Chia seed pudding with berries and coconut

 

Everyone on has a recipe for Chia seed pudding, probably because it is easy to make and quite delicious.  I usually have a basic mix of Chia seeds and almond milk in the fridge, it lasts several days and proves a blank canvas for the addition of so many tasty ingredients.  Just be careful because as Chia seeds gelatinize and bind once the almond milk is added they can tend to form a hard mass unless stirred regularly at the beginning of the process.   The other ingredient that I always have on hand is soaked cashew nuts.  I blend these separately to create a thick cream, which I fold though the pudding to give a great full mouth feel.  With the addition of some berries, bananas, mango, nuts, seeds apples or pears you have a fantastic breakfast.

Chia seeds are high in omega 3 fatty acids and full of protein, often called a superfood, Although I'm not so sure about this claim as I think all good foods are super and this creates unrealistic expectations in the mind of those who eat them.  What I really know is this creamy pudding is delicious.

 

 

 
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Soaked Chia Seeds

  1. Cover around 1/2 cup of Chia seeds with 2 cups of organic sugar free almond milk.

  2. Mix and all to stand at room temperature for 5 minutes.

  3. Stir.

  4. Allow to stand for a further 5 minutes and stir again.

  5. The Chia seeds are now ready or can be stored in the fridge for several days.

Chia "Bircher"

I do this recipe by feel as everyone has a different opinion on texture, some like the pudding firm, others like it quite soft and runny. So, feel free to adjust the amount of liquid to suit your own tastes. I like this pudding with little sweetener as I feel the fruit is sweet enough, but for those with a sweet tooth feel free to adjust the sweetness.  Please though don't use white sugar as this has terrible health implications as well as being impossible to dissolve in a cold liquid.  Instead use a liquid sugar like agave, raw honey, real maple syrup, or my current favorite, coconut nectar. Serves 6 to 8.

  • 1/2 cup of soaked chia seeds

  • 1 tsp vanilla & 1 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 1 Pear and 1 apple grated. (either washed and peeled or leave the peel on for greater texture)

  • handful of dry roasted almonds

  • Cashew cream. (see recipe) or Unsweetened almond milk

Method

  1. Grated the apple and Pear and mix in a bowl with the Chia seeds and some vanilla and ground cinnamon.

  2. Adjust the consistency with some cashew cream or almond milk and the sweetness with agave or whatever liquid sweetener takes your fancy. 

  3. Top with fruit (of your choice) and scatter with toasted Almonds.

Cashew Cream

  1. Soak 2 cups of raw cashew nuts in twice the amount of filtered water overnight

  2. Drain off the liquid and place nuts in a high-speed blender with 1 1/2 cups of water

  3. Blend until smooth adding extra water if needed. It should be thick and smooth like thickened cream.

 

 
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