Good morning and happy weekend! Let’s take a look at this week’s eats.
Breakfast
Let’s kick this post off with the WORST idea I’ve had so far in 2014…chia seed pudding. I made this mix of chia seeds, almond milk, vanilla, bananas and dried cranberries and let it sit overnight. I topped it with peanut butter the next morning and packed it to eat between teaching back to back yoga classes at Y2. It was disgusting. I usually don’t have issues with food textures but this mix was all kinds of wrong. If nothing else it made for excellent conversation and storytelling in my classes when I explained to them what I had made and that one of the hazards of blogging is thinking something like this is a good idea. I offered it up for samples, no one took me up on it.
Smoothies, on the other hand, will NEVER do me wrong. I have a fun story to share about green smoothies. I did a private with one of my students on Monday so that she could work on arm balances and some other more advanced poses. During the private she explained to me that she couldn’t get her three year old twins to touch anything green. I told her she should try giving them green smoothies and sent her a few recipes to try. She texted me two days later with a video of them downing the smoothies and saying, “YUMMY!” She was so grateful and I was so happy!
Lunch
Favorite salad combo of the week…spinach, mixed greens, avocado, dried cranberries, feta, toasted pecans, pears, artichokes and smoked salmon.
Wrap and soup. Ham and turkey wrap with avocado, provolone and spinach served with a honey mustard dipping sauce.
My only lunch out in the middle of a crazy Thursday packed with clients and meetings. Mixed greens, arugula, spinach, chick peas, hard boiled egg, fresh mozzarella, pecans, dried cranberries, artichokes and tomatoes.
Dinner
Wild Alaskan salmon cooked with T.J.’s Island Soyaki sauce, lime juice and sriracha, brown rice and roasted mini zucchini and mushrooms.
Lemon garlic chicken and shredded brussels sprouts.
I picked up beautiful grouper on Friday and decided to put a Greek spin on it. I pan sauteed the grouper and then made a topping with kalamata olives, feta, parsley, tomatoes, artichokes, garlic and lemon juice. Served over pine nut couscous with broccolini. Easily my favorite dinner of the week.
Chia seed pudding…yes or no?
Have you tried sneaking greens to your kids or significant others in smoothies?
I’ve never tried sneaking veggies to anyone in a smoothie, but I’ve tried it in spaghetti sauce. I did it for my dad. The first time was a total win! The 2nd time there weren’t enough tomatoes and he insisted it tasted “grassy”. whoops! 🙂
I love that green smoothy story!
I used to eat chia pudding and I agree with you…it has a weird texture
I have been wanted to try Chia Seed Pudding since everyone raves about it, but I am sacred it will be gross. You confirmed that, haha! I still might try it, but it seems like such a small non filling breakfast, and that it would have an awkward texture and temperature! I like more of a volume breakfast and a tiny cup of seeds and goo doesn’t seem like it would do it for me, haha!
I am with you on the texture of chia pudding…I sadly can’t even eat cottage cheese because of the texture so I have the same problem. It’s not for all of us 🙂
I’m not a huge fan of chia seed pudding either…It does’t really deserve the name pudding in the first place in my opinion.
That salad with the smoked salmon looks absolutely delicious! I’m craving smoked salmon now.
Hooray for green smoothies! 🙂
wow, that’s too funny! I made chia seed pudding for the first time just 2 weeks ago (because I see everyone in the blog world raving about it), took one look at it and probably shouldn’t say what it reminded me of. However, I am a stickler about not wasting food so I made myself try it. Needless to say I threw the hole thing away. It looks disgusting and has the WEIRDEST slimy texture. All of your other meals always look so good!
I am with you on the chia seed pudding, chia seed in smoothies, overnight oats, baked goods= wonderful, chia seed letting it sit in liquid and nothing else= no
haha… last week i found a recipe online for chia pudding that sounded awesome. i whipped up a batch and it’s been sitting in my fridge ever since. i can’t seem to want to eat it.
I love adding kale to my smoothies!
All of your meals look awesome!
Have you tried adding chia to your oats? I like chia in my overnight oats, I add 1-2t chia with the oats and water or almond milk. I don’t like the taste of flax, so chia is a good alternative. I don’t think the texture of chia is for everyone.
I think chia fresca is good also, but I don’t make it very often, chia, water, lemon and sweetener.
