Chia Seed Pudding

Chia Seed Pudding

It doesn't look like much does it? This lump of grayish pudding..kind of looks like lumpy gray-black jello.
But I LOVED it.
I bought a bag of chia seeds because I read Raw and Beyond: How Omega-3 Nutrition is Changing The Raw Food Paradigm by Victoria Boutenko, Elaina Love, and Chad Sarno. When I read that chia seeds were extraordinarily high in Omega-3s, I bought a bag. But what to do with it?

Here's what I did, and what I learned:

I made the 'Chia Seed Pudding' in Living Raw Food by Sarma Melngailis. I added raisins and chopped apples, and more almond milk after I prepared it. It took a while to get used to the gel-like seeds. But the TASTE.....now that was amazing.

The recipe:

1 cup chia seeds
3 cups nut milk, coconut milk, or hemp milk
3-5 tablespoons agave nectar (I used 4 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, but use it anyway)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, but use it for sure)
Pinch of sea salt

Place the chia seeds, milk, agave, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir well, so there are no clumps, and all the chia seeds are covered in milk. Let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate. (Basically, stir and walk away. This is truly 'fast food.')

Come back.

Put some of it in a bowl, add fruit, nuts, and more milk to make it like cereal. This makes a lot of pudding.

Eat. Savor the taste.

I liked it so much I wrote Sarma on Facebook to tell her. And Raymond loved it too.

But here's the deal: Chia seeds are very high in fiber. You'll be pooping forever. And because it's so high in fiber, it's an appetite suppressant. I didn't know all of this before hand.

I suggest eating less pudding than you think, at first. It won't look like a lot, but you'll be full quickly. Add a tablespoon to your breakfast smoothies (let seeds sit in water or milk first) so you won't be so hungry by lunchtime.

And as far as Victoria, Elaina, and Chad's book goes: Part of me was disappointed. Between the three of them, there's only 33 pages of their story of why they now include cooked food in their diets.

I know they have other books. I have all of Victoria's books as well as her children Sergei & Valya's book Fresh. But Victoria is Miss "Cooked Food is an Addiction." (from 12 Steps to Raw Food) My girl was hardcore. For her to make a change is a complete paradigm shift. And there is no judgement in what I am writing. I say "to each his own." I just wanted to hear more from her, because I know there is more to her story.

It's just the whole volume felt slim. Like they were holding back. I couldn't figure out what bothered me about the book. I think that it hadn't decided what it would be: personal stories of three respected raw food pioneers or a recipe book? I think it would have been better if it were one or the other.

The best part of the book is the chart which include the ratio of omega-3s to 6s in oils, seeds, and greens. That's good information to have. I'll use Raw and Beyond as a reference tool. But that's about it.

Love,
Althea

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Chia Seed Pudding