Chia Pudding

Happy Monday!  It's hard to believe, but this is one of the last Mondays of summer for us here - little miss starts school in just a couple of weeks, so we are trying to make the most of our last weeks of freedom around here.

Once school starts, I'm going to be working hard to make sure that little miss has a good, healthy, brain-feeding breakfast to start her days off right.

Now, if you read the title to this post, you're probably thinking "pudding? breakfast? What?!"

But it makes sense, I promise!

When I received this month's Secret Recipe Club assignment, I was pretty excited. Betcha Can't Eat Just One is a really awesome blog - Katie is a very talented baker and writes a really delicious blog. I had a lot of trouble choosing what to make for this month. She has some really awesome recipes.

But then I saw this one for Chocolate Chia Pudding, and I knew I had to make it. Yes, it's easy, which almost felt like cheating, but it's something I've only just recently heard of, and that I was super excited to try. 

And when I say simple, I mean simple.

I started with coconut milk (little man held the measuring cup for me), to which I added cocoa powder,

sweetener (agave nectar), and these little beauties:

Chia seeds.

Chia seeds are gaining popularity right now, though are still considered a bit of a specialty item. They are very popular among the... well... health-nut crowd. And I say that lovingly.  They are chock-full of healthy fat, protein, dietary fiber and a variety of other good stuff - including calcium! Cool, huh?

So, yeah - just those few ingredients... and you're done! Whisk it all together and pop it in the fridge.

I made the chocolate version, like the recipe called for, and then thought to myself... "hmm... that was easy... I should try another flavor, too!"

So I did!

I did the same thing, but instead of agave nectar, I used hone, and instead of cocoa, I tried:

shredded coconut!  Hey, why not?

The recipe indicated that these should be refrigerated for at least 30 minutes. I prepared these just about two hours before dinner, so that we could have them for dessert.

And it worked pretty well!

The chia seeds absorb so much liquid, it really does give the pudding a very... well... pudding-y consistency!

You'll notice a bit of milkier pudding on the bottom. More time in the fridge firms it up even more.

But these were fun to eat!

And with the simple, short ingredient list, these would make a quick, healthy breakfast for a school morning!

Now, the chia seeds give the pudding a somewhat tapioca-like consistency, which the kids found a bit weird.

I read a tip online about blending the pudding once it is done, and I think I might try that. I am definitely going to try different flavors - I have blueberries and strawberries in the fridge just begging for their turn to be chia-fied, so I will let you know if I perfect a process for this that makes everyone happy.

Katie, thank you so much for your beautiful, delicious and inspiring blog - I can't wait to try many more of your recipes (starting with your Epic Focaccia Bread!).


Chocolate Chia Pudding
(from Betcha Can't Eat Just One)

1/4 cup chia seeds
3/4 - 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 rounded tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 - 2 tablespoons agave nectar (to taste)

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl and let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. (You can pour the mixture into smaller serving dishes if you want before refrigerating - I used ramekins.)
The seeds will expand and kind of gel up…they look like tapioca.  The longer you let them sit, the more moisture they will absorb and the thicker your pudding will be.

Enjoy!

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