Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

April 21, 2011 § 3 Comments

Hello! I hope you’re having a fabulous day!  Peter and I were nearly blown away when we went out to pick up some groceries. It’s so, so windy out there!

So, I have to admit that I’m a bit late hopping on the chia seed party bus, but honestly, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the seed I was going to ingest is responsible for this:

Chia pet

  
It just seemed wrong to me.
 
(As a side note, I have such a black thumb that I can’t even grow a chia pet:)
 
(I mean, really. Who can’t grow a chia pet? Obviously, me. Luckily, Peter couldn’t have cared less if Spongebob sprouted a leafy green afro or kept his greenish buzz cut.)
 
Anyway, the same chia seeds that create these old-school tchotchke happen to be extremely nutritious.  A one-ounce serving of chia seeds (about 2.5 tablespoons) contains: 137 calories; 9 grams of fat (1 gram of saturated fat); 4 grams of protein; 18% of the daily value of calcium; and it’s also a good (vegetarian) source of Omega-3 oils (4915 mg in a one ounce serving).
 
After reading so many blog posts singing the praises of this seed and then researching the nutritional benefits (the Omega-3 boost won me over since my vegetarian diet is lacking in that department), I picked up an 8 oz. bag of Shiloh Farms white chia seeds at my local health food store (for $5.59) and decided to give them a try in this chocolate chia seed pudding recipe. 
 
I was a little wary at first because I don’t care for tapioca or rice pudding and I was afraid that the texture of the chia pudding might be similar. And while it is similar, for some reason it doesn’t make me gag. In fact, I actually like it, which is why I’m sharing it with you. Trust me, I would never share a recipe that makes me gag. 
 
This pudding is a really healthy chocolate fix and after eating it I felt very happy to have gotten on the ch-ch-ch-chia bus (despite the fact that the seeds are from Bolivia and buying them breaks my rule of buying food grown locally or at least in the United States. But I think if I’m able to get more Omega-3s in my diet, it’s worth making an exception to the rule).

 
Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
 
From Food Doodles and Love Veggies and Yoga

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1/2 C  unsweetened almond milk (or your favorite alternative)
  • 2 tbsp agave, brown rice syrup, maple syrup or stevia to taste (Note: I used maple syrup – pwa)
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder *
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, cover, and place in fridge over night.  If the pudding is too thick the next day, you can add a little more almond milk to thin it out.

*If your cocoa powder is lumpy, put it in a fine mesh strainer and push it through said strainer with the back of a spoon. You’ll end up with lovely clump-free powder in your bowl which will be easier to incorporate with the other ingredients.

I hope you give this a try. If chocolate pudding isn’t your thing, you could always just add a couple of tablespoons of the seeds to your oatmeal, yogurt, or smoothies. The seeds are flavorless as far as I can tell; they just form a gel-like texture when mixed with liquid.

Let me know what you think!

Apple “Cupcakes”

September 21, 2010 § Leave a Comment

Peter’s school throws a birthday party for each child on the class day nearest to his or her birthday. So, today is Peter’s first school birthday party!  And that requires me to provide the snack for the day.  

 I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but the days of bringing birthday cupcakes to school are over. It says so right in the school’s handbook. You see, those cupcakes may contain peanuts, eggs, dairy, wheat, gluten, chocolate, and for all we know, mad cow disease.  Cupcakes and birthday cakes are forbidden at many schools now since they may contain potential allergens.  

I take allergies very seriously. My niece has a peanut allergy and because of that I held off giving nuts to Peter until just a few months ago. Thankfully he is not allergic, which makes snack time so much easier now that I can give him the nut-filled Lara bars that I am addicted to often eat.  Being a student of nutrition, I am confounded by the number and types of allergies kids have these days.  I just don’t get it.  Searching the web brings up an array of theories, none of which provide a definitive explanation.  But, that topic can be a post (or book) on its own.  

I wanted to bring a snack a little more festive than a box of Goldfish crackers, so today’s post is about the wacky, but hopefully allergen-free, ”cupcakes” I made for Peter’s class this morning. I got the idea from Angela at Oh She Glows . (Thanks, Angela!) 

I made a “frosting” by combining sunflower seed butter and brown rice syrup fluff: 

Frosting ingredients

 

Cored and halved organic apples: 

Apples

 

Plopped the “frosting” on the apple halves and jazzed them up by topping them with carob chips: 

Apple "cupcakes"

 

 (I apologize for the horrendous pictures.  I was running very late this morning.) 

OK, so this version tastes…fine.  However, when I make them for us at home, I’ll definitely use the peanut butter and fluff “frosting” with real dark chocolate chips version. Peter liked both versions, actually.  Regardless of the version, I think it is a cute idea and it will be fun to experiment with different types of “frosting.” 

I’m off to pick up Peter from school. We’ll see how well these “cupcakes” went over with the rest of the class!

Snacking on the run is… okay (just don’t snack on junk food)

March 12, 2010 § 2 Comments

 Read this post over at Momma Wisdom: http://mothersandcompany.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/snacking-on-the-run-is-okay-just-dont-snack-on-junk-food/

Thanks!

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