Hiya Chia ;)

I don't do diets. I don't do fads. 

But I do do healthy eating.

I've always eaten well, I gave up drinking fizzy drinks around 16-17 years old.

I don't binge eat or overly enjoy bad foods, but I also don't limit myself to rabbit food either.

I believe that being healthy comes from a balance of an awareness of calorific intake, and 

the ability to burn it off.

In other words, the more I feel like I've done in the day, the more I can justify a few extra calories ;) I'm lucky in that I don't have to watch what I eat, because I enjoy eating healthy. Health is a state of mind, and once you're on that journey, life is so much easier!

I (fairly) recently came across something that I have quickly become obsessed with.

Chia Seeds.

I know, right?! Seeds. How exciting can they really be?

Science bit: Chia seeds are so healthy, it's mad. They contain 80% of your daily calcium intake, 30% recommended daily intake of manganese for healthy bones, 1/3 of the daily reccomendation of omega-3 fatty acids, and are high in fibre, protein and have amazing health benefits.

As seeds, you can sprinkle them onto salads, fruit, cereal, yogurt, you name it!

But my favourite thing is Chia Pudding. Seriously, if you're a chia pud virgin, let me try and convince you to pop that chia cherry ;)

Chia seeds swell up in liquid, to 10 times their actual size. TEN TIMES!
 Water, coconut water, juice, all make good basis'

for a chia drink. 

Check out this blog post for some awesome mocktail recipes!

By soaking them in milk, in my case - almond milk, they become a sort of gelatinous

pudding type consistency. Personally I like a dash of honey to sweeten them but this is personal preference - they're pretty sweet anyway!

So after a few people messaging me for recipes, I'm going to write very basic instructions here. But honestly, once you start making it and see how easy it is, you'll be mixing it up with your own additions and showing me how it's done ;)

Chia in almond milk with pureed frozen yogurt and bananas, topped
with strawberries.

Chia seeds in almond milk
with natural green yogurt and granola, topped with
chopped banana, dribbled with honey and
a sprinkling of un-soaked chia seeds.

Chia seeds soaked in almond milk, mixed with
raw cocoa powder and a dribble of honey, mixed with chopped banana.

How to...

Chia Pudding

The great thing about chia pudding is that it requires only TWO ingredients.

You will need:

• Chia Seeds
• Almond Milk (or soya, cows, whatever you use)

Figuring out the seeds/milk ratio will take a day or so. The packet told me to add 1/3 cup of seeds to 2 cups water/milk. Well I did, and it was wayyy too watery.
I find that for one breakfast, which is about a third of a mason jars worth of pudding, I use three tablespoons of seeds and fill up with milk to the 1/3 mark. My tip is to add less milk, stir and leave to set for 10 mins (in the fridge if possible - it's quicker and tastes better!). Then stir it again, and if you want it a little less thick, add some more milk, stir and leave again. Personally I like it thicker rather than thin, so you'll have to play around with the measurements until you get it how you like it.

That's it for the chia pudding. Easy, right?!

The amazing thing is that you can add anything to make it to your liking. Cinnamon chia pudding? Mix it up with some cinnamon and honey. Vanilla? Why not add a vanilla pod, or a few drops of vanilla syrup? Chocolate? No problem! Add a teaspoon of raw cocoa and a small spoon of honey. (Nesquik works too, if you've got it lying around!)

Chia pudding parfait

If you're like me and want a bit extra going on (and come on, who doesn't love 
food worthy of Instagram ;) ) you have got to try it with fruit. The sweetness of the fruit brings out the flavour of the pudding without overpowering it. 

You will need:

• Frozen fruit - I use a box of frozen chopped pineapple and a box of frozen mixed berries. 
• Bananas
• Almond milk
• Granola (the store kind is fine)
• Honey
• Any other fruit you want

I recently discovered, through the mixture of the hot weather and sheer luck, how well sorbet goes with chia pudding <3 trust me, it's delish.

Sorbet is easy peasy, and you can make an easy but tasty recipe in minutes.
 Now I'm no chef, and I don't remember measurements, but like I said before, play around and figure out what works for you.

Banana frozen overnight and then blended tastes exactly like ice cream. It really does. 

Sometimes I'll just freeze some and blend with a dash of almond milk, but for a sorbet,

you'll want to use citrus or berries.

 

 

A handful of fruit - mixed summer berries, or chopped pineapple, both amazing - it doesn't matter what you choose, as long as it's well frozen! In the photo above I've shown how much pineapple (plus one banana) was used in the blender for one meals worth of sorbet. The berries were used on top. Whatever you use, you want about as much as you see above.

Add a tiny dash of almond milk (and I mean about 3-4 teaspoons worth), just to help it blend,

and blend it using lots of short bursts. You don't want to end up with slush! Keep checking, it should look like this very quickly...

 

 You ideally want fairly thick pudding because otherwise whatever you put on top will sink into it.

If you're an avid instagrammer like me, this is to be avoided at all costs!

I added granola to the top, some slices of room temp banana, and the frozen berries. Perfect :)

Now you see how easy it is, let me know what you come up with!!!

xo