Chia Power Pudding

When I saw these little chia seed bags at our local food cottage, I could not believe my luck and grabbed one on the spot. In the back of my mind was this very dish: Chia seed pudding (similar to tapioca pudding), which I had been thinking about of late.

The first time I had heard of chia seeds was at one of Dr. Ritamarie's monthly potlucks and it was incredible. It's really as simple as it gets to make, and so well within my range... ha, ha.

Here is a great article on the Living and Raw Food site. It's a bit long and worth your time.

Chia seeds are very versatile and can be added to a number of every day food, like hot or cold cereal, yogurt, jam and jellies. This site recommends a 9:1 as water to seed ratio when soaking. In 30 mn the seeds will have turned into a chia gel that keeps in the refrigerator for a couple weeks. 1 pound of seeds makes 10 pounds of gel...

Taken from the article above:

• Used as a staple food by the Indians of the south west and Mexico.
• Incredible hydrophilic properties: the ability to absorb more than 12 times its weigh in water. Its ability to hold on to water offers the ability to prolong hydration.
• High oil content and the richest vegetables source for the essential omega-3 fatty acid.
• Rich source of calcium containing the important mineral boron, which acts as catalyst for the absorption and utilization of the calcium by the body.
• Will absorb 9 times it’s weight in water in less than 10 minutes and is very simple to prepare.
• Use as a fat replacer, for energy and endurance, or for added great taste, by substituting the oil in your breads with Chia gel.

Following Dr. Ritamarie's proportions for this recipe, I soaked 1/2 C chia seeds with 5 C water -a lower ration than mentioned above. You can play with it a bit to find the proper "gel quality" desired, more or less thick. This ration turned out great for a pudding consistency.

Other things that went into this pudding were chopped and soaked dates (blended into a paste) for sweetener (can also use agave nectar or other prefered choice), some coconut flakes, a drop of vanilla, and a pinch of sea salt.

recipe: Chia Power Pudding
book: Power Breakfast Ideas
by: Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo

Add any pieces of fruits, nuts, or berries on top... or anything else that calls to you on that fine morning. It's your breakfast afterall. The banana slices and frozen blueberries worked particularly well on mine.