• Recipes

I hope you all had a great New Year’s celebration! Welcome 2016!
One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to eat healthier and try more new things. A few weeks ago I bought Chia Seeds because who hasn’t noticed the popular Chia Seeds, also known as Salvia hispanica, trend. So of course I had to try them too. Also Chia Pudding just looks pretty delicious, right?

Chia is supposed to be super healthy and offers lots of benefits. The seeds are native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala. The Aztecs and Mayans knew of the tiny black seeds benefits way before the western world even heard of the so called “superfood”.

They can help with so many problems due to their high nutritional value.  Chia Seed can absorb 10 times their weight in liquid. Which is how they turn into that gel, we like to call pudding. Due to this gelatinous consistency  they can help you feel full very fast. The seeds are easy to incorporate into any diet due to their basically nonexisting flavor. Its very easy to add a nice flavor to them using different fruit or milk. For example try them with some almond milk or coconut milk for a vegan pudding. You could even use juice to make a mexican drink called chia fresca. People even use it for baking. They make a great addition to breads, cookies, cakes you name it! I even saw people using the instead of eggs for a vegan alternative in recipes.

The tiny black seed can be eaten raw which makes them a nice addition to salads or as a topping for porridge or yogurt.

This Chia Pudding basic recipe only includes two ingredients and its lactose free!

Ingredients for two portions

• 3 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
• 1 Cup lactose free milk

Extra benefit: Lactose free milk already has a slightly sweet taste to it so you don’t have to add any more sugar or honey to the mix. I find that some fresh fruit adds enough flavor on top of the sweet milk.

Another benefit is that you can make it the night before. So it’s great to just grab it in the morning and have a nice healthy breakfast at work or school or wherever you go. It takes two minutes to prepare.

1. In a small bowl with a lid , combine the milk with the Chia seeds. Stir until combined. I like to put the lit on it and just shake it.
2. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Serve pudding with whatever topping you like sprinkled on top. (Granola, Nuts and Seeds, Fresh or frozen Berries, Honey, Maple sirup, Cinnamon, Coconut Flakes, or whatever else you have available) Get creative!

I must say I really like it! I added some Kaki or Sharon (Persimmon). Don’t ask me the differences. In Germany we mostly call the fruit Kaki but I think you get what I mean by looking at the pictures. Persimmons are best when they’re super ripe. When Sharon fruits are getting slightly mushy and you can easily remove the stem they’re ready to be eaten. I just peel and slice them in tiny cubes. That’s all!

I had the second portion of this Chia Pudding later and the chia seeds got even more gel like the second time around.

Have you tried Chia Seeds? If you have any great recipes leave them in the comments I’d love to try something new 🙂