Smooth and Simple Breakfast Pudding + Chia Seed Giveaway

Happy Saturday!

Meeting with cool clients? Check. Grocery shopping? Check. House cleaning/floor mopping? Check. Lunch with my wonderful cousin, who’s in town for the weekend? Check. Editing? Check. Plans to hang with a dear friend tonight? Check. Beautiful, sunny weather? Check.

In spite of a long week, this day has been a joy from start to finish. Not least because I got to play around with a cool new breakfast. During the week, when I’m rushing around and transporting breakfast to the office, I tend to stick to the tried and true. Raw options include fresh green juice from the juice bar near my office; avocado pudding (with or without sprouted bread); bananas with nut butter; or dehydrated buckwheat with almond milk. Cooked staples are my beloved oats or oat bran; leftover grains, reheated with nut milk; baked yams; and sprouted grain bread with nut butter. Simple, easy. (For more of my fave brekkies, check out this post).

On the weekends, when I have a more time and access to my juicer, blender, and stores of culinary creativity, I like to mix it up. I’ll often throw together a smoothie I’ve been meaning to try, a new juice combo, or something altogether new.

Today, I decided to try a blended chia pudding. I’ve shared some recipes for regular chia pudding with you all before; the idea this time was to blend the pudding, rather than leaving the chia seeds whole, which creates that tapioca effect you see below:

My game plan was simple: blend 1 oz chia seeds (this is about 3 tbsp) with 3/4 cup nutmilk and 2 tbsp of carob powder in my Vitamix. I quickly realized I was out of nutmilk, so I whipped up a hazelnut milk like so:

Hazelnut Milk (Yields at least 4 cups)

1 cup hazelnuts
4 cups water
1 tbsp coconut oil (an idea stolen from Sarma’s recipe for Brazil nut milk; helps to emulsify)
4 pitted dates
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Blend all ingredients on high for a minute or so. Strain through a cheesecloth or nutmilk bag, and serve. Will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.

True to the plan, I blended 3/4 cup of my (very tasty) hazelnut milk with the chia seeds and 2 tbsp of carob (but you could also use cocoa powder). I tasted the pudding, realized it needed a bit of sweetness, and added a few drops of stevia; if you have a sweet tooth, you could add agave, dates, or raw honey to this recipe!

The result was a simple, tasty chocolate pudding. Now, I have to warn you: this is not a super-sweet indulgent treat like my chocomole. I liked it a lot, but I would describe it as “plain” — not too vibrant in flavor. You could definitely add sweetness to it, or additional chocolate flavor; you could also spike it with peppermint or orange extract. But I enjoyed the simple, nutty taste just the way it was; it was a perfect, mellow flavor profile for breakfast.

Lately, my girl Angela has been whipping up some crazy cool breakfast parfaits in all sorts of charming glassware. Inspired by her efforts, I decided to serve my pudding as a parfait, layered with slices of my fave fruit. After dusting off a wine glass — those babies don’t get much use in this non-drinker’s apartment — I came up with this:

OK. So maybe this “parfait” wasn’t quite as perfect as one of Ange’s creations:

In fact, it was a bit of a hot mess:

But hey, I tried. And it tasted great.

My favorite thing about chia seeds? Calcium! 1 oz, my friends, contains about 180 mg calcium, which is about 18% of your daily recommendation. This is especially cool for those of us who don’t rely on dairy to meet our calcium needs. Chia seeds also boast Omega-3s (which I’ve written about here) and a ton of fiber, so they’re pretty worthy all around. No wonder that, when I recently gave away a shopping spree at iHerb, so many of you wrote in to say that chia seeds would be your purchase of choice.

Guess what? You’ve got another shot at getting some for free! The kind people at Chia Seeds Direct — who are my go-to source for chia seeds — have offered one of my readers a 2 lb bag of chia seeds. These seeds are high quality, inexpensive, and shipped quickly, so it’s my pleasure to support them with this giveaway! To enter, simply do one, or all, of the following:

  1. Leave a comment on this post, telling me what sort of chia recipe you’re dying to try
  2. Tweet this giveaway, and leave a new comment to tell me you did
  3. If you’re not following me on Twitter yet, please do, and then leave me an additional comment to say so.

Good luck! I’ll announce the winner next Saturday, the 22nd.

On that note, I’m off to enjoy the rest of my day. Have a great night!

xo

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    268 Comments
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  3. I would like to try chia seeds in a nice butterscotch pudding recipe, or in a tiramisu recipe.

  4. I recently started looking into vegan and raw eating. I keep seeing Chia seeds on posts and in recipes- I’m dying to try them out!

  5. I’d love to try chia seeds in a recipe I found on No Meat Athlete’s blog: Carob-Strawberry Chia Energy Bars! I’m not a huge fan of bars, but sometimes a runner like myself just sorta needs them.

  6. i’ve never tried chia seeds before, so i would probably get a bit excited and make a few recipes. the banana thing Angela makes looks so amazing everytime, so probably that first 🙂

  7. I have been wanting to make you chocolate chia seed pudding for months now but haven’t been able to find affordable chia seeds. I hope that I finally get the chance!

  8. I’m dying to try a chia seed pudding- in particular I’m interested in a chia seed exercise recovery pudding recipe…which I believe I saw on Oh She Glows.

  9. I’ve been so curious about chia seeds but haven’t tried them yet. I would love to make chia pudding, experimenting with different flavors.

