5 Layer Chia Seed Pudding

by SayHelloBlog, in category Breakfast, Food

6 Layer Chia Seed Pudding

I’ve been on a fresh fruit and smoothie kick this week.  On top of that, I’ve been trying to come up with ways to add more veggies in my diet, and make it fun.  So here is a 5 layer chia seed pudding which is one of those sweet but oh so good for you meals.  It can be eaten as a snack, for breakfast, or as dessert.  It’s also great as a light lunch, I had it for lunch today and it was actually very filling.

6 Layer Chia Seed Pudding

This would be wonderful in the summer.  It’s light and creamy and the colors are fun.  Maybe it’s all the warm weather we have had lately that has inspired me to make summer treats.

6 Layer Chia Seed Pudding

This is health in a pretty cup!  I could eat this every day.  It is really simple to make, and even if you don’t have all the ingredients, you can substitute whatever kind of fruit you wish to make this.  I think I might try some pineapple and mango next time.

6 Layer Chia Seed Pudding

5 Layer Chia Seed Pudding
Health in a Bowl: Chia Seed Pudding with yummy layers of fruit and veggies.
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
5 min
Total Time
20 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
5 min
Total Time
20 min
2173 calories
266 g
20 g
116 g
48 g
34 g
1059 g
113 g
143 g
0 g
73 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
1059g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 2173
Calories from Fat 967
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 116g
179%
Saturated Fat 34g
169%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 51g
Monounsaturated Fat 22g
Cholesterol 20mg
7%
Sodium 113mg
5%
Total Carbohydrates 266g
89%
Dietary Fiber 94g
377%
Sugars 143g
Protein 48g
Vitamin A
13%
Vitamin C
119%
Calcium
203%
Iron
128%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
5 Layer Chia Seed Pudding
  1. 1/2 Banana
  2. 1/2 Small Avocado
  3. 3/4 cup Chia Seed Pudding
  4. 1/2 cup Diced Strawberries
  5. 1/4 cup Blueberries
  6. 1/4 cup Chocolate Date Sauce
Date Sauce
  1. 4 dates
  2. 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
  3. 2 oz 100% Chocolate or bittersweet chocolate chips
Chia Seed Pudding
  1. 2/3 cup Chia Seeds
  2. 1 cup Almond milk
  3. 1/2 cup yogurt
  4. 1 tsp honey
5 Layer Chia Seed Pudding
  1. Prepare the fruit. Mash up the banana and avocado together until creamy and smooth (you can put in the blender with 1 tablespoon of yogurt to make it more creamy, or just leave it mashed). Dice the strawberries. Put the the chia seed pudding in a glass cup first. On top of the chia seed pudding spoon in the date sauce, then add the avocado/banana mixture. Top it all off with strawberries and blueberries.
Date Sauce
  1. Melt the chocolate and the coconut oil together. Place the mixture in a blender with the dates. Blend till smooth.
Chia Seed Pudding
  1. Place all ingredients for chia seed pudding in a bowl. Stir and refrigerate a few hours or over night.
beta
calories
2173
fat
116g
protein
48g
carbs
266g
more
Say Hello https://sayhelloblog.com/

Sloppy Date Smoothie

by SayHelloBlog, in category Food, Juice and Smoothies, Recipes

Date Smoothie

Are there any Juice Bar fans out there?  There is a Juice Bar in Dallas that I LOVE going to. Their Day Tripper is how I heard about Nuttzo.  Have you heard about Nuttzo?  It’s nut butter gone wild with 7 different kinds of nuts!  I love it, never will I be satisfied with peanut butter again.  Anyway I always enjoy going to Juice Bar, but on the occasion that I can’t make it there, I love making my own version of the Day Tripper at home.  

Date Smoothie

I call it the Sloppy Date smoothie, mostly because when I melted the chocolate to try and make it look all fancy, it came out more sloppy than fancy.  Oh well! I tried! Hopefully you will try this! It’s completely satisfying, especially in the morning for breakfast or after a hard workout at the gym.  It’s almost like ice cream, thick and creamy, and more like a shake than a smoothie.

The great thing about this smoothie is it’s simply PACKED with nutrition. Dates are full of essential vitamins and minerals you need like iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc.  Dates are sweet too, so you don’t need to add sugar to your smoothie, you get the yummy natural kind.

Date Smoothie

Want a smoothie recipe that is a good source of Vitamin C, Manganese (good for liver), and Potassium? Try my Mango Beet Smoothie! It’s sweet and tart and a perfect healthy snack!

