Chia Pudding Fun!

@conscious_cooking

One of my favorite power-breakfasts is a Chia Pudding Parfait. Packed with protein, antioxidants, and healthy fats (and naturally sweetened) this little treat is always a winner to provide satiety and a natural nutrient-boost. Yummy breakfasts are an essential part of my monthly 10-day Plant-powered Clean Eating Challenge. This is one of everyone's favorite recipes in the program for breakfast, lunch, or a snack. 

To celebrate this versatile, easy-to-make, and fun-to-eat meal, I started a fun little hashtag project or "party" on Instagram, inviting people to create and share their #chiapudfun. It was so wonderful to see everyone's posts, the colors, flavors and food art. I would love to see your creations too! 

Here's the recipe:

FOR THE NUT MILK
1 cup raw, unsalted nuts of choice (cashews, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, etc)
3 cups filtered water
1-2 pitted medjool dates, or 3 T pure maple syrup

• Soak the nuts overnight in plenty of filtered water. 
• Rinse and drain the nuts, discarding the soaking liquid
• Add all the ingredients to a high speed blender. 
• Blend until smooth. Note: Cashews don't usually need to be strained through a fine meshed sieve, or muslin nut bag. Other nuts, such as almonds may need to be strained to remove the meal, if you prefer a smooth milk and pudding. 

FOR THE PUDDING - PER PORTION
1 cup nut milk (as above)
3 T chia seeds, white or black
Optional: Add flavor – Cacao, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, matcha, etc

• Combine in a bowl or a jar, stirring well and let rest for 20 minutes or overnight 

Now, the fun part! 

Dress up your pudding in layers of: 

1. Fruit or Vegetables – Berries, citrus, banana, kiwi, beets, sweet potato, etc
2. Creaminess (optional) – Plant-based yogurt / cream / mousse, nut butter, etc
3. Other toppings – Good-for-you granola, puffed grains, nuts and seeds, etc

Featured below is a selection of beautiful creations from my Instagram hashtag party that some of my IG favorite accounts posted to join in on the fun. Click on each one to see all the ingredients they used! Feel free to continue the party by sharing your own creations on Instagram with the tag  #chiapudfun. 

Have fun playing with your food! Cx

@foodpicjp

@husbandsthatcook

@plantbasedartist

@thejamlab

@umamikitchen

@vanillaandbean

@wifemamafoodie

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I also tried baking muffins with the cassava flour. These are Apple Cardamom muffins which were tasty, but a little on the dense side. I used a chia seed "egg" instead of real eggs, so there wasn't that fluffiness. Still a work in progress, but I will keep you posted! :)

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It's time to start a spring clean with the Yommme™10-day detox program!

Successful completed session April 13-22, 2015

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Kung Hei Fat Choy!

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The Chinese believe that your temperament and actions, and everything you eat during the first week of the new year, sets the tone for the rest of the year. So the festivities and meals are filled with symbolic foods for the Lunar New Year like Steamed Fish & Fried Noodles and New Year's Dumplings / Vegetarian Dumplings. Almond cookies are also a symbolic sweet treat during the new year. They symbolize ancient coins, thus "giving" you good fortune for the year.

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Join me here, and on Instagram, in the counting the days to Christmas, opening up my virtual advent calendar each day, to see how you can keep the holiday season healthy. For more healthy tips, recipes, and a year of mindful journaling, preview and purchase the Conscious Living Daybook here.

Day 1 – EAT GREEN... especially leafy greens. 

Get at least five full servings of vegetables in each day, to load your body up with essential disease-fighting minerals, nutrients, and fiber. Naturally boost your energy, strengthen your  immune system, lower your cholesterol, detoxify your liver, and even clear congestion with this simple step.

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I made this "Rainbow" Chili for my family the other night, and it was
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I've tried a few times to move away from the traditional pork and vegetable dumplings that I've been making for years, to a vegetarian option, but haven't had much success, as those dumplings always tended to fall to pieces when boiling them. My good friend, Karen, who has been vegetarian for over 20 years gave me the tip to cook all the vegetables first in order to remove all the excess water before stuffing the wrappers. I like preparing a big batch of dumplings to have in the freezer, as my "go to", especially now that the weather is starting to cool down. While I've never had the time to make my own wrappers, I'm sure I will get there one day, making a batch of gluten-free ones. ;) The dumpling filling is definitely tastier when pan-fried or steamed, especially for these farm-fresh veggie-licious ones. 

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It's September already... how did that happen?!? Time to take advantage of the bountiful summer produce. Whether or not you are a member of a CSA or have access to a farmer's market, many grocery stores have local produce available.

Stock up on summer's bounty this weekend, and take an hour or so to prepare a few warm weather favorites.

There are numerous health benefits in line with the Aryuvedic principals of eating seasonally, but it's definitely nice to capture and savor a taste of some of summer's sunshine in the cold winter months. ;)