  10. I am dying to try to make your chia pudding. I would mix in some strawberries and bananas and top it off with a spoonful of almond butter! Sounds like this could very well be my new favorite breakfast!

  11. I’ve put chia in oatmeal and smoothies, but I’ve never made chia pudding. I’d like to see what that tastes like. It looks so “bally”!

  12. I’d love to try the 3-Minute Vegan Maple Oatmeal Cookie recipe over at Oh She Glows. I’ve only ever used ground flax seed and water to replace eggs, and I’d love to try using chia seeds and water instead!

  13. I would put them into an overnight oat mix. I’ve been reading a lot about chia seeds and would love to try them! 🙂

  14. I think I would want to try your blended chia seed pudding up here! I may have already commented… sorry :

  15. I really want to try chai pudding but I am waiting on my new blender to come in 🙂 Can’t wait!!!

  16. What an awesome recipe. I’m completely out of chia and have been looking where to get more..so thanks for the recommendation!! I guess I’ll be waiting til Saturday to order tho 😉

  17. Oh we could laways use more chia seeds PLEASE!!
    They are great new mama food (just had baby #3). I want to try some raw crackers where you sprinkle the tops with chia.
    Yum!!!

  18. I want to try this recipe! I tried your regular chia seed pudding and loved it! I haven’t given in to Twitter yet so this will have to be my only entry 🙂

  19. I’ve always wanted to try a chia pudding recipe. I’ve used it in a salad dressing so far, or on my oatmeal. I need to start using them regularly. Right now it’s just been a one-off kinda thing.

    I did not know that about the calcium. I am trying to cut back on dairy, and getting frustrated with the general dietary recommendations out there are for three – THREE – cups of milk or yogurt a day. Talk about being in the dairy industry’s back pocket.

  20. I’d like to just try whole chia seeds in a tapioca-like pudding, as I’ve never had them before. But, since reading the wonderful “Born to Run” (which I won from this very blog), I’ve been intrigued by them.

  21. vanilla cinnamon chia pudding soaked in hazelnut milk with agave or maple syrup drizzled over the top.

    coconut milk soaked chia pudding with spicy chocolate sauce, served warm.

    need to experiment with some savory flavors … risotto style perhaps.

    lk

  22. I love all these chia seed recipes I keep coming across! I personally want to make a whipped cream-ish airy vanilla pudding, since I know the seeds will keep it lighter than the heavy nut creams I’ve been making.

  23. Definitely a pudding recipe. I used to be a pudding addict as a kid but have never had raw, vegan pudding and it sounds delightful.

  24. I love chia seeds! I’ve been using them a lot in my smoothies. I will absolutely have to try your pudding recipes! They look divine!

    I have not actually tried making hazelnut milk before. It must be perfect with the chocolate and chia, though. It is now on my must-try list!

    I did make a lovely drink with cashew milk, chia, and just a touch of molasses a couple weeks ago. (I know molasses isn’t raw, but I had some left to use up! I bet yacon syrup would be just as yummy!)

    It was like a cross between iced coffee and boba tea. Very refreshing!

  25. Ooo! Great giveaway! I’m just running out of my stock of chia seeds, so this would be wonderful. I’d love to try making some sort of boba (bubble) tea thang with chia seeds replacing the tapioca balls.

  26. Thanks for the giveaway 🙂 I’d love to try one of the chia parfaits I’ve seen floating around your and Angela’s OSG blog. They look beautiful, nutrient-packed and delicious!

  27. I have been curious if chia seeds would yield a yummy seed milk? I think I will give that a shot. 😉

  28. I love chia seeds and use them all the time! I’d love to re-up my stash as I’ve been meaning to try them in a granola bar recipe!

  29. Yay! I would love to try Angela’s VVO w/the addition of chia seeds. Your breakfast pudding looks lovely too! Mmm!

  30. I’d love to try out the chia pudding! I just purchased a Vitamix and it should be here in 5 days so I can start experimenting with more raw foods!

  31. I think it would be wonderful to mix them into smoothies and oatmeal! I have been curious about these little gems but reluctant to purchase so what a fabulous giveaway!

  32. I am rather new to chia, so I would start with a simple pudding to resemble tapioca.

  33. Would love to make some dehydrated crackers using chia seeds and left over pulp from juicing =] Peace

  34. I have been staring at that parfait recipe you posted of Angela’s all weekend. I’m on a cleanse right now but it’s the first thing I want to try when it finishes!!

  35. I’d like to experiment with a chocolate peppermint chia pudding. I LOVE peppermint.

  36. I have never tried chia seeds, but have been greatly tempted every time I see them at my local co-op. I would probably start by making a pudding since your recipe looks wonderful! Thanks for hosting a giveaway!

  37. I totally just made my own version of VOO with chia seeds too on my last post!! And I put blueberry jam in there too to spice things up a little. hehe

    I’m hostin’ a little giveaway for organic preserves and thought it would go PERFECT in vegan overnight oats! Does strawberry basil jam and blueberry merlot sound good to you? 🙂

  38. I’ve always thought about blending the seeds! I thought for some reason it wouldn’t be as fluffy. Good to know!

    So I guess I’d try this recipe 😉

  39. i’m going to try the chocolate peppermint chia pudding from your holiday post. i have super awkwardly been incorporating chia into my diet recently since reading about all the health benefits… and i mean awkwardly: sprinkling it on sweet potatoes with dinner, throwing it in my daily green smoothies, etc. it’s tasted fine but i’d like to showcase them with more intention 🙂