Month: November 2012

Mango Coconut Chia Breakfast Pudding

Mango Coconut Chia Breakfast Pudding

This is a breakfast both Gracen and I love.  I love it because super healthy and I can throw all of the ingredients into a mason jar before I go to bed and wake up to an already prepared breakfast.  I’m sure she loves it because it’s sweet, creamy, and it feels like you’re having dessert for breakfast.  And that’s okay with me. I agree!

If you haven’t yet tried chia seeds, you definitely should.  They’re often called the “super seed”, and for good reason.  They’re packed with essential fatty acids, fibre, calcium, and a bunch of other vitamins and minerals, plus they can absorb up to 12 times their weight in liquid.  Besides using them in puddings, around here we add them to yogurt, muffins, cereal, and smoothies too.  In fact, they quickly became my secret smoothie ingredient when I learned that adding a tablespoon of chia to a blender of our favourite smoothie would keep it thick and prevent it from separating (even when kept in the fridge overnight!)

IMG 1716But onto the recipe.  Here’s what we use to make our overnight mango coconut chia pudding…  Your choice of milk (coconut milk is especially delicious in this recipe), pure maple syrup, chia seeds, pure vanilla, unsweetened coconut, and a mango (not pictured because it isn’t needed until morning).

IMG 1718I like to make this recipe in a mason jar because it seals well and I can give the jar a little shake every now and then, but any sort of bowl or container that has a lid will do.  

To get started, add your chia seeds to the milk.

IMG 1722Then add the coconut…

IMG 1728The maple syrup…

IMG 1730And the vanilla.

IMG 1735Give everything a stir…

IMG 1736Pop the lid on and put the jar in the fridge.  If you come back to the fridge again that night, give the jar a gentle shake to prevent clumping.  If not, it’s not a big deal.

Now go to sleep.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz….

IMG 1740When you wake up in the morning, retrieve your mason jar of pudding.  It’ll be thick  and creamy by now and will resemble the insides of a passionfruit. Grab a mango too.  (Though mango / coconut is one of our favourite combinations, strawberries, bananas, and blueberries pair well with the coconut too.)

IMG 1742Now peel and chop up your mango into small pieces…

IMG 1744And add them to the jar.

IMG 1748Mix everything together well.

IMG 1749Breakfast is ready!

IMG 1753

Serve with fresh or frozen berries, mint leaves, or almond slices.
 
 
Mango Coconut Chia Breakfast Pudding
Adapted from this recipe from SkinnyTaste
  • 2 cups of your favourite type of milk
  • 6 tablespoons of chia seeds
  • 3 tablespoons of unsweetened coconut
  • 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla
  • 1 medium-sized ripe mango
Put the first set of ingredients into a jar and stir. Put the lid on the jar and put in the fridge overnight.  If you come back to the fridge later in the evening, give the jar a shake or two (if not, don’t worry about it).  
 
In the morning, retrieve your jar and a mango.  Peel and dice the mango, add it to the jar, and give everything a stir. 
 
Serve with berries, mint leaves, or almond slices.
Enjoy!
 
 

Toddler Food: What Miss G Eats {22}

Toddler FoodIMG 0141Breakfast // Wholewheat oat flax pancakes with all-natural almond butter and fresh strawberries.

IMG 0687Breakfast // Spinach, sun-dried tomato, and garlic organic eggs. Kiwi slices. Avocado spears. Omega seed toast.

IMG 0690Breakfast // All-natural peanut butter banana bites topped with freeze-dried raspberries, raisins, organic o’s, and freeze-dried blueberries.

IMG 0074Breakfast // Cinnamon pumpkin seed breakfast cookie. Green grapes.

IMG 0696Breakfast // Peanut butter banana oatmeal.

IMG 0078Breakfast // Poached organic egg on omega seed toast. Green grapes. Berry kale smoothie.

IMG 9508Lunch // Quinoa veggie soup. Grilled cheddar sandwich on multigrain flax.

IMG 9635Lunch // Pasta with green beans, toasted pine nuts, and feta.

IMG 9636Snacks & Lunch {on the go} // Raw almonds. Organic egg salad roll up. Banana. Apple. Red grapes. Homemade cinnamon crisps. Carrot sticks. Purple pepper slices.

IMG 0384Lunch // All-natural low-sodium turkey, cheddar, and spinach on omega flax bread. Orange segments.

IMG 0243Lunch // Wholewheat couscous and black bean salad with cheddar, avocado, and fresh cilantro.

IMG 0178Lunch // Black bean veggie quesadilla with sour cream and tomatillo salsa.  Avocado chunks.

IMG 9584Lunch // Vegan potato leek soup with chickpeas and baby green peas.

IMG 9823Dinner // Chicken and veggie stir fry on brown rice.

IMG 9765Dinner // Creamy turkey tortellini and fresh feb soup. Grilled cheddar on omega seed bread.

IMG 9916Dinner // Spicy veggie laksa.

IMG 0028Dinner // Southwest turkey chili with cheddar, fresh cilantro, and avocado.

IMG 0050Dinner // Smashed garden potatoes.  All-natural spinach and feta chicken sausage.  Edamame and carrot coins. Steamed broccoli with feta.