I used to absolutely HATE chia pudding. I would force myself to eat it because it was supposed to be so good for you and it was all the rage with the skinny, fit, ‘cool’ bloggers who seemed to genuinely like it. Eventually I couldn’t bear to eat it any more…but then I tried blending the chia seeds before I soaked them and it made such a huge difference to the texutre; there was less of that weird, gelantinous crunch going on and it was more like a true pudding texture. I also use white rather than black chia seeds, as the skins aren’t so harsh and I find them easier to digest. Perhaps you could try blending your chia seeds, or using milled chia? It’s so refreshing to have a blogger actually admit that sometimes these specialist foods just aren’t all that nice.
We are just now introducing solids to my son and so far he loves his peas and green beans : )
They make grounded up chia seed. That may be a little better texture wise! I have phases where I sometimes can handle chia seed and other time when the texture just isn’t doing it for me. The grounded stuff helps with the texture, but I find it also has more of a omega fishy taste to it.
Just an update on the twins and their green smoothies…. 5 days later and still going strong! They actually request that I make the “Delicious Green Smoothies” with their lunch each day. Thanks so much Jen!!
I haven’t tried chia seed pudding – it’s one of those things I want to try, but am afraid I’ll hate. And right now it’s consistently below freezing here, so I’m all for warm breakfasts and nothing else.
Laughing at the kids downing green smoothies – they’ll never know 🙂 I did something similar to my boyfriend when we first started dating, he was surprised to find out that the smoothies he loved contained a ton of spinach.
Thank you for putting these food recaps together each week! I love them because they give me great ideas for next week’s meals, and they’re all dinners I can actually make at home on a normal weekday night without a ton of prep. We have definitely been eating healthier at our house, with less prep time than it would take to grab takeout.
The first time I made chia pudding I hated it too – then I discovered the key: full-fat coconut milk! Just using almond milk doesn’t give it the right texture. My go-to recipe is: 2TB chia seeds, 6TB coconut milk, 6TB almond milk, dash of vanilla, cinnamon and a swirl of honey. I promise you the texture is very different – it’s rich, thick and creamy instead of thin and slimy. Pretty much just like tapioca pudding – I’ve made believers out of non-foodie friends. If you aren’t completely traumatized, give it another whirl!
beautiful salads! now i’m craving one!
Yeah I only like chia pudding made with milla- ground chia – and preferably from white chia seeds. Much less frog-spawn like . I like carob or chocolate chia seed pudding layered with greek yogurt and blueberries for a snack at the minute…hard to pass up the health benefits chia supposedly tout :p.
Another bonus of the ground up seeds is that they don’t get stuck in your teeth #winning.
Your food all looks epic! Lunches especially. Must recreate. And I can imagine how rewarding it must feel to have got youngsters hooked on green smoothies.
I’ve been trying to sway my flat mate to healthier habits,(I’ve never seen him consume a fruit or veggie). And then the other day he bought BROCCOLI. Because of me. I.was.stoked.
Xxx
Hi Jen!! Everything you make always looks so delicious (with the exception of that weird pudding 🙂 ) Do you make things in advance or are you always making them fresh?? I don’t know how you find the time with your schedule!
My four year old is in LOVE with your basic green smoothie! He loves to “make them himself” and he even brought the recipe to daycare, where one of his friends is also now a green smoothie connoisseur! He obviously knows that the spinach is in there, since he loads up the blender–I love that he is learning to love healthy eats!
Your food always looks so pretty and yummy!! Honestly, I DO like chia seed pudding but I can completely understand that it is not something for everyone 🙂
I’ve tried a couple of variations of chia pudding, but they never really do it for me. I love chia seeds and have a 1 T every day in my breakfast, but the chia pudding deal is not my favorite. HA!
yes! i love it in my oatmeal, overnight oats and sometimes smoothies but not straight up chia pudding!
I would love to read her book!
Not sure how that got posted here? On my iPhone and this was supposed to be on the previous post
I LOVE chia seed pudding! I blend together 1 pitted date, 2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and a big pinch of cinnamon and pour it over about 2 tbsp + .5-1 tsp of chia seeds and let it sit about 10-20 minutes. I’ve been topping it with fruit – banana, mango, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi… whatever I have on hand! I do like it with fruit that has more of a zing to it, so mangoes and blackberries are great. All that said, it won’t help you get over the texture! I love tapioca, so it’s not a surprise to me that I like this texture. I’ve heard that blending the chia seeds will help with the texture issue.