Carob Chia Pudding

This is the part of the story where I tell you to make sweet, creamy pudding out of seeds, and you think to yourself, “She’s lost her rocker.”

Before you reach for that little “X” at the top right of your screen, I can explain.

Here’s how it goes:

Pudding – one of my favorite desserts – typically uses some sort of highly refined ingredient (like corn starch) to make it thick.  Not so healthy.

Enter: chia.  Chia has some super amazing qualities to it, one of which is its thickening ability. Just mix some chia with liquid, wait a few minutes, and it’s thick.

The happy part is that chia is a healthy, whole food – no modified whatchamastarch going on here. And, unlike most other thickeners, it’s very high in fiber (which is really helpful for weight loss).

Taste? Chia is very mild tasting, so you can incorporate it into just about any recipe and hardly notice.

4 Things You Should Know About Chia Seeds

Fiber also feeds the good microbes in your gut thereby improving digestion.

1. They’re naturally gluten-free

Chia seeds are naturally gluten free. If you are needing to avoid gluten, chia is a healthy option for you.

2. I’m bananas for chia

Chia seeds have two times more potassium than bananas.

3. Chia up. Cholesterol down.

Speaking of cholesterol, research suggests that chia seeds may help increase HDL (good) cholesterol while reducing blood triglycerides.

4. Texture to order

If you’re not into the fun, frog-egg texture of whole chia seeds, you can grind them into a powder in a coffee grinder or a blender.

Bonus fact: Chia is also loaded with fiber which has been shown to help with weight loss and gut health.

Carob Chia Pudding

Carob Chia Pudding

Both carob and chia are good sources of fiber and calcium.

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Prep Time 7 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 minutes mins

Inactive Time 8 hours hrs

Total Time 8 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course Dessert

YIELD 2 cups

All recipes on jenniferskitchen.com are property of jennifer’s kitchen and cannot be republished without written permission.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1/4 cup chia seed
• 3/4 cup full-fat, canned coconut milk
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar - scant – OR if you want this pudding to be sugar-free, use date puree to sweeten it
• 1/16 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Teeccino Vanilla Nut Naturally Caffeine-Free Herbal Coffee Granules - optional
• 2 tablespoons roasted carob powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

• Mix together almond milk and chia seed. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, mix together coconut milk, sugar, and salt (and Teeccino if using) and cook over high heat until sugar is dissolved. (About 2 minutes.) Remove from heat.
• Mix carob powder into chia and almond milk mixture. If your carob powder is clumpy, sift through a sieve first.
• Add vanilla and mix well.
• Add chia/carob mixture to coconut milk mixture in saucepan. Mix well.
• Place in refrigerator to chill overnight.

Notes

If you want your pudding to be super smooth, place ingredients in blender after they have all been combined (step 5) and blend well. Place in frig to chill.I found it interesting that the smooth, blended pudding didn’t taste as sweet as the regular chia pudding. You may want a bit of extra sweetener if you blend it.

Yield: 2 cups (4 1/2-cup servings)

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Health Benefits of Carob

Carob is a super healthy food! It’s a great source of antioxidants, fiber, B vitamins, and calcium. Check out my recipes using carob. And here are some of my favorites:

Healthy, Sugar-Free, Oil-Free, Vegan, Birthday Cake

Sugar-Free, Oil-Free, Non-Dairy Carob Frosting

Carob Avocado Sauce or Spread

Carob Oatmeal

Peanut Butter Carob Fudge

Sugar-Free Carob Ice Cream

Is Chocolate a Healthy Treat? (And a recipe for you!)

Is chocolate a healthy food?

Chocolate does provide some antioxidants, but it also contains many harmful (and potentially addictive) chemicals, including phenylethylamine, theophylline, theobromine, and caffeine.

These chemicals have been shown to stress the kidneys, the adrenals, and the liver.

They also contribute to lower bone density; cause a loss of vitamin B and vitamin C in the body; increase the risk of diabetes; aggravate PMS; cause migraines and mood swings; and contribute to weight gain.

If you want to prevent these health problems, avoid chocolate.  Carob is a much healthier option. Don’t have any carob on hand? Here’s where you can get the best carob.

You can read more about chocolate’s unhealthy effects in a post I wrote here.

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