RAW Chia Pudding – Gluten-Free

Chia Seed Pudding with Cacao (Raw Chocolate) – Vegan and just like old-fashioned Tapioca Pudding

I first happened upon this delicious pudding last year in California while shopping in a very healthy grocery store in L.A.. I found it in their in the ‘take-out’ fridge section and was dazzled ever since.

I was blown away at the simplicity of making it and the solid nutrition in it. There were 4 basic ingredients: Coconut Milk, Cacao Powder, Maple Syrup and of course, Chia Seeds.

(Side note: Did you know that a Chia Seed can hold 9 times its weight in liquid? When you put Chia seeds in water or almond milk the seeds create a gel that us vegans sometimes use for baking (flax meal is also used this way). The basic substitution is equal amounts of “chia seed gel” to an egg (approximately 2 ounces).)

Instantly, I was catapulted into thinking about a whole line of Chia Pudding products and flavours. Different combinations from vanilla to chocolate to butterscotch (think Low Glycemic Superfoods Lucuma powder or Yacon Syrup to sweeten and they taste like butterscotch), banana pudding, Peanut Butter drizzles, Superfood add-ins (like crunchy cacao nibs, raw banana powder, maca, spirulina, or goji berries). It was endless with my imagination.

Suffice to say, I’ve been so derailed with working on the retail business with Kelly’s Bake Shoppe and LettuceLove Cafe, and creating new virtual entities for online resources like KellyChilds.com and writing my book, this Chia Pudding recipe had not been quite developed…..YET

I LOVE the taste of this recipe! Especially when it’s simple Cacao and Chia. Nothing more. I love the “Tapioca-like spheres” – my absolute favourite pudding as a kid! I get 400x the antioxidants than regular chocolate, I get fibre, Omega 3’s, (brain food) and minerals (like calcium and phosphorus) and it tastes WAY better than the dairy-based chocolate pudding I had when I was a kid. What I find too is it’s even better the next day and the day after that. The flavours seem to build and really intensify.

This is the perfect substitute for breakfast cereals too. If you make it in the evening and put it in the fridge, you will have a beautiful pudding for breakfast and avoid all those over-processed sugary cereals in the morning. Kids really love the fun texture of it and how it resembles Tapioca Pudding (if someone likes their puddings smooth….feel free to blend it all in the morning to get a silky, fluffy texture. Just remember, that the Chia Seed will lose its gelatin like squishiness around each individual seed). For myself, I totally love to keep my seeds whole and not blended and the pudding stays thicker this way.

Smooth for those that don’t like the Tapioca-like texture.

Recipe for Chocolate Chia Pudding
Ingredients:

• 2 cups Coconut Milk or Almond Milk (any dairy-free milk will work – even Hemp)
• 7 Tbsp (100g) Chia Seeds
• 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Powder or 1 Tbsp Organic Vanilla Extract
• 5 Tbsp Maple Syrup (or 6 Tbsp Yacon Syrup)
• 5 Tbsp Cacao Powder (not Cocoa powder. You want the REAL RAW thing here to get all the maximum nutritional possible and the richest chocolate flavour)

Preparation:

1. Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Cover and place in the fridge over night (or for at least 3-4 hours).
3. When you wake up, you’ll have the perfect pudding.

…OPTIONAL add-ins:

• 1/8 tsp cayenne and 1/8 tsp cinnamon for Mexican Spice Pudding
• 1 scoop Vanilla or Chocolate SunWarrior Protein Powder (Perfect to get your protein hit this way)
• Stir in 3 Tbsp Peanut Butter (slightly stir in peanut butter ‘ribbons’ and refrigerate- OMG)
• 1 Tbsp Raw Red Banana Powder by Giddy Yoyo (Superfood high in Vitamin C and B6, potassium and fibre. It also makes the pudding taste DELICIOUS!!)
• Instead of Maple Syrup, you can use Yacon Syrup or Yacon Powder make this pudding not spike your glycemic levels.

The BEST LOW Glycemic sweetener – Yacon Syrup

The image below is a close-up of Vanilla Chia Pudding. See how the Chia Seeds get the gelatinous ball around each seed? You can make the pudding Vanilla by omitting the Cacao Powder and doubling the Vanilla Powder/Extract amount. Feel free to stir in dried blueberries or Goji Berries or Diced Apple or Lemon Zest and Organic Lemon extract and Lemon Juice (to get a fresh Lemon Pudding). The possibilities are endless.

Vanilla Chia Pudding made with Dehyrdrated Raw Vanilla Powder.

Why eat Chia Seeds?

1. Combat Diabetes – Because of its ability to slowdown digestion, chia seeds are being looked at as tremendously beneficial to prevent sugar spikes with Type 2 Diabetic patients. (I think it’s because of the swelling effect of the seeds and the gelatin that grows from each seed. It’s like a little miracle bursting inside us to prevent disease and help us with chronic disease naturally.)
2. Get more fibre- With only 130 calories per serving. A 28g or 1 ounce serving gives us 1/3 of our recommended daily intake or 11g of dietary fibre. Wow! Incredible.
3. Omega 3’s – full of the brain health fat (5g in a 1 ounce serving). It actually assimilates better into our bloodstream than flax meal, states researcher Wayne Coates. Read about Brain Health here
4. Stronger Teeth and Bones – Calcium!! Who needs milk or other yukky dairy products?! We have chia seeds!! A 1 ounce (28g) serving of chia seeds gives us 18% of our recommended daily intake of calcium thank you very much.
5. Phosphorus and manganese – both are great for your bones. Chia seeds provides a remarkable 30% of our recommended daily intake in a single serving.
6. Protein – 4.4 g of protein per 28g (1 ounce) serving. This is wonderful news and another reason we don’t need animal protein (look at all the other great stuff you get from eating chia seeds too like fibre! …..You can get fibre in a steak or chicken)
7. Get Full Faster with Tryptophan – This is an amino acid that helps to regulate moods and appetite. I’d like to call it the calming effect on us.
8. Improve Heart Health – According to the Cleveland Clinic, chia seeds may increase healthy cholesterol while lowering total LDL and triglyceride cholesterol…. Awesome news for our beautiful hearts. <3

I hope after reading this you can see the EASY, baby steps you take towards a more vibrant and healthy life and to continue to understand that what we eat is absolutely the MOST important part of our lives. It is US. It MAKES us. It is what every part of our cells are comprised of. Let’s just say that by eating better; it changes everything.