I might be slightly addicted to chia seeds.
I love them and eat them daily. Most often it’s in the form of chia pudding, but I also use them in my protein shakes to thicken them up as well as put them in my full fat, grass fed plain yogurt.
I’ve written about this powerful little seed before…..read up on the chia seed here: Chia Seeds
The chia seed is hydrophilic, meaning it loves liquid; when put in liquid, chia will absorb it, swelling up and forming a gelatinous like substance. In the right proportion, when mixed with a milk, such as almond milk or coconut milk, chia will form a pudding.
Chia Pudding – makes 2 servings
Take 10 oz milk – I use my homemade almond milk (recipe here: Almond Milk). Coconut milk also works great here.
Add 3 scoops of chia – one scoop is equal to about 1.5 tablespoons. To review, 1.5 TBS has about 67 calories, 4.7 grams fat, 2.9 grams Omega-3 fatty acids, 1.1 grams Omega-6 fatty acids, 0 grams cholesterol, 5.6 grams fiber and 3.2 grams protein. That’s some serious nutrition
Add 1-2 tsp cinnamon (or more if you are so inclined….I usually add at least a tablespoon), and 1-2 tsp pure maple syrup (I like to use Grade B maple, sometimes called Baking or cooking Maple).
Stir it all up. This is an important step. If you don’t stir the chia into the liquid, you will have clumps of seeds in the pudding. For this reason, I like to make the pudding in a mason jar. After stirring it up, I cap it, and then shake it up. Let it sit for a couple minutes and stir and/or shake again. Repeat a couple of times.
Put the chia pudding into the fridge and let it thicken up; I usually make it in the morning and let it sit for a couple hours until I’m ready to eat it. The longer you let it sit, the thicker it will get. If it gets too thick for your liking, simply add a bit more milk to it before you are ready to eat it.
I like to add berries to it. Toasted almonds go nicely too. If you aren’t a fan of cinnamon, you can omit it. Lemon juice and zest go nicely with maple syrup. Raw cacao powder mixed in creates a chocolate pudding. I sometimes also mix protein powder into the milk first and use that to make the pudding, eating it after I practice.
The texture is similar to tapioca pudding.
Try it out and let me know how you like it; if you come up with a version that you like, please share it!
Enjoy
