The Curly Butterfly

Clean Living in the Real World

Chia Seed Pudding

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Way before chia seed pudding was trendy, I was testing it out in my own kitchen. After I tried my first Whole30, I continued to eat a strict paleo diet for a while. As the cooler temperatures settled in that fall, I was craving a good, warm bowl of oatmeal. So I set off to find a replacement for that comforting breakfast and found chia seed pudding.

Skip the Drive-Thru

Around the time we moved to Cincinnati, I started a job that required a lot of travel. My commute was over an hour, so I wasn’t hungry before leaving my house at 5:30 a.m. Rather than get into the drive-thru habit, I searched for an option that was portable. I stumbled on some recipes in the paleo community called chia seed pudding. It’s a very simple concept involving soaking the seeds in milk overnight in the refrigerator. This results in a gelatinous concoction similar to pudding.

Two jars of lavender chia seed pudding with two spoons all on top of a wooden cutting board

At first, I just used almond milk, but found it very bland. I tried adding fruit, but it didn’t add much flavor. Then I had the idea of treating it like oatmeal (since that’s what I was craving). I added cinnamon and vanilla for a little flavor. Shaking all together before putting it in the fridge and then after you pull it out in the morning also helps distribute the flavors. I like to use a pint Mason jar since it can be heated in the microwave as well. Heating it up got me even closer to that warm, oatmeal feel.

Over the years, I’ve experimented with different flavors, non-dairy milk, and various toppings. I finally settled on Cashew milk because it has a creamier, richer flavor to it. Just be careful about added ingredients in whatever milk you choose if you are doing a Whole30. Below is my favorite go-to recipe. Eat it cold or hot. Top it with your favorite nuts and seasonal fruit for a great breakfast or snack.

Chia Seed Pudding in an orange bowl with walnuts and blackberries on the top

Chia Seed Pudding

Christy
A great alternative to overnight oats for Paleo, Whole30, or Keto diets
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Refrigerate Overnight 8 hrs
Total Time 8 hrs 5 mins
Course Breakfast
Servings 1

Equipment

  • Mason jar

Ingredients
  

Pudding

  • 2 tbsp chia seed
  • 1 cup cashew milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • dash sea salt optional

Toppings

  • 1/4 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • drizzle honey optional

Instructions
 

  • Add the chia seeds, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla to a glass jar with a lid.
  • Screw lid on tightly and shake vigorously until all ingredients are mixed well (chia sees will settle to the bottom).
  • Let sit in the refrigerator overnight for at least 8 hours. Can be kept for up to 4 days.
  • Remove the lid and, if preferred, heat in the microwave for about 60-90 seconds.
  • Add toppings and enjoy!

Notes

Keyword Chia Seed, Chia Seed Pudding, Keto, Paleo, Whole30

3 Easy Steps to Starting a Clean Living Journey

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You see it all over social media these days. Whether you call it non-toxic, waste free, zero waste, eco-friendly, or a whole other host of related hashtags, they all mean the same thing. Clean living to help make an impact on the environment. If you are a perfectionist like me, you want to go all in and buy all the things RIGHT NOW! Throttle back Frannie. Just like losing weight, we are not going to change our entire life from modern, plastic, foam packed convenience to homesteader living overnight.

If you are like me, you grew up in the microwaved, tv dinner, everything packaged in plastic of the 80’s 90’s and 2000’s. But it’s 2020 now and unless you’ve been living under a rock (in which case, I want to see your cool underground tiny house!), buying things packaged in plastic is just not what the cool kids are doing anymore. Before you go and throw out all of your plastic water bottles and start a new landfill, let’s look at 3 ways to start your clean living journey without breaking the bank. Pick one change that is easy, cost-efficient, and can work into a daily habit.

Pick Something Easy

Start by taking a look around your house. Where do you see plastic? Paper? Water waste? I like to make lists and one of my favorite lists to make is wish lists. Make a brain dump of all of the changes you want to make as you go throughout your day.