Sloppy Date Smoothie | A Good Source of Essential Minerals
Sloppy Date Smoothie
A thick and creamy smoothie with lots of natural sweetness and protein.
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
518 calories
97 g
10 g
15 g
6 g
8 g
1113 g
63 g
76 g
0 g
4 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
1113g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 518
Calories from Fat 116
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 15g
23%
Saturated Fat 8g
40%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 10mg
3%
Sodium 63mg
3%
Total Carbohydrates 97g
32%
Dietary Fiber 9g
36%
Sugars 76g
Protein 6g
Vitamin A
5%
Vitamin C
17%
Calcium
48%
Iron
12%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 1 Frozen Banana
  2. 3 large Ice Cubes
  3. 2 tbs Nuttzo
  4. 2-3 Dates (depitted)
  5. 1 tsp Cacao Powder
  6. 3/4 cup Almond Milk
  7. 1/4 cup Chocolate Chips (optional)
Instructions
  1. Blend the banana, ice cubes, nuttzo, dates, cacao powder, and almond milk in the blender until smooth. If the blender sticks, add just a tiny bit more almond milk or a little water, or stir and try blending again. The smoothie will be really thick, so try not to add too much extra liquid.
  2. Optional: Melt the chocolate chips and garnish the side of the glass with the melted chocolate before pouring in the smoothie. Top with a few chocolate chips.
Notes
  1. To make this a super health nut smoothie add a teaspoon or tablespoon of Brewers Yeast.
beta
calories
518
fat
15g
protein
6g
carbs
97g
more
Say Hello https://sayhelloblog.com/

When In Paris…Eat Cheese Puffs!

by SayHelloBlog, in category Europe, Travel

aParis1

If anyone knows anything about Paris, then they know that other than beautiful architecture, museums, and lovely parks, Paris is known for it’s food, French food.  In fact, my last trip to Paris revolved around food.  Of course, I love being in Paris for the sites, the lively streets with their colorful sidewalk cafes,  the Seine river in the evening packed with people picnicking, listening to the French speak (their is no language more beautiful than French, in my opinion), but oh my word, the food!  Maybe the reason Paris is one destination no one can miss out on, is the the food is incredible.  The bakeries with their endless amount of pastries (my favorite, Raspberry Tarts and Eclairs) and don’t get me started on how fresh the cheese is in Paris, my goodness!  

ParisEffelTower

It’s in Paris I fell in love with duck, yes I did.   I don’t understand why in America we only eat chicken. On more than one occasion I’ve felt like standing up in the middle of a fancy restaurant and yelling out “But has anyone ever heard about the duck?!?” Ok, maybe not.  But sometimes on that rare occasion I do find myself in an American restaurant and they are serving duck, I order it, no questions.  Pretty much in any street cafe in Paris, a staple dish is duck confit with french fries or veggies .  

The first place I tried duck confit was at Cafe Constant.  It’s a 5 minutes walk from the Eiffel Tower, and not the cheapest, but very affordable cuisine.  Their duck confit, was by far the best I had while visiting Paris.

DuckConfitCafeConstant

Ok, I got a little carried away with the duck.  The whole point of this article was to tell you about the Cheese Puffs.  On the west side of the Eiffel Tower there is a cute little kiosk called “Choux D’enfer”.

chouxdenfer

Their cheese puff pastries, or I should say Gougeres are heaven!  You can also get sweet cream puffs, they have different flavors.

chaufenferparis

aparischeesepuffs3

When I was preparing this post I was going over photos, and instantly I was brought back to the Eiffel Tower and I thought I might die of happiness if I found a Gougeres recipe.  As it turns out they are really easy to make!  You hear of how hard french food is to make, I don’t even attempt to make eclairs, or raspberry tarts, but I couldn’t help myself with these Gougeres! I had to at least try and make them.  If I can make them you can make them, and bring a yummy bit of Paris into your kitchen.

I followed the recipe I found on rasamaylasia.com.  This recipe is very easy to follow with just a few ingredients.  

Gourgeres

I didn’t actually think these would turn out so well, but they completed my evening.  I was so excited I got a little carried away and I ate 5 of them while watching Midnight in Paris.  Hopefully I will get to go back to Paris one day and relive this experience, but until then I can make these yummy pastries at home, and that is something to be happy about.

Gougeres

Ok, one more photo of the Eiffel Tower and I am done.  I am going to go eat a couple more puffs and finish Midnight in Paris now. 