IMG 0111Dinner // Salsa baked chicken. Steamed garden carrots. Orzo with feta and toasted pine nuts.

IMG 0137Dinner // Roasted halibut. Beet walnut salad.  Herbed harvest grains.

IMG 0439Dinner // Amita’s Indian curry on brown rice, black barley, and daikon radish seeds.

 ♥
 

Never EVER.

Miss G has been a fan of Taylor Swift’s ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together‘ for a long while now, but just recently she’s taken her sing-a-longs to a whole new level.  If you’ve ever seen the video, you know that it starts and ends with Taylor sitting in front of a window and for part of it, she talks into an old-school cordless phone.

Never Ever

Well now, when this little monkey wants to sing one of her very favourite tunes, she must be standing looking out a window, and she must have her ‘never ever phone’ in hand.

Singing Window Front

Here she is singing away…

Perhaps we have a little musician in the making?

♥

Rainbow-Coloured Trees

I’ve long been a lover of summers, so I’m not sure if I’m just feeling especially appreciative of autumn in Vancouver, or if our 4 years spent in the scorching, sweat-dripping-down-your-back-the-instant-you-step-outside desert has skewed my preferences, but man, I’m loving fall this year.  Crisp air, overcast days… The crunch of leaves beneath your feet… Puddles to splash in. Cozy sweaters paired with boots. And the colours… The amazing, AMAZING colours!

So when Grae and I passed by Queen Elizabeth park {filled with rainbow-coloured trees} this morning, we had to pull over.  And I’m so glad we did.  Watching our little one frolic amongst the leaves while declaring “Deez trees soooo beautiful!” is like nothing else.

IMG 1615IMG 1618IMG 1635IMG 1693IMG 1638IMG 1646IMG 1657IMG 1668IMG 1670IMG 1676IMG 1681IMG 1685IMG 1697♥

A Fall Day at the Beach

Today we woke up to the first dry morning we’ve had in days…  So though we already had plans for a lovely indoor day, we put them on hold, layered up, and headed down to the beach for a morning of fresh ocean air.  It’s been quite a while since our last beach day, but our routine little lady didn’t skip a beat.  Our visit went as all of them do – playground time, a walk to Starbucks for a hot drink, actual beach time to collect treasures in the sand and dip our toes in the ocean, and then back to the playground for a second round of play before heading home for lunch and a nap.  

Here is our morning in photos…

IMG 1540Uncovering treasures in the sand pit.

IMG 1544Cashews and a steamed milk while making friends through the window.

IMG 1551Driftwood collector.

IMG 1558“Mama takes a picture of Grae!”

IMG 1561“A little bit farther?”

IMG 1564Running from waves.

IMG 1568“Here birdie. Have dis green leaf.”

IMG 1570Sand drawings.

IMG 1574Water watching.

IMG 1576Admiring our autumn-coloured city.

IMG 1582Hand wash.

IMG 1587“No almost time for home. Grae Grae naps on the log!”

IMG 1594“It’s cooooooomforble, Mama.”

IMG 1603Suddenly she can do this.

IMG 1604“Spin it, Mama! Spin it!”

IMG 1612Little adventurer. (She climbed to the very top of this play structure and went down the giant  tube slide all by herself. THREE times.)

♥

Pumpkin Seed Sorting

Pumpkin Seed Sorting Tray

This little activity just came about organically.  Gracen and I were scooping out the insides of a pumpkin and she began collecting all of the seeds and carefully placing them in a neat pile off to the side.

IMG 1515

A couple of bowls, some “tools”, and a tray later, and she had herself her very own sorting station.

IMG 1519

Though she could have collected the seeds much more quickly using her hands, she really liked the challenge of getting underneath the slippery little seeds and scooping them up into her spoons.  Great sensory play and fine motor skill development all in one {totally unplanned} activity? Yes please.

IMG 1521

She even took the fun one step further and sampled a raw, goop-covered seed.  She slowly nodded her head and said, “Mmmmm… Yummy”, but her little scrunched nose and furrowed brow told me she felt otherwise. ☺

♥

3 Kisses

Gracen: (as she slowly walks towards the kitchen while giving me a adorably sly  sideways smile) Grae Grae have some yogurt raisins?

Mama: (raises her eyebrows)

Gracen: (in a sing-songy voice mastered only by hearing it time and time again) It’ll cost three kisses… (she quickly jumps into my lap, takes my face in her hands,  delivers three very purposeful kisses, and jumps down again)

Mama: Thanks for the kisses, Love.

Gracen: Grae Grae has yogurt raisins now. Dat’s a treat.  Grae Grae has a treat, Mama has a treat. Mama has TWO treats!

This girl’s got skills…

♥

 

Baby Chef

IMG 1488This morning Grae and I woke up and decided on pancakes for breakfast.  We were just about to gather our ingredients as the phone rang.  As I snuck in a very quick conversation with my sister-in-law, Miss G got started without me apparently…  Anyone up for cornmeal-cocoa-double-salt-tomato pancakes?

You don’t want to know how much salt was already poured into the bowl…

♥