in the kitchen: chocolate chia seed pudding

Apparently, chia seed is the new flax. And it’s taking the healthy living blogosphere by storm.

Yes, this kind of chia:

So, what exactly are chia seeds and why should we be eating them? Rather than, you know, using them to grow green elephants?

According to Dr. Weil, along with other various sources:

• Chia is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seeds.
• Unlike flax, they do not have to be ground to make their nutrients available to the body.
• Chia seeds provide fiber as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc.
• Another advantage: when added to water and allowed to sit for 30 minutes, chia forms a gel. Researchers suggest that this reaction also takes place in the stomach, slowing the process by which digestive enzymes break down carbohydrates and convert them into sugar.

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding (serves 1-2)

1/4 cup of chia seeds (You can find these at most health food stores. Mine cost $4.95/lb.)

3/4 cup of the milk of your choice (I used unsweetened soy milk, though next time I’d use sweetened.)

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1-2 tsp sugar, or the sweetener of your choice

half of a banana (optional)

Mix the milk, cocoa powder, sugar, and chia together in a small bowl. Put your well-mixed ingredients in the fridge and leave them there for at least 30 minutes. This will give your chia seeds time to gel up and come to a tapioca-like consistency.

Top your pudding with a few slices of banana, or anything else, really. Berries, whipped cream, a swirl of honey…

To be honest, my first thought was that chia pudding looks a lot like Floam. Does anyone else remember Floam? The cousin of Gak…?

Anyways.

The texture takes some getting used to, but this definitely satisfies my need for a little something sweet after dinner. Even if it does look a bit like Floam.