I haven't been very good with my relatively healthy diet this past week. I felt under the weather, and this usually means that I either don't have much of an appetite, or I crave "Comfort foods", which was the case this time. As a result, I just feel heavier and my work outs haven't been as energized. In order to swiftly move past my not-so-great food choices this week, I made green smoothies for breakfast, a big vegetable soup in the crock pot for dinners and lunches and made some chia pudding for snacks and desserts.

When I make any kind of pudding, my default is usually chocolate, but I decided to switch it up and made a caramel-type pudding, using mesquite powder and dates as the caramel flavour. It's ok if you don't have mesquite powder - it is a bit of a specific item to have around, but it does add a nice caramel flavour to pudding, smoothies, desserts etc.

It makes around three servings.

Ingredients

• 4-5 pitted dates
• 1 tsp tahini (optional)
• 1 tsp mesquite powder
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• cinnamon / nutmeg, to taste
• pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 tbs agave/coconut nectar/xylitol (the dates sweeten up the pudding so just adjust to your tastes)
• 3/4 - 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (It depends how thick you like your pudding - chia seeds absorb a ton of liquid though, so you can add in quite a lot of milk
• cacao nibs / raisins / pepitas (for mixing in)
• 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional, I just had it in my view and thought it was be a good add-in)

Directions

1. Blend the dates, tahini, mesquite, spices, sea salt, sweetener, almond extract and milk in a blender until creamy. Add into a bowl or tupperware and add in the chia seeds. Stir well and put in the fridge for at least thirty minutes (I find it is nicest when left for a few hours). If it is too thick, add in some more almond milk and stir to combine.
2. Serve with some cacao nibs, raisins, pepitas, coconut flakes, chocolate shavings... etc. Chia pudding makes for a very satiating dessert or meal. If you prefer, you can blend the pudding in a food processor so it has less of a tapioca texture and a more smooth and creamy texture.