EiffelTower

To the Beet of a Mango Smoothie

by SayHelloBlog, in category Food, Juice and Smoothies

A pretty and healthy treat

Today was another beautiful day in Texas.  The winter weather took a good long vacation from us this year, and I am afraid it won’t return till next year.  Even though there is no snow, it’s nice to get to spend your day outside in the sun.  Though I’ve had a couple of health problems to deal with lately, I always feel better when I eat healthy!  If you are looking for a way to get some yummy veggie juice in the form of a fruit smoothie, you’re in luck!  This is a pretty treat and quite delicious!

Mango Beet Smoothie

Everyone knows that oranges have a generous amount of Vitamin C, but did you know mangoes and beets also have Vitamin C?  So if you feel a cold coming on, this might be the perfect way to stay healthy.  Also you get some added potassium and folate with both mangoes and beets.  Why take so many supplements when you could just make a different smoothie every day and get all the nutrition you need at breakfast?  

If you are feeling extra healthy, why not check out this Strawberry Limeade? It’s loaded with Vitamin C, A, Phosphorus, and Potassium. 

Mango Beet Smoothie
Serves 1
A pretty and healthy treat. A sweet smoothie with a shot of veggie juice.
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
10 min
Total Time
10 min
Prep Time
10 min
Total Time
10 min
293 calories
73 g
0 g
1 g
5 g
0 g
555 g
69 g
52 g
0 g
0 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
555g
Servings
1
Amount Per Serving
Calories 293
Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 1g
2%
Saturated Fat 0g
1%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
Monounsaturated Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
0%
Sodium 69mg
3%
Total Carbohydrates 73g
24%
Dietary Fiber 11g
44%
Sugars 52g
Protein 5g
Vitamin A
27%
Vitamin C
256%
Calcium
9%
Iron
8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 1 Frozen Banana
  2. 1 Peeled Orange
  3. 1/2 cup Frozen Mangos
  4. 1/2 cup Chopped Pineapple
  5. 1/4 cup Water
  6. 1 small piece Beet (I cut off about an 8th of a beet)
Instructions
  1. Juice the orange in a juicer. Put the orange juice, banana, pineapple, mangos, and water in the blender and blend on high till smooth.
  2. Juice the beet. Pour the smoothie into a clear glass cup and then pour the beet juice on top. Oh la la! You are done. Happy and healthy!
beta
calories
293
fat
1g
protein
5g
carbs
73g
more
Say Hello https://sayhelloblog.com/

Healthy Teas- 4 Favorites

by SayHelloBlog, in category Favorites

 

TEA

Whether I am just waking up, sitting outside in the afternoon, curled up on the couch with a good book, most of my favorite quiet moments in life involve tea.  I’ve always loved tea but lately I hardly go a day without drinking one (or two) of these.  Their taste is amazing but their health benefits are even more amazing.favoriteteas

1. Rishi Tumeric Ginger
This tea I like to drink in the morning with a little lemon juice and honey.  It’s an eye opener, but it’s soft.  It gently wakes up the digestive system.  The turmeric and ginger combination has the anti-inflamatory and antioxidants you need to start the day.  Your body will love the break from caffeine and get a gentle detox.

2. Teapigs Licorice and Mint
I’ve always loved mint tea, but until I found this combination, I didn’t realize it was missing something.  Now it’s really hard for me to drink plain mint tea!  Though I’ve never been a fan of Licorice, I can’t tell you how amazing it is as a tea.  It adds a slightly sweet taste to the mint that absolutely completes the flavor, it’s refreshing and soothing.   This tea has a double dose of benefits that are great for your tummy!  Licorice is known to relieve indigestion and heal ulcers (and there are a host of other benefits, read more about them here). Mint also improves digestion, read more about mint here.  This by far is my favorite tea to drink, it probably should be listed as #1.

3. Teavana Youthberry
This is an all time favorite, definitely a treat.  It’s more of a desert tea for me, it’s very fruity.  I love that Starbucks now carries it, because I always need another trip to Starbucks, but not always another cup of coffee.  It’s a great afternoon tea to sip while reading a book.  It is a white tea so it has a small bit of caffeine.  While it has great benefits from the red currents, acai, and hibiscus, it also has artificial flavor added to it.  Despite the artificial flavor (which yeah, probably not the healthiest), I still think it’s a great tea with a bold fruity taste that is pretty unforgettable.  With the white tea reducing the risk of cancer I think it’s totally worth it as an afternoon pick me up.

4. DoMatcha
This is a premium grade Matcha green tea I originally found at Natural Grocers.  It’s slightly expensive but the flavor is worth it.  It tastes less bitter to me than some others that I’ve tried. It’s known for a “relaxing energy” as a result of the combination of a small amount of caffeine and and an amino acid called L-Theanine.  When I think of Matcha, I think antioxidants, antioxidants, antioxidants, Matcha green tea is loaded with antioxidants. Read about the 3 main benefits of Matcha GREAT (I mean Green, haha) tea here.

