...and guess who else liked the pudding?? 

As long as it's MINE, she's willing to give it a try...and she could NOT get enough... 

Not sure if it was Katie's 'stolen bites' or that I didn't find the pudding SUPER FILLING, but before I ran out the door yesterday morning, I also popped back 4 chocolate covered almonds since I felt I needed a little something extra for my morning errands.  THEN, I felt full...finallyJ

(oh....and after all that, should I mention AGAIN how healthy chia seeds are for you??  Hence why you would even SUBJECT yourself to CHIA PUDDING??  Well...here's all THEFACTS)

And those morning 'errands'...aka- that 'festive tradition' that we weren't sure how it was going to fare??

THIS:

The Easter bunny fared about as well as Santa Claus, unfortunately.  (which I didn't take into account when I threw gym clothes on myself before heading out the door.  Which is why Scott, in his work clothes, is the only one making an appearance with Mr. BunnyJ)

1:00pm:  Lunch- Wendy's burger + a few fries

After the bunny-hilarity, we hit up the mall Wendy's for lunch.  I wasn't feeling a salad, so I split lunch with Katie in an attempt to keep the calories a little lower for lunch.  Truth be told, I ate most of the burger while she ate more of the friesJ

Oh wait, did I say 'lower calories'??

Those crafty mall folk so carefully decided to place a Cinnabon DIRECTLY in the center of the mall, so once you get a whiff of all of the cinnamon sugar goodenss, it's VERY HARD to get it out of your head.  Which is why nearly the SECOND we finished lunch, I told Scott "I need something sweet."  So we headed over to the 'bon and ordered up a "cup of middles" aka- the middle part of the cinnamon roll heated up and covered with frosting.  I mean...

I probably should have looked at the lack of nutrition facts BEFORE ordering this, but I definitely took it as a 'ya gotta live life' calorie choice of the dayJ  Although now that I've seen the facts (use caution: it's terrifying) I may be able to hold off on that Cinnabon smell for awhile nowJ  Our only saving grace was it was split 3 waysJ

And we enjoyed it while watching Katie run around the cute new little play areaJ  She liked that WAY better than THEBUNNYJ

6:00pm:  Dinner- Salad

And I REALLY thought I was gonna be done with eating after that calorie bomb sugar fest, but I definitely found myself on the hungry side by dinner time.  So, we went with our original plan of SALADS for the night.

• Lettuce
• Carrots
• Broccoli Slaw
• Cheese & croutons
• A little low-fat Thousand Island 

At least part of the day was salvageableJ

And I'm happy to report that Katie ate more of THIS meal than both lunch & dessert combined.  Thank goodness for small favors. (for now!) 

Well, our SPRING weather got swept away in a dreary & rainy day yesterday.  BUT at least the sun is SHINING bright today...even if it's back to close-toed shoes for a little bit longerJ

Have a great Wednesday!