Chia to Your Heart's Content

Everyone knows how much I love chia pudding, and it's not just because it's delicious. It does something for me that another food so delightfully tasting but less nutritious couldn't do; I get the pleasure of knowing that I'm also nourishing my body in such a wholesome way at the same time.

It’s not unlike the feeling I get from eating a bountiful kale salad which is topped with tahini dressing, shredded carrots, beets, roasted hemp and chickpea balls, pomegranate, hummus, radish, dazzling roast cauliflower, and sprinkled with sunflower and pumpkin seeds and mint on top. 

This is eating thoughtfully. Once I started eating this way and noticing how it made me feel, it slowly sparked a lifestyle change. One by one I shed the things that held me back from living better. All of these small positive changes spill over into different areas of our lives.

I truly believe that “dieting” and eating foods that you hate, or under-fueling yourself are ineffective strategies long-term. They can work if your goal is simply to lose weight (and gain it back), but I don’t believe that it’s healthier or that it’s sustainable. I think it’s best to live your life in a way that makes you happy and feel your best, and you can’t do that with a mindset that makes you feel like you’re missing out. 

I crave healthy wholesome foods because now I know how good it feels. It feels so good to feel good, as I say. Food should leave you satisfied and happy. Food is meant to give you energy, for all of the things that you love to do. 

Here I'm sharing all of my chia pudding recipes. I hope that you can find something to craft and enjoy with love and that makes you feel good!

I usually make two servings in advance and add the toppings in the morning. 

To make the homemade whipped coconut milk that I use in most of my chia pudding recipes; refrigerate one can of whole fat coconut milk for 24 hours, then separate the liquid from the solid and whip or blend with immersion blender, and store in the fridge. The liquid coconut milk can be saved and used for a variety of purposes, including as a base for your chia pudding. 

The Best Chia Pudding Recipe (The Original Chia Pudding)

Serves 2

Chia Pudding:

4tbs chia seeds

1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk

½ scoop vega vanilla protein powder

½ scoop vega natural flavour protein

Mix well and let sit in the fridge overnight

To top:

2tbs oats

2/3s banana, sliced (or sub sliced strawberries)

Handful of blueberries

2 tbs homemade whipped coconut milk

2 tbs chopped walnuts

2 tsp unsweetened shredded coconut

2 tsp hemp hearts

Key Lime Chia Pudding with Coconut-Lime Whipped-Cream

Serves 2

Chia Pudding:

1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk

4 tbs chia seeds

1 scoop vega vanilla protein powder

1 tbs key lime juice

Mix well and let sit in the fridge overnight

Coconut-lime whipped cream:

Make the whipped coconut milk as you would, by refridgering 1 can of full fat coconut milk for 24 hours, then whipping the solid portion, but add 3-4 tbs of the liquid coconut milk, 1 scoop of vega vanilla protein powder, and the juice from ½ key lime.

To Assemble:

Layer one spoon of oats, then blueberries, chia pudding mix, blueberries, slivered almonds, lime-coconut whip, hemp hearts, and key lime zest. Buon appetito!

Pumpkin Spice Chia Pudding

Serves 2

Chia Pudding:

⅔ cup pumpkin puree

⅔ cup oats

3 tbs chia

1 ½ cup cashier milk

1 ½ scoop vega vanilla protein powder

Cinnamon and pumpkin spice*

Mix well and let sit in the fridge overnight

Top with:

Coconut whipped cream

Cinnamon

Crushed Walnuts

Pumpkin seeds

Maldon salt flakes

*The recipe for pumpkin spice that I use is from Angela Liddon Oh She Glows, which is just a mix of 4 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp nutmeg, 1tsp allspice, and ½ tsp ground cloves.

Chocolate-Zucchini Chia Pudding

Serves 2

Chia Pudding:

1 ½ cup unsweetened almond milk

½ cup oats

2 tbs chia seeds

½ cup shredded zucchini

1 scoop vega chocolate protein powder

1 tsp cocoa powder

½ tsp vanilla

Mix well and let sit in the fridge overnight

To top: 

Sliced banana

Almond hazelnut butter

Crushed walnut

Hemp hearts

Pumpkin seeds

Cinnamon

Dark chocolate chips

Cacao nibs

Maldon salt flakes

Carrot Cake Overnight Oats

Serves 2 Overnight Oats:

1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk

½ cup rolled oats

2 tbs chia seeds

1 scoop vega vanilla protein powder

½ teaspoon pumpkin spice

1 cup grated carrot

2 chopped medjool dates

2 tbs crushed walnuts

1 tbs hemp hearts

Mix well and let sit in the fridge overnight

Top with:

Spiced coconut whipped cream

A sprinkling of cinnamon

A few extra walnut pieces

To make the spiced coconut whipped cream, make the coconut whipped cream as you would, by refridgering 1 can of full fat coconut milk for 24 hours, then whipping the solid portion, but add 3-4 tbs of the liquid coconut milk, 1 scoop of vega vanilla protein powder, ½ tsp pumpkin spice*, ¼ tsp vanilla.

*The recipe for pumpkin spice that I use is from Angela Liddon Oh She Glows, which is just a mix of 4 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp nutmeg, 1tsp allspice, and ½ tsp ground cloves.

Blueberry Cheesecake Chia Pudding

Serves 2

Chia Pudding:

1 ¼ cups unsweetened almond milk

4 tbs chia seeds

½ cup frozen riced cauliflower

1 scoop vega vanilla protein powder

Mix well and let sit in the fridge overnight

Top with:

Swirl of blueberry cheesecake topping (which is 1 tbs of my blueberry half-jam, a sprinkle of fresh or frozen blueberries, and 2 tbs of whipped coconut milk, lightly mixed)

Slivered Almonds

Pumpkin seeds

Hemp Hearts

Coconut Flakes

How to make my blueberry half-jam:

Heat 2 cups of blueberries, 1 tbs of lemon juice, 1 tbs ground chia seeds, and 1 tsp of coconut sugar just until it starts to bubble, then let cool and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. This is how I like to make my own jam that’s low on extra sugar and keeps some of the blueberries' nutrients.