Prep Time: 5 minutes
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
- 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.
- 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.