Chia Seed Pudding

I always thought that chia seed pudding seemed awfully fancy, but it’s probably the easiest and quickest treat to make. I’m currently eating some as I type!

Chia seeds are packed with nutrients – they are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B9, and calcium and iron, among other minerals. They are versatile to use – apart from chia seed pudding, you can also put a spoonful in your morning smoothie or mix some into your porridge or cereal.

I got the recipe for chia seed pudding from my friend Maddy, a fellow yoga teacher, and it is just so good!

There are so many different ways to dress it up. My husband likes it plain, without sweetener – just chia seeds with milk, whereas I like to add a splash of maple syrup and a big spoonful of Greek yoghurt or some fruit. Even my 10-month-old loves it. For him, I use coconut milk, stewed blueberries, and half a mashed banana for some sweetness. I often put a spoon of this on his porridge for breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup milk (coconut, oat, almond, cow’s, soy, any type!)
• Sweetener to taste (optional, e.g. maple syrup, honey, or processed medjool dates)
• Fruit topping (optional)

Instructions:

Mix chia seeds and sweetener into milk and chill for an hour, stirring a few times in the first 15 minutes. Ta-daaa! You’re done. It really is that easy.

I don’t even measure the ingredients – as long as your chia seed to milk ratio is about 1:4, you can’t go wrong. I prefer to leave it overnight so that the chia seeds soak up all the liquid. You can add more milk to adjust if it is too gluggy when you come to eat it.

Successful variations:

• Parfait: cow’s milk chia seed pudding layered with Greek yoghurt and berries, sweetened with a drizzle of honey
• Coconut berry maple pudding: coconut milk chia seed pudding + stewed mixed berries + maple syrup
• Baby chia pudding: coconut milk chia seed pudding + stewed blueberries + half a mashed banana

Tip: Make sure you stir the mixture regularly initially, or it will thicken into sticky clumps that can be quite hard to break up!

Variations that I’m going to try in future…

• Breakfast: chia seed pudding + almond butter + maple syrup
• Fancy dessert: chia seed pudding topped with red wine and orange rind–poached pears
• Chocolate pudding: chia seed pudding + cocoa powder + processed dates + avocado
• Apple chia pudding: chia seed pudding + cinnamon + stewed apple + vanilla essence
• Various toppings: linseed or chopped nuts, e.g. pistachio, almonds, macadamia, etc.

My Go-to Muesli Bar Recipe

These high-energy muesli bars are perfect when you’re always on the go. They taste great and are quick and easy to make. Always have a batch in your fridge and a couple in your bag and you’ll be much less likely to reach for that 3pm chocolate bar (guilty face right here!).

Ingredients:

• 1 pack medjool dates (I use the ‘Natural Delights’ 8 oz pack)
• 1.5 cups oats
• 1 cup unsalted almonds
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup 100% peanut butter

Instructions:

Toast the oats and almonds separately in the oven at 150°C until golden. Meanwhile, heat the honey and peanut butter in a small pot on the stove over low/medium heat until runny. Blitz the dates in the food processor until they form a ball; put them in a large bowl with the toasted oats, roasted almonds, and honey and peanut butter mixture. Mix with your hands until evenly combined, press firmly into a baking dish – I like to line it with cling wrap so that it pops out easier – and put in the fridge for an hour or two. Remove from the baking dish and cut into bars (or bite-sized pieces). These bars keep for a few days in the fridge. I think you could probably freeze them too, but trust me when I say that you won’t need to, as they’ll be gone in no time!

Successful variations…

• 1 Tbs toasted sesame seeds pressed in on top

• 2 Tbs dark chocolate buttons mixed in

• 1 Tbs chia seeds mixed in

• Decreasing the amount of honey and increasing the peanut butter (about 1/8 cup honey and 3/8 cup peanut butter) so that it is less sweet

• You can also use normal dates instead of medjool dates – just soak them in boiling water for a few minutes, drain the liquid, and you’re good to go!

Not so successful variations…

• Maple syrup instead of honey. These fell apart!

• 1/2 cup peanut butter instead of 1/4 cup peanut butter + 1/4 cup honey. These also fell apart.

Variations that I’m going to try in future…

• Goji berries

• Sunflower or pumpkin seeds

• Dried cranberries (the tart kind, not the super sweet kind)