THEY LOVE THIS STUFF. I’m shocked and amazed myself, but our girls do. I’d been hearing about the health benefits of chia seeds for years–fiber, omega fatty acids, calcium, antioxidants and protein–but in Italy, if it ain’t the stuff that mama made, it ain’t available. At least not in my grocery store. (The Italians are so traditional in many beautiful ways, but sometimes it was maddening limiting.) But here we are in NC now; Enter Trader Joe’s. As Paul sang chi-chi-chi-chia I threw a bag of chia seeds into our cart, not totally sure of what I’d do with them. But right there, on the back of the package was a recipe that turned out to be the unexpected hit of the year. (We’re still in February so I can say things like this.)
It’s a no-cook concoction, one that’s very easy for even toddlers to help make and maybe part of the reason why ours are so smitten with this whole thing. They helped.
I can’t say that older kids, old enough to know about real pudding, will love it too but I’d give it a try. If it’s not a hit as dessert, I can definitely see swirling it into yogurt or even hot oatmeal for a healthy hearty breakfast instead. (And try these dessert ideas too. They’re all low in sugar and high in good-for-you ingredients. Best of all, they’re delicious!)
For now, these two can’t get enough of of it as is.
But I may have to find a chia pet just for fun.
COCONUT MILK AND CHIA SEED NO-COOK PUDDING
This keeps for several days in the fridge, getting thicker if you don’t cover it–and I think it’s better as it get thicker.
NOTE: I’ve seen a couple of posts about the amount of honey, and think you’re right. There’s too much. I made an update to the recipe below and another thing, you could use maple syrup too.
ingredients
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons honey << UPDATED
- 1 cup coconut milk
instructions
Combine everything in a bowl and refrigerate overnight, uncovered. I think the best results came after 2 days but try it and see.
This post is part of these blog parties: Whole Food Wednesdays, My Girlish Whims, What I Whipped Up Wednesday and Wow Me Wednesday.
My boys were excited to make this treat with me this afternoon, and I am eager to see what they think of it in a day or two. As for me, I had it for dessert tonight (in leu of chocolate, thank you very much). I found it a little heavy on the honey, but will jot judge until it sits for another day or so. I am excited about the health benefits of the chia, so this was a fun new recipe. Now, I have a $12, 16 oz bag of chia….so help me ‘make over’ the recipe on the back of my bag:
2 tbls chia
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup rice milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teas baking powder
1/4 teas baking soda
1/4 teas salt
I think it sounds yummy, but lets omit the butter and cut down the sugar….. 🙂
looking forward to your touch ups on this!!!
thanks!
Lori
Lori, I’m going to make this soon! Looks really tasty…
Did you end up making the lemon chia seed cake? I’d love to know how it turned out, and a recipe..now that I have this huge container of chia seeds, we are looking for yummy ideas.
Jenn, it’s coming up next! Sorry for the delay. We’ve been moving and traveling and I’m also writing for a couple of new places too: Food Network and BabyZone, so I’ve been slow but stay tuned. Lemon Chia Seed Cake coming soon.
I made this the day you posted it. I too think that the honey is a little over powering, it’s so sweet it kinda makes your teeth ache, and at the same time grows on you are you dig into your bowl. I do have the urge to see what else I can do with this though, maybe a juice based pudding…
Thanks so much for sharing. I’d looked at these little seeds multiple times before and just hadn’t bothered to give it a go until your post. (ps: my seeds are white and almost disappear)
I think you are both right, and updated the recipe. You could also use maple syrup in place of the honey, though again I’d only use half the amount (1/4 cup.) Try it again if you have spare seeds and definitely let us know what other ideas you come up with! (We’re going to do Lori’s lemon chia seed cake next…)
How does this turn to pudding? I’ve never used chia seeds before–do they thicken the milk? Is it like tapioca? Describe please!
Yes that’s right. It plumps up like tapioca though mine wasn’t quite as thick after the first night. It gets even thicker after 2 days without being covered in the fridge.
By nature chia seeds form a sort of gel around them upon contact with water or any kind of liquid. It’s quite amazing to watch! They have the consistancy of tapioca and a very similar texture. This recipe is a fun one to experiment with.
I love Chia seeds and have been making “Chia Fresca” (couple of tablespoons of Chia seeds mixed with water, allowed to gel up a bit, then mixed with fruit juice) for a morning treat with my vitamins daily. I decided to try them to help my digestion. They work amazingly well for that! Which is what brings me to this: be cautious of eating a large amount of them. They definitely AID DIGESTION very well. They are super high in fiber, and the gel coating seems to have a bit of a laxative property. Some people experience an immediate reaction to their “assistance” in the intestines. I love them, though, and don’t really have that problem.
Yum. Love this idea. Thanks!
Do you use the coconut milk from a tetrapak or coco milk from the can? TIA!!
Tetrapak. I love the Trader Joe’s kind. Good luck!
I am newish to cooking with coconut milk and can only find the cans in the uk. Should I use just the creamy top part of the milk or can I use the grey watery part too ?
Thanks
Hi Caroline!
Yes you could use the liquid from a can. Save the fatty part though! So yummy for things like stir fry. Use it in place of other oil.
Also the coconut milk in a carton is usually near the bottled water and non-refrigerated juice at our grocery store. Check there!