The OG Chia Pudding
About Recipe:
This recipe is the epitome of simple. The hardest part is having the forethought to do it the night before! Make this minimal ingredient, chia pudding in less than a minute!
Tips and Tricks:
Modify: This recipe is quite easy to modify and make your own. If you want to keep it quite simple, you simply can do the milk and the chia seeds. To add more flavor you can play around with add ins. I wanted to keep this low sugar so I didn’t add any sweeteners. Alternatively, you could add a little bit of stevia, liquid monk fruit, raw honey, or maple syrup. One of my favorite ways to make it kinda taste sweet is to add a few shakes of cinnamon and vanilla.
Top: This is another area where you can really get creative and make it your own! I like to add a little bit of dark chocolate and berries (a great duo!), but you can add your favorite fruits, nuts, nut butters, etc… A few other ideas are coconut flakes, banana, pumpkin seeds, apple, etc….
Key Nutritional Players:
The combo of fat and fiber in chia pudding is a great combo for a snack or for breakfast. It will keep you full, satisfied and avoiding blood sugar spikes and crashes!
Coconut Milk: I personally like to use coconut milk in my recipes because it has a higher fat percentage, and these are healthy fats. Coconut products are good sources of Medium Chain Triglycerides which are processed by the body differently than long chain triglycerides. MCT’s get delivered straight to the liver, and can be converted into useable energy, while long chain triglycerides get packaged and sent to the lymphatic system. Research by Wang et al has found that MCT’s may also play a role in metabolism and mitochondrial health. “MCT up-regulates the expression and protein levels of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism.” Suggesting that MCT may play a role in improve exercise endurance. (Wang et al, 2018)
Chia Seeds: As outlined in other recipes, Chia seeds are a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids. They have a high linolenic acid content, and also are a good source of dietary fiber. Research by Kulczyński et al has also outlined the high amounts of phyto-compounds in chia that play a role in biological activity. (2019)
The OG Chia Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
- 1/2 Cup Coconut Milk
- Sprinkle of Vanilla Bean Powder
- 1 Scoop Collagen or Protein powder (optional)
- Berries to top (optional for topping)
- Almond butter to top (optional for topping)
Instructions
- In a small mason jar, add all of your ingredients(except the toppings) and mix thoroughly. You want to have an even mixture and make sure that there aren't clumps of chia seeds stuck at the bottom. Put the lid on and let sit in the fridge overnight.
- In the morning, grab your jar, and add all of your favorite toppings. I like to add almond butter and berries! Enjoy!
Notes
I make this without sweetener, but you could add maple syrup or raw honey to make it sweet.
References:
Kulczyński, B., Kobus-Cisowska, J., Taczanowski, M., Kmiecik, D., & Gramza-Michałowska, A. (2019). The Chemical Composition and Nutritional Value of Chia Seeds-Current State of Knowledge. Nutrients, 11(6), 1242. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11061242
Wang, Y., Liu, Z., Han, Y., Xu, J., Huang, W., & Li, Z. (2018). Medium Chain Triglycerides enhances exercise endurance through the increased mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism. PloS one, 13(2), e0191182. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191182