Hope you enjoy trying some of these!  If you have a healthy tea you recommend trying please share!  I am excited to try new teas!

4 Beautiful Mirrorless Camera Bags

by SayHelloBlog, in category Photography

CameraBagProduct

I’ve been on a search for small-ish camera bags/purses for my new mirrorless system.  I would love a bag that I can just take with me on the go that can double as a purse.  I’ve fallen in love with the Bowery by On a. It’s beautiful and comes in three colors.  I’ve settled my heart on the black one.  In my searching for bags there were three others that I thought would be good for a mirrorless system.  The Neppt bag on Amazon is a decent price and a cute bag.  I’ve always loved Jototes and Kelly Moore bags, but their prices are slightly higher than I’ve wanted to pay.  I thought I would include the bags that I’ve drooled over for awhile.  Hopefully I will be able to purchase one this year!

Are there any other camera bag brands that you know of that I could check out?  If you know of any share them with me!  Especially if you think they would be a good size for a mirrorless system.

  1. Bowery by Ona
  2. Collins by Kelly Moore
  3. Georgia-Nautical by Jototes
  4. Neppt Camera Bag on Amazon

Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Truffles

by SayHelloBlog, in category Recipes

Dark Chocolate

It’s not a secret that I’ve been on a sugar free diet.  It’s not that I want everyone to know, but try to go sugar free for a while and it will help your realize how you and everyone around you are addicted to sugar.  At least once a day I am reminded by someone that I can’t have sugar.  For my family it’s mostly ice cream, we love it, can’t get enough of it.  I recently started making home made ice cream sweetened with raw honey, because if I don’t have it handy, I might slip up.  It has become easier though.  I’ve been off sugar now for 6 months, I have had a few days here and there were I allow myself something small like a chocolate croissant from Starbucks (a complete weakness of mine).  I’ve even come up with my own sugar free chocolate croissants made with raw honey.  YUM!! But if I make them, they are gone within a couple of days…which probably isn’t that healthy for me, ha.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Truth is things in general taste much much sweeter to me.  I even took a bite of plain yogurt one time last week and grimaced because I thought I forgot to buy the sugar free kind!  I looked at the container and was surprised that it was the plain yogurt, it just tasted so sweet to me!  That’s progress that I am truly in love with!  I am taking this sugar free thing to the end.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Anyway, I made dark chocolate truffles, at least I attempted.  This is an experimental recipe I made up, and hopefully will continue to change.  But they turned out pretty good.  WARNING, I LOVE dark chocolate, like 80%.  So these aren’t sweet, and if they aren’t sweet enough for you you might consider adding another tablespoon of honey.

Sugar Free Dark Chocolate Truffles:

Filling:
2 oz of 100% dark chocolate (I used 1/2 a Ghirardelli chocolate bar)
2 oz of heavy cream
3 tbs raw honey
1 tbs coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

cacoa powder for sprinkling

Shell:
2 oz 100% dark chocolate
3 tbs raw honey
(Just FYI, The shell did not really become hard, so maybe adding a little coconut oil will help.  If you love dark chocolate and could do a 100% dark chocolate shell, it would do better without the honey, the honey turned the mixture to cottage cheese, haha.  So I had to improvise and add a little water and cream to make the shell smooth again for dipping.)

Directions:

Filling:
Melt all ingredients together and stir till smooth. I used a double broiler on medium heat.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

After everything is melted and smooth, pop in the freezer for 10 or so minutes.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Once the consistency of the chocolate is hard enough to shape into little truffles take out of the freezer.  This is super messy, but fun.  I used my hands to make the little truffle balls.  Once done place the balls on parchment paper and put back in the freezer to keep nice and cold for dipping.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Shell:
Again, the shell was tricky when making with honey, and you’d be better to skip the honey and just add a tablespoon of coconut oil (to sweeten you could also use coconut sugar, it might do better than honey).  Melt ingredients the same as the filling.  Once smooth take out the truffles and use a toothpick to dip into the shell.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I had a ton of shell left over, so I got creative and added it to a chocolate rooibos tea!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It was perfect!  Put the left over in the refrigerator and use to make chocolate milk or chocolate tea.

Place truffles back on parchment and sprinkle with the cacao powder.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

You’re done! It’s a good idea to keep these guys in the refrigerator.  Enjoy!