  • Throwing the coffee filter in the trash? Can you put your coffee grounds in the garden?
  • Using plastic water bottles? Can you make the switch to a water filter system?
  • Running the water while you brush your teeth? Turn it off!

The idea here is that you want to look for something easy. Make one change each week and it will add up to 52 changes each year!

Make it Cost-Efficient

Frannie (who is my inner child) loves to dream of how she can be the “perfect woman”. But she gets me in trouble if I don’t reign her in a little bit. When I went through 3 auto drip coffee pots in 2 years after we moved to Cincinnati, I started researching better ways to make coffee. Now, being the science nerd that I am, Frannie was pushing me to get the super shiny chemistry lab looking coffee maker called the siphon, like this one. Now, some day I may indulge her and give her that fun toy, but for now, with two autistic kids in the house that break EVERYTHING, that is just not a practical purchase. Instead I went with a Chemex, like this. It still meets my need to eliminate the plastic tubing in an auto drip that can clog up with calcium deposits, and it still looks like a shiny beaker in a chemistry lab, so it satisfies my nerdy nature!

  • Do a budget-check: Can you afford the big commitment of building a big compost bin? Or do you need to just switch to drinking from reusable water bottles?
  • Where can you save money: Turning lights off and opening the blinds will save you on energy costs. Using quick wash cycles on the washing machine and dishwasher saves water. I even saw a tip on Instagram where a lady puts a bucket in her shower to collect the cold water while it’s heating up and uses that to water her house plants!

Remember, don’t splurge for the all house water filtration system if it’s not in your budget, just go buy a Brita to start off. Frannie can live with that simple change for now.

Swap a Daily Habit

When you make your wish list or brain dump, identify something that can easily be integrated into your daily habits already. Which daily habit can your start, swap, or do better?

  • Switch to an aluminum bottle for drinking water
  • Bring your own straw to the drive-thru (it is ok to refuse a plastic straw! They may look at you funny, but maybe the kids just look weird with their noses pressed against the window behind you! You never know.)
  • Buy one glass bowl for leftovers . . . and eat them! Rinse and repeat.

The point here is to work your change into a daily habit.

So what is one “clean living” swap you have made? What change can you work into your daily routine today? Let us know in the comments below.

What is The Curly Butterfly?

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Hey y’all! My name is Christy Byrd Vacchio and welcome to The Curly Butterfly. If you are here, which you are because you’re reading this, you want to know what this site is all about. I’m just a Southern girl in her 40’s trying to navigate life with 2 special needs kiddos and a nutty husband who keeps us laughing daily.

The idea for The Curly Butterfly started back in 2015 after I had been floundering to understand non-toxic eating. I had tried a gluten-free/casein-free diet for a year with my son who has autism. Not seeing any significant changes, we gave up. But that year of endless recipe testing and research led me on the path to Paleo, and in 2014, Whole 30.

After detoxing my diet, I started looking at other ways to eliminate the toxins in my life. Since I have curly hair, I am always looking for great products to make it less frizzy. In 2018, the direct sales company I was with came out with a great hair product. This spurred me on to do more research into other non-toxic products and thus, my journey into a whole new world began.

Now, I look for easy ways to swap out things that are toxic, or wasteful. Honestly, as a busy mother of two with a side hustle (and two blogs!), I just don’t have the time to be a big d-i-y-er. It’s more like an awareness of what comes into and goes out of my house. I figure if I can make even a small difference, and others join me, we can collaboratively make a global change!

As for the name, Curly is two-fold. On the surface it references my curly hair. But it also represents my journey, that has been anything BUT a straight line. I take turns and curves. I fall off the proverbial wagon, but circle back around to the path and what I have found works for me. Butterfly is what I want to be seen as some day. Right now, and probably for many more years, I am in my cocoon. I am going through a slow metamorphosis and hope to someday emerge as the beautiful woman I want to be and fly through my days enjoying nature and contributing to it as I go.

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I hope my own journey can help you along the way.