I'm a huge pudding fan. The problem is, that pudding is generally made with milk or cream, which I can't really do, a lot of sugar - obviously not good and it is just SO good. I can't NOT eat all of it in one day (more like one night, to be honest. I suffer from insatiable night time sugar cravings). So I would make a lovely batch during the day and have one serving and be completely satisfied, then eat the remaining five servings after I put the kids to bed. Even if I were to make a healthier version of pudding, I would still eat all of it within an unreasonable period of time. Unless it has a very large quantity of fibre. Enter Chia pudding.

In case you aren't too familiar with chia seeds, they are wonderful little seeds that are full of fibre (both soluble and insoluble), fat (omega 3's & 6's) and protein. They've got a good amount of calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and many other minerals and vitamins. They are considered good for the gut, a good anti-oxidant and a good anti-inflammatory food. They develop a gelatinous coating when soaked in a liquid which does an excellent job of satisfying hunger and managing blood sugar fluctuations. These seeds differ from flax seeds in that they are totally digestible when eaten whole (it's the best way to eat them). Their gelatinous coating is what makes this pudding a pudding without any added thickening agents. It's wondrous! 

Now I'm not one of those 'Put Chia Seeds In Almond Milk and Set in the Fridge' types. Mine has to be creamy, luscious, thick and SO very tasty. I'm not going to do too much lecturing about nutrition today (mind you, I probably will), but I will say this- it's winter and my lips are dry. It looks awful. Rather than slathering myself in chap stick, I prefer to fix the problem from the inside. FAT! If you're like me and tend to dry up in the winter time, try adding more good fats to your diet. This recipe is full of fats. All from different plant-based sources and all excellent for the skin (and good quality fats, when consumed with the right foods do not make you fat, in fact, they help you to maintain a healthy weight!). As we go through the recipe, I'll give you some tid bits about each ingredient and why we should eat more.

One more thing: I tend to thrive on a higher fat/lower carb breakfast. This pudding is an excellent choice for a quick breakfast that will give you lots of fibre, fat, minerals & vitamins and a pinch of protein (sometimes I add a scoop of protein powder to give it a boost) to keep you satisfied and alert all morning long. It works great as a pre-workout meal or a mid day pick-me-up, too. Just whip it up the day before and let it set overnight in the fridge.

OK, Enough rambling, on to the pudding.

As usual, I generally don't measure my ingredients. This chia pudding is basically a smoothie with chia seeds added. Smoothies aren't really something that require much measuring - at least most of the time. As we go through the post, I will give general measurements with an attempt at a recipe at the end, but trial and error is my favourite way to cook. Shown above we have pure maple syrup, Prana whole chia seeds, Navitas raw cacao powder, Nuts to you Rainforest Butter, an avocado, a 160ml can of Thai Kitchen coconut milk and Silk coconut/almond milk.

So here we are. I'm starting off with my coconut/almond milk. I've just gone ahead and poured it into my cup without a thought. I stopped pouring at 400ml as that looked like enough. We need to leave enough room in the cup for the rest of our ingredients. 400ml is a bit over 1.5 cups (and a bit under 1.75 cups). This brand of non dairy milk is not half bad. I generally look to avoid carrageenan gum in my milks, dressings, ice creams and other items. It's a seaweed that is used to thicken and bind food. It's been linked to all kinds of health issues, with pain and joint stiffness being one of them - which is something I deal with regularly. This milk does not contain carrageenan gum. Remember to always go with unsweetened milk. Sugar is a big joint killer too, so we must always be conscious and in control of our sugar intake.

I'm adding 1/4 of an avocado. I don't really need to tell you what's so great about avocados, but I will say that they are high in monounsaturated fat which is a powerful anti-oxidant. Avocados are great for heart health, pain and joint stiffness and skin, hair and nails (and dry lips) among many other things. Consuming monounsaturated fats along with your saturated fats have a protective effect on the cardiovascular system. Try to consume at least 1 avocado per week.

Pop your avocado into your milk. Don't worry about stirring or blending just yet.

I'm adding just a pinch under 1/4 cup of cacao. Cacao can impart quite a strong chocolate flavour, so you don't need too much. I find that if I add too much, the pudding needs more maple syrup to compensate. So just under 1/4 cup seems to be the perfect amount. Raw cacao is very good for gut health. It's a pre-biotic fibre that is high in polyphenols. When metabolised by our gut bacteria, those polyphenols are converted into powerful anti-inflammatory compounds that are highly absorbable and use-able by the body. Amazing.

Yet again, I have just dumped it into my cup, no mixing needed just yet.

