My Delicious Chia Pudding Experiment

A friend of mine who is doing the Paleo Diet brought some unusual dessert to lunch the other day. It looked like wet sand. I asked her what it was and she said chia pudding. I was like, pardon? Apparently the same seeds that they cultivate for Chia Pets are actually, in non-sprouted form, a superfood that people are putting on salads, in smoothies, yogurt, even just eating raw --and have been doing for years now. I asked to try some. It was a little like tapioca but with more granularity instead of the soft bubbles of tapioca. Also, it had a pleasingly nutty taste. I find the flavor of tapioca rather bland and unappealing. My friend said that there were a zillion recipes on the internet for chia pudding and encouraged me to go for it. She said she bought the seeds at Whole Foods in the bulk section.

So when I got home I researched chia seeds and found out some things that convinced me I wanted to try making chia pudding. The seeds are high in fiber (higher than flax!), full of antioxidants, packed with omega-3, and they're a complete protein. Here's one article I found from the NYT explaining the history of how chia seeds went from a pop culture phenomenon to a health food. And here's one quick & dirty run-down of the nutrition benefits plus a pudding recipe from PETA.

Also, it should be mentioned: I like pudding. I mean I realllly like pudding. Or anything with a puddinglike texture --yogurt, smoothies, frozen Cool Whip eaten standing over the kitchen sink at 1am. But I'm lactose intolerant, and I gotta cross the river to get my soy yogurt, pudding, and so forth, and frozen Cool Whip ... yeah. I don't have to explain what's bad about eating that.

What I'm trying to say is: chia pudding is SO EASY to make that even the laziest cook (or, just perhaps, maybe you are suffering from a major depressive episode) can get behind it. Chia seeds and almond milk in sealed containers keep for a good while. No pesky trips to WF all the time.

These are the seeds. Mike drove me to WF and I too found them in the bulk bins, but you can get them in your local health food co-op or order online.

When you put them in liquid, they absorb it and become tapioca-like in their consistency. Actually, to me they are a little more crunchy and nutty than tapioca, which I find is an advantage. So to make the pudding base, all you gotta do is take a liquid, like almond milk for example (you can use any kind of milk), add seeds, stir-stir-stir for five minutes, and put it in the fridge overnight in a covered bowl.

Out of curiosity more than anything, I went back a few times during the day and gently tipped the bowl around to see how it was setting up. After about six hours I took the lid off and gave it another stirring, which seemed to be the right thing: the thickness increased dramatically after that. This is the chia pudding base the following morning. See how the seeds have absorbed the milk? Cool.

I found many ratios of seeds to milk while browsing internet recipes. I decided on 1c milk to 3 tbsp seeds + 1/2 packet of stevia extract to sweeten it. Sweet tooth plus grief-eating adds up to "I wanna keep it sugar free." You can also use maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar. Another cool thing about chia pudding: the high fiber content and the fact that the seeds have absorbed liquid keeps you feeling fuller longer. Yay!

 I knew I wanted to make A LOT of base and fool around with spices, so I made 4c milk, 12 tbsp of seeds, and 2 packets of stevia extract. It came out pleasingly creamy and just sweet enough. I like my pudding pretty dense though. The next time I make a large amount I might add an extra 1 to 2 tbsp of seeds to see if it firms up a bit.

When I was out getting seeds and spices, I also got some tiny food storage containers (1/2 c each) to portion out the pudding. I wanted to try four different flavorings. This is where I abandoned the recipes and struck out on my own. I'm a much better improvisor than recipe-follower. I wanted 1) chocolate 2) ginger-cardamom 3) cinnamon-lavender-clove and 4) mixed berries.

Here's the chocolate:

I added (to 1c base) 2 tbsp of Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa + 1 packet stevia extract to counteract the bitterness of the cocoa. RESULT: Yummy but tastes a bit too diet-y. Next time, 1/2 less stevia.

Here's the ginger cardamom. The picture isn't so interesting because I took it after I stirred in the spices...

I added (to 1c base) 1/2 tsp ground ginger and 1/2 tsp ground cardamom. RESULT: Spicy like a good chai. I love it!

Here's the cinnamon lavender and clove:

I added (to 1c base) 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/2 tsp crushed lavender flowers, and just a sprinkle of clove. RESULT: Unexpectedly delightful. I would almost say magical. You get the lovely floral taste from the lavender and also a slight bitterness, but then it's very earthy and sweet from the cinnamon and clove. When I was making this one I felt my mom's presence there for half a second. Maybe I just imagined it, but whatever. She was all about making cakes, pastries, and breads... maybe when I experiment with a sweet, I will feel close to her. For those of you who don't read this blog regularly, my mom passed away four months ago, almost to the day. Tomorrow it will be four months. EDIT: When I ate this pudding this evening, the cinnamon had overpowered the lavender. Next time, reduce cinnamon by half.

Lastly, the mixed berry:

As you can tell, I added WF Cherry-Berry Mix to the 1c base. Dried fruit is good for you but I don't like the taste of raisins... This mix has sour cherries, bing cherries, strawberries, and blueberries. I just tossed in a handful and stirred until it felt right. RESULT: The pudding seemed a little more all-over sweet plus I got extra pops of sweetness from the fruit. I wonder if the fruit will re-hydrate as the pudding sets in the fridge.

Here's what it looks like portioned out:

So each container holds half a cup. This pudding is rather rich, so half a cup should be enough to satisfy... and if you eat more at one time, who's judging? It's good for you.

NOTE: 4c of almond milk plus 12 tbsp of seeds makes about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2c (dry measure) of pudding. This might be obvious to people who measure things a lot, but it wasn't to me. Like I said, when I cook I'm improvisational. I'm mentioning it because, if you decide to do this method and make 1c each of different flavors, you can use an ample cup. The chocolate was the first one that I made and you can see in the picture that those 1/2c containers aren't full! I was using a scant cup and then I had leftovers. I ate the remaining 1/4-1/2c for breakfast. To me it was even tasty all by itself.