I’ve lengthy been a breakfast particular person. Not an elaborate breakfast particular person, per se, however the sort who merely can’t skip the meal if she desires to be practical previous 11 a.m. For the final 10 years of my life, my standby has been oatmeal. Lots of oatmeal. Usually packaged, not very fancy, and adorned with only a splash of almond milk and a spoon of nut butter.
However earlier this summer time, I fell into an oatmeal rut. It simply wasn’t working for me anymore. I used to be too sizzling—all the time, however particularly every morning, as I emerged from the weighted blanket I insist on utilizing year-round. The oatmeal was making me sweat, and I needed to chill down.
I wanted one thing else: a breakfast possibility that was simply as fast, simple, handy, and nourishing as my oatmeal, however not as stifling. Cereal and yogurt are each nos for me—the previous isn’t filling and satisfying sufficient, and as for the latter, I can’t abdomen a considerable amount of dairy very first thing within the morning. So I attempted chia seed pudding. Quickly, I received into the behavior of stopping by a counter-service café on my strategy to the workplace, spending $6.75 on a completely pleasant bowl of it.
However right here’s the factor about my $6.75 breakfast: While you eat it three days per week, it turns into $20.25 of chia seed pudding. In a month, that’s $81. To me, that felt like some huge cash spent on a meals that matches within the palm of my hand and takes about 45 seconds to eat (maybe two minutes at most if I’m being significantly aware).
Ultimately, I had a small epiphany: What if I made my very own? I hadn’t thought-about this earlier than solely as a result of the dish felt like such a deal with: just a little vanilla-y, with some puréed mango, one other nameless seed sprinkled in, and some dried goji berries on prime. I like to cook dinner, and do most nights, however some dishes really feel like they’re too advanced—even simply in taste—to copy. (Primarily, I used to be pondering, The place the hell am I going to get mango purée? As a result of I absolutely won’t be making that alone.)
That stated, I do know loads of folks do make their very own chia seed pudding—it’s heralded as an “simple” at-home breakfast. And there was an precise human at my café, making the small containers of pudding every morning, which meant that it was bodily potential for me to do it too. So I made a decision I’d give it a shot.
I’ll skip forward to my thesis right here: I feel that you must attempt it.
I had the essential elements at residence, which I discovered from a easy Google search: chia seeds and a few number of milk. Essentially the most intimidating ingredient was time: To eat it once I needed, I’d should make it forward. (The seeds should soak in a refrigerated atmosphere—extra on this later.) May I change into the kind of one who preps their breakfast the evening earlier than? I wasn’t constructive, however I’ll attempt something as soon as, particularly if I can do it in my pajamas.