Chia-licious Chocolate Pudding

I love having pets around, but, in my opinion, these serve us much better as a tasty addition to our diet.

Chia seeds are quite incredible; they are a complete protein and are packed with omega-3 fatty acids!

What’s a complete protein? – A food that provides us all 9 essential amino acids, which we can only get from food. There are few plant-based complete proteins.

Why are omega-3 fatty acids good? They are anti-inflammatory! The last thing we want is chronic inflammation.

Chia seeds have been shown to:

• Decrease triglycerides and LDL (“bad” cholesterol)
• Increase HDL (good cholesterol)
• Be beneficial for heart health
• Reduce inflammation and lower blood pressure
• Reduce post-meal blood sugar

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Chia-licious Chocolate Pudding

Cook time: 5 minutes, Chill time: 2+ hours

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp cacao powder
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup (to taste, if you like it sweeter, add more!)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1-2 Tbsp chia seeds (depending how thick you like your pudding)
• Dairy-free chocolate, to top (these Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks are my favorite)

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan on medium-low heat, warm up your coconut milk.
2. Once it is warm, but not boiling, whisk in the cacao powder, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla.
3. Remove from heat and slowly add chia seeds while constantly whisking to avoid clumping.
4. Pour your pudding in a jar, glass container, or individual pudding cups, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours (this will depend on the size of your container)
5. Once your pudding has set, ENJOY!! You can top with chocolate chunks, coconut whipped cream, shredded coconut, fresh mint, chopped nuts, berries, etc.

Notes:

• TASTE your pudding before you chill it, depending on brands of ingredients you buy, flavors can vary. Some cacao powders are more potent, some less, make sure you have yours spiced and sweetened to your liking! 🙂
• For EXTRA richness – melt some Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks in the coconut milk before adding the chia seeds.
• You can also try subbing out the coconut milk for another dairy-free milk such as oat milk or almond milk, keep in mind that this may make your pudding thinner. Adding more chia seeds can help thicken your pudding.
• If you don’t like chocolate or are sensitive to cacao, this recipe can be made with vanilla bean as well or you can explore using a variety of spices!