I like to have a slew of these little cans of coconut milk in my cupboard. They are perfect for small batches like smoothies & puddings. Thai Kitchen coconut milk is an affordable, good quality milk that ALWAYS separates - and that's a sign of a good milk. This pudding requires ONLY the cream on top. These wee cans (160ml) are the perfect size.

Scoop out all of the thick, solid coconut cream from the can and pop it into the cup.

Looks great so far! We're almost there. Still, no need to mix or stir, just move on to the next ingredient.

This is unsweetened Rainforest Butter by Nuts To You. It contains cashews, brazil nuts, coconut & coconut oil. I absolutely love it for adding to smoothies and puddings. It's got a mild, slightly sweet flavour. Any nut butter will do here. I often add unsalted (and dry roasted & completely natural) peanut butter, raw cashew butter or almond butter. Which ever butter suits your mood will do just fine. It helps to thicken the pudding, increase the fat content (so important for those winter lips) and improves the flavour. 

I've added a couple tablespoons of my nut butter. Just plop them right on top of everything.

Time for the maple syrup. This is a full 1/4 cup. You can play around with the sweetness and decide how much is best for you. It's absolutely fine to add a bit to the finished pudding if you find that it's not sweet enough. It's better to add less to the main recipe than too much! While I love maple syrup and use it all the time, I'm not going to pretend that it's a healthy sugar, because, at the end of the day, sugar is sugar and it spikes your insulin and leads to all kinds of problems. I like that it's natural, and It's a better choice than other sweeteners, but that's about it. I don't support the use of agave nectar or non calorie sweeteners, even if they are labelled as "healthy". Anything that attempts to trick the brain (and these guys don't, they just frustrate it) is not healthy and does not work in weight loss attempts. It's better to train your taste buds to be happy with less sugar and to work at reducing your sugar cravings through hormonal management. Therefore, I like maple syrup, dates or a good honey to sweeten things. No gimmicks please!

OK! We're ready to blend! I didn't add any salt or vanilla to this recipe, but you absolutely can (I usually do). A bit of coffee might be nice too. Don't worry, I didn't forget the chia seeds, they come in after we've blended.

Pop the lid on and blend on high for 30 seconds or so. My Blender has a great Puree setting and that works just fine. Basically, blend until totally smooth.

Perfect! Your pudding base should be the consistency of a thick-ish smoothie. Give it a taste now to make sure the taste is to your liking.

Time for the chia seeds! I'm adding a bit less than 1/2 cup. Again, you have to play around here. If you add too much, you get a very thick, unsatisfying pudding, too little will not give you that creamy pudding consistency. It's better to add a bit less now and stir more in later if need be.

Stir your seeds into the pudding, making sure they get evenly distributed throughout. You want them ALL over the place!

Pop the lid on and give it a gentle shake, distribute those seeds before putting the pudding into the fridge. You can let it rest for about 1 hour, or as I prefer, over night. Check on it after about 30 minutes to make sure the seeds havent sunk to the bottom. If that happens, just give it another stir- and this is when you might add a bit more if it does't seem to be thickening up. 1 tbsp at a time is best.

When your chia pudding is ready, it will look like this. You can see little chia bumps on the surface, and it is no longer pourable.

But it will be scoop-able! Go ahead and get yourself a fancy cup and fill it on up.

Serve it to yourself in a beautiful glass or dessert bowl. I gave myself a wine glass because I deserve it. 

While this chocolate chia pudding is beautiful and inspirational on it's own, I think it could use a little something...

Navita's Sweet cacao nibs. Perfect! Cacao nibs offer the same health benefits as the powder. They are simply the bean roughly crumbled & peeled. I'm using the sweetened ones here (they are just rolled in a bit of cane sugar), but the unsweetened nibs will do just fine.

And perhaps a sprinkle of chocolate covered salba (chia seeds). These are exactly what they sound like. Chia seeds rolled in 63% chocolate. They basically taste like chocolate sprinkles.

Just look at this perfect chia pudding! The seeds are evenly distributed and they've plumped up to create a creamy, decadent treat. Topped with Sweet Nibs and Chocolate Salba, this is the perfect treat. 

Lets just keep gazing at this thing of beauty.

Totally guilt free

Meghann's Lip Rescuing Chocolate Chia Pudding

• 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups non-dairy milk
• 1/4 piece of avocado
• 1/8 - 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
• Cream from 160ml can coconut milk (about 1/4 cup coconut cream)
• 2 tbsp. nut butter of your choice
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey (honey's a bit sweeter, maybe start with 1/8 cup & taste)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup whole chia seeds (black or white)

Throw everything except for the chia seeds into the blender and blend until smooth. Add the chia seeds and gently stir to combine & distribute the seeds. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Enjoy!