Mango Sticky Rice Chia Pudding

plus a quick trip to Kauai

Jun 11, 2026

∙ Paid

It’s time for me to admit that I suffer from West Coast MDW depression syndrome. On the East Coast, Memorial Day weekend is the gateway to summer, and there is an undeniable buzz in the air leading up to it. Everyone is making plans, writing their Costco shopping lists, and maybe even getting a spray tan in preparation for the official kick-off to the season we wait all year for.

Here… not so much. Mostly everyone leaves town, though I’m sure those Angelenos with backyards are celebrating with barbeques and bevs. But many of the rest of us are packing up and leaving. So, for the last few years, my husband and I have tried to find something fun to do to push through the FOMO. Sometimes we get over to Jersey for a quick dip with friends and family, but this year, somehow, flights to KAUAI were half the price of going to Newark. Felt like an obvious choice.

We’d been to Kauai before in November 2024, and I wrote up a newsletter detailing our trip and approach to “high-low” travel. You can check out our itinerary and more details here. We were excited to return to places we’d loved during the first trip, but quickly learned that many of our favorite, more ‘local’ spots were either straight up closed Saturdays and Sundays or online hours would show them open only for us to arrive and find a hand written “closed” sign taped to the door. Who could blame them; it’s their weekend, too! We still managed to eat our weight in poke and katsu.

I was really hoping to make our way back to the fruit farm tour we did on our last visit; seeing as it would be a new season with different fruits to highlight. Sadly, it seems the tour has closed down. Otherwise, we kept our itinerary almost identical to the last trip, except we squeezed in a trip to Common Ground Kauai, a regenerative farm and food experience on the north shore of the island. We learned about regenerative agriculture being the future (and the past) and were served dinner made only from ingredients sourced from the Hawaiian Islands.

reading corner

I’ve been in a 4-person strong book club for the last 3 and a half years, and we’ve read 33 books together! Which doesn’t include all of the books I’ve read on my own in between. Since reading is such a big part of my life, and in my opinion, a key component to being almost healthy(!) I thought I’d start sharing the books I’m currently reading or have just read. Especially, since I know how valuable a good book rec can be.

I just finished:

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

I read this on my own, outside of my book club, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it after finishing! Before I began reading, the book fascinated me from the premise alone. A matrifocal society where the women do most of the labor and the men stay at home and raise the children. The book focuses on haenyo, or “sea women,” female free divers who venture out into the open ocean to harvest sea creatures by hand to sell. Even just the idea of that seems insane to me! The diving is just the tip of the iceberg. This story follows two friends, Young-sook and Mi-ja, as they come of age as haenyo on Korea’s Jeju Island during the Japanese colonialism, WWII and US occupation, and the 4.3 incident that changed the lives and families of everyone on the island permanently. Loved.

Currently reading:

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Yesteryear: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel

This was my pick for book club this round and I am loving it so far. Tradwife influencer becomes real life tradwife, such a great premise. Pretty sure everyone’s reading this right now.

This week’s Postpartum Provisions Menu

Breakfast

Mango Sticky Rice Chia Seed Protein Pudding - Greek yogurt

Chipotle Adzuki Bean and Cheese Breakfast Burritos, (6) (wraps contain gluten)

Mains

Lentil & Farro Salad with Miso Lemon Salmon -slow roasted salmon, roasted fennel, carrot, and radishes, fresh herbs

Confit Zucchini & Tomato Bone Broth Cannellini Beans - confit zucchini and cherry tomatoes, parmesan rind and lemon broth

Spanakopita Turkey Burgers - roasted potatoes, tzatziki, feta, lemon, dill

Soups

Thai Salmon Chowder - potatoes, corn, coconut, cilantro

Spring Green Minestrone - market vegetables, basil-lemon pistou

Treat

Five-Spice Zucchini-Walnut Buckwheat Muffins - gluten free

Behind the Menu

As the weather gets warmer, the postpartum go-tos (soups, stews, braised meats) can be a little less appealing because these are foods that are generally associated with cooler months. I try to incorporate summer produce and seasonal menu items that don’t feel too heavy while keeping true to best practices for postpartum cooking. Although salads aren’t usually recommended because of the raw ingredients, I get around that with cooked salads like this farro and lentil salad with roasted veggies.

Braised beans, a mainstay on the menu, are made with hydrating summer vegetables like zucchini and tomato. I’m leaning into grilling season with turkey burgers that are filled with antioxidant rich dark leafy greens and herbs. I also always make an exception for yogurt because it is a probiotic, so this mango sticky rice chia seed pudding is a perfect warm weather menu item.

This chia seed pudding is a cross over between a rice pudding and a classic chia seed pudding, with sticky rice folded in. I also care a lot about layering texture, so this has blended mango, cubed mango, chewy glutinous rice, and a crispy coconut crumble for a really tasty bite. It has healthy fats from the coconut milk, lots of fiber from the mango and chia, protein from the greek yogurt, and some carbs for energy from the rice.