I've been on a bit of a chia pudding kick again lately - probably due to the abundance of fresh berries in the summertime. I'm all about anything that can be a vehicle for those berries! We can easily go through a couple of half-flats per week at our house. This morning I had vanilla chia pudding with a heap of gorgeous blueberries and some cacao nibs and as I was taking a picture for Instagram (as one does) I realized that while I have shared some recipes for chia pudding in my newsletter, I have never shared one on my blog.

Like most of you my first exposure to chia seeds was via Chia Pets in the 70's and 80's ("Ch-ch-ch-chia"). I never even knew you could eat them until a few years ago but in fact chia seeds have been around for centuries - especially in some ancient civilizations. They were an important and even mystical food for the Aztecs and Mayans back in the day - in fact, “chia” is the ancient Mayan word for “strength.” Yay for superfoods!

Chia seeds are nutritional powerhouses packed with calcium, antioxidants and omega-3 fats.

One ounce (about 2 tablespoons) contains 139 calories, 4 grams of protein, 9 grams of healthy fat, 12 grams of carbohydrates and 11 grams of fiber, plus vitamins and minerals.

Chia pudding has been a popular item in healthy food circles for several years now but lately I've found it more widely available in restaurants and grocery stores all over - including this little café I went to in Montreal last May. Their raspberry chia pudding was the bomb.

At first I the texture of whole chia seeds kind of bugged me and I only made the blended version of this recipe. But I've come to like the fully seeded version better now and that's the one I currently use.

For extra protein and a nutritional boost, I also like to add some Philosophie Superfood Protein Powder. It comes in 3 flavors: Green Dream, Berry Bliss and Cacao Magic and it adds 10g of plant-based protein as well as adaptogens and other superfoods.

I also add grass-fed collagen peptides to my recipe for extra protein as well as for the other added benefits of collagen. My favorite is Vital Proteins most often but there are several choices out there.  The collagen is completely optional here. The recipe tastes the same with or without it.

Enjoy!

Xo,

Lisa