I tend to go through phases with certain foods. When I first discovered nutritional yeast (or nooch), I put it on everything. Then it was kale, although I never quite got over that phase and still eat a lot. I went through a similar phase with chia seeds, where I made chia pudding all the time! For some reason, I haven’t had chia pudding in quite some time. When I saw Nicole’s Vanilla Chia Pudding for Two, I decided it was time to try it again!
Why Chia?
Chia seeds are found in many healthy recipes and are more common now than they were several years ago. They come from a desert plant and have been around since the Mayan and Aztec cultures. They pack a nutritional punch, as they contain omega-3s, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and calcium. They are also a good source of carbs, so balancing them in my diet required a little creativity. In 2 tablespoons, you’ll find 4 grams of protein, 9 grams fat, and 12 grams carbohydrates.
Vanilla Chia Pudding
To make this pudding fit into my nutrition plan, I decided to add some additional protein to the mix. Although the key ingredient is vanilla, I decided to add chocolate to the party. I added 1 scoop of Vega’s Choc-a-lot Energizing Smoothie to pump up the protein and topped it off with fresh raspberries. I’ve packed a couple up to bring to work as my mid-morning snacks the next few days. Make sure you head over to get the full recipe on Fitful Focus, so you can enjoy this healthy snack (or breakfast or dessert) this week!
And now it’s the time to see what others cooked up for this week’s challenge! In case you are new to MMAZ, the goal is to cook a meatless recipe that features one of the ingredients from this past month (in this case – unbleached flour and/or vanilla). If you join the fun, make sure your visit at least a few other participants to help build our little community and share the wealth:
In case you missed the create weeks, check out all the unbleached flour recipes and vanilla recipes that were created!
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Questions for you:
- Are you on any food kicks right now?
- Vanilla or Chocolate?