Healthy Dishes For The Weak: Cinnamon Coconut Milk Creamer & Chia Oatmeal Pudding.

One of the things that I was reminded of at the Thrive conference was how bad sugar is for our bodies. And it is in EVERYTHING. Even the things you don't think it will be in... And in even the brands you buy specifically because you think they're good for you.

Pasta sauce... Organic juices (sometimes include cane juice)... And the one thing that I drink daily - my coconut milk creamer! It has one gram of sugar in a single tablespoon... And I typically put two tablespoons in my coffee. That means I am taking in about a half a teaspoon of sugar into my coffee, without intending to! 

Four grams of sugar equals one teaspoon of sugar. At maximum, you should only be taking in six teaspoons of sugar a day. So where else is sugar hiding in your diet? 

I started to ponder how much sugar I inadvertently take in each day. Which lead me to decide to make my own coconut milk creamer. With cinnamon! Because cinnamon has a number of benefits to your health. And it couldn't be easier, given that my recipe is made from a can of coconut milk.

Cinnamon Coconut Milk Creamer

1 13.5 ounce can of unsweetened lite coconut milk (I like this because it is thick, like creamer.)

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

You just combine the two in a jar, and shake. 

The brand of coconut milk I used has less than a gram of sugar per 1/4 cup. Since I only use two tablespoons, it's a very minimal amount of sugar I am taking in from it.

With as much coffee as I drink, this will last me just over a week...

It looks great in my coffee.... Next to my other new favorite breakfast: Chia Oatmeal Pudding.

Again... Concentrating on limiting the amount of sugar I am taking into my body, I found this recipe on Pinterest, but forgot to pin it. So I decided to just make my own version of it.

Chia Oatmeal Pudding:

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (No sugar in it!)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 tablespoon of chia seeds

1 tablespoon of unsweetened coconut

3 strawberries, sliced

Combine the milk and the oatmeal into a small pot, heat over medium-high heat. It should take about five minutes for it to cook. It will boil and froth up. You should keep stirring it as it cooks. Once it has thickened, pull it off of the heat and add the chia seeds. Stir them into the mixture, and pour it all into a bowl. Let this sit for a few minutes, allowing the chia seeds to soak up the rest of the coconut milk. Then stir in the coconut and the sliced strawberries.

Yum! And with less than 300 calories, you will be full for hours.