Chia Seed Pudding

The other day, I indulged and spent about two hours straight in the kitchen. This was a huge treat, as my schedule hasn’t allowed for some quality kitchen time for quite a while now. I didn’t make anything flashy or fancy, just what I consider to be ideal snacks: hardboiled eggs, banana bread muffins, and chia seed pudding.

I wish I had more to show for this whole ordeal, but hardboiled eggs aren’t really special enough for the public eye, I ate the banana bread muffins so quickly I wasn’t able to take a photo (yes, all of them…don’t judge), and this chia seed pudding was captured at the last moment from my iPhone camera because I was too hungry to wait until I took legitimate photos.

What I can share with you, is what not to do when making chia seed pudding. Recently I’ve been trying to wean myself off recipes, but trust me, I am humble enough to realize when my experiences winging it haven’t yielded the best results. Everything is a learning experience. And rather than get upset about some minor kitchen failures, I’d rather share my faults so no one follows in my footsteps. The recipe below has correct proportions after I had another trial run, but whatever you do, don’t make these mistakes:

1. Measure things. The first time around, I didn’t measure the chia seeds or milk. Bad. The proper ratio is important for this pudding, because chia seeds can only absorb so much liquid. This dish is far more pleasant with nicely expanded chia seeds rather than chia seeds swimming in a large pool of milk.

2. There is such a thing as too much maple syrup. Oh boy. This was a lesson to learn. When you pour maple syrup into a bunch of liquid, it goes straight to the bottom of your container because it’s heavier than all the other ingredients. So if you’ve added some syrup but can’t taste it quite yet, look to the bottom of your jar and see if it’s all hanging out there just waiting to be stirred voraciously.

3. Strawberries don’t taste good when you soak them in liquid overnight. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking. Shriveled up, coconut milk-soaked strawberries are not a pretty sight. Definitely wait until you’re actually consuming the pudding to slice some fresh strawberries over top.

Level: Easy

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Sitting Time: overnight
Total Time: 5 minutes + overnight

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 cup coconut milk (or alternative milk of your choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
fresh fruit, for topping
blanched slivered almonds or something else crunchy, like granola, also for topping

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients minus fresh fruit and crunchies in a tupperware or jar. Pick a storage size that allows some room for expansion, as the chia seeds will grow as they absorb the liquid.
2. Leave container in the fridge overnight.
3. Wake up in anticipation of consuming this deliciousness.
4. Chop up some fresh fruit, and sprinkle with your favorite nuts or granola.
5. Enjoy!