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
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!
