Chia Seed Pudding

I have been noticing the health buzz that is going on about chia seeds for years now and decided only recently to join the band wagon. I had stuck mostly to breakfast puddings or shakes using chia seeds until now and decided to post today one of those as part of the blogging marathon under the theme of  'puddings'. This is not one of those traditional puddings but an uncooked one that takes about two minutes to put together and can be eaten as a healthy breakfast or even a hassle free dessert.

My daughter just stepped into the kitchen the night I was putting together this pudding for my next morning's breakfast. She took a look at chia seeds and asked what those were and then started to freak out. Turns out that she had assumed that they were not edible, thanks to those TV commercials of foliage heads. 😊

A chia seeds' based pudding is quite flexible and can be customized according to one's diet preference or the ingredients on hand. For today's version I have used milk and yogurt as the base and added strawberries and almonds.
 
Ingredients: (Yield 1 serving)
1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup Greek style yogurt
or
1 cup diary or non dairy milk 
2 tbsp. chia seeds
Vanilla extract for flavor
Sweetener to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup hulled and chopped strawberries 
1 tbsp. slivered almonds.

Method:
* Blend milk, yogurt and vanilla together. Add chia seeds and stir. Refrigerate the mixture for about 4 hours or overnight.
* Before serving, taste and add sweetener as needed and stir in berries and nuts. 
* Or all ingredients can be blended together and refrigerated.

This goes to Blogging marathon #74, under the theme 'Are you Pudding me' Check out the page to read what other marathoners are cooking.

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Banana and Chia Seeds Overnight Oats

Though I jumped late on the 'overnight oats' band wagon, I have come to realize that I love it more than the cooked oatmeal because of the texture of the oats. It doesn't turn mushy and there are zillion ways to jazz it up. All you need to do is mix equal parts of rolled oats, milk, yogurt, sweetener and flavoring agent if preferred in a sealed jar / container and refrigerate it overnight. And a hearty breakfast in a creamy base is ready by the morning to eat or carry it to go. There is no cooking involved and it is a fuss free preparation that hardly involves a couple of minutes of one's time. Just before serving it in the morning, fruits / dry fruits / nuts can be added to make it more interesting and nutritious. Or they can be added along with the oats at night. Overnight oats would make a perfect breakfast especially on hot summer days. 

I usually prepare this overnight oats using a little over 1/3 cup rolled / old fashioned oats but depending upon one's intake the oats quantity can range anywhere between 1/3 to 1/2 cup for one serving. Any dairy or non dairy milk can be used depending upon one's dietary preferences for the liquid portion. Though usually equal quantity of oats and liquids are used in an overnight oats recipe I tend to add more milk and yogurt since I don't prefer my oats with a thick consistency. Sweetener can be anything ranging from honey, sugar, maple syrup, agave nectar, again depending upon one's taste and choice. I prefer to add the sweetener in the morning to decide the quantity depending upon what toppings I am going to use. In today's recipe, I mashed a overly sweet banana and added a tiny quantity of sweetener. Ditto with the flavoring agent though it is optional. Some of the choices would be vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon and pumpkin spice. The basic overnight oats preparation is like a blank canvas though with garnishes and one's creativity, it can lead to great variety of breakfast options. There is no problem in eating the plain, basic version of oats but however it can be made more colorful and interesting with toppings. They can range anywhere from fresh and/or dried fruits, nuts, seeds, coconut, chocolate and many more. For today's version, I used a mashed banana, chia seeds, raisins and sweetened dried cranberries.

 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup yogurt (I used homemade fat free yogurt.)
2/3 cup milk 
1 tbsp. chia seeds
Sweetener to taste (I used honey.)
1 banana, mashed or sliced into discs
1 tbsp. dry fruits / nuts to garnish (optional. I used sweetened cranberries and raisins.)

Method:
* Whisk oats, yogurt, milk and chia seeds in a pint sized container with a lid.
* Close the lid and refrigerate the oat mixture overnight or about 4 to 6 hours.
* Add banana slices or a mashed banana and toppings of your choice to the oats. Mix well and taste it before adding the sweetener to make sure whether it is needed.
 
This goes to Blogging marathon #70, under the theme 'Cooking for One'. Check here to find out what the other marathoners are cooking as part of the BM.

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