Banana and Pineapple Chia Pudding

I have to admit I was drawn to this by the picture on Pintest and my version looked a lot different. Luckily it tasted really nice. Isabella (5 years) loved it, so it will be a 'make again' for me.
It was easy, it is really healthy and tastes good.
I have been trying different Chia seed recipes after coming across information about the incredible health benefits (included in a previous post)

The picture that attracted me.

Isabella suggested using blueberries instead of pineapple next time - a great idea.
We ate it after about 4 hours and it was fine.

Banana and Pineapple Chai Pudding

Ingredients

4 Tbsp chia seeds
4 medium bananas
1-2 cups of fresh diced pineapple (I used canned)
1 cup of water

Directions

In a blender blend banana and water.

Pour blended mixture into a dessert container or bowl. Add chopped pineapple.

Stir in chia seeds. Mix very well.

Pop into refrigerator to set up. The longer you let it set up the better it tastes. I generally let it refrigerate over night.

Chocolate Chia Puddings - diary free

My last experiment with Chia seeds went well. This time I wanted to give them a try substituting milk with almond milk to make them dairy free. Almond milk is not a regular ingredient in our house so I froze the half I didn't use.
I worked on the theory that there were so many recipes around, I could just play with ingredients and get an ok result.

It was ok...not amazing but better than feeding my family ice cream!

The recipe I used was...

Chocolate Chai Puddings
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
4 tablespoons of cocoa
2 tablespoons of maple syrup (or honey or stevia)

8 tablespoons of black Chia seeds

Mix the almond milk, cocoa and maple syrup. It takes a while to get them really combined.
Add Chia seeds and mix.
Go back and stir several times over the next couple of hours.
Leave for a few hours for the seeds to absorb the liquid and thicken.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Salmon is one food I try to have my family eat regularly. Unfortunately it is never as often as I would like. I've recently come across Chia seeds which have high levels of Omega 3 in them along with loads of other really good nutrients.
It's easy to add to breads, stir fries and salads as the seeds have little taste. The interesting thing with it is that when it gets wet it turns gelatinous (a bit like flax seeds).
I found lots of recipes like this one on the website sweetlyraw...a chocolate type pudding with all sorts of ingredients I don't have in my pantry. The basic premise is that you make a flavoured liquid and mix the Chai seeds in and they thicken it over about 20 minutes.
Tonight I improvised with great results!
It is like chocolate mousse in flavour but with texture a bit like a sago or tapioca pudding.
I'm usually craving chocolate in the evening but tonight I've had my chocolate hit.

The recipe isn't precise and I will do some experimentation with it since it went down really well with my family - they didn't realise that it was actually a pretty healthy dessert!
I'm keen to substitute the milk with coconut milk or almond milk and maybe try it with berries.
Watch this space for more Chia recipes.



Chocolate Chia Pudding
Melt about 80g of dark chocolate in about 3/4 cup of milk
Stir in 1/4 tsp of vanilla paste
Mix in 2 1/2 tbsp on Chia seeds

Mix well, then pour into individual dishes and allow to thicken on the bench for about an hour.