Almond Banana Chocolate Chia Pudding

Happy Saturday! This week has been quite a week – fortunately, it ended with a lovely dinner with Gena (recap coming later today) but in the meantime I wanted to tell you about yesterday’s lunchbox, which includes yet another chia pudding.  Chia puddings have been so very useful this summer as I work towards a morning workout routine.  I love you can make them ahead, make infinite variations, and get a nice amount of protein and fat in.  Here are lunch and two snacks:

• Super quick green smoothie with some added raw cacao
• ABC Chia Pudding (see recipe below)
• Romaine lettuce
• Quinoa and truRoots sprouted bean trio with some diced Twin Oaks tofu and some garlic red pepper miso 

The quinoa mixture is a perfect example of a quick high-protein combination that was pretty much hands-off yet very flavorful.  The garlic red pepper miso is from South River Miso – for the gluten cross-contamination status of South River Miso, see the comments on this post.  I am still figuring out the water ratio to cook the quinoa and sprouted bean trio in the rice cooker, as this was a wee bit mushy, though edible.

And now, ABC Chia Pudding:

ABC Chia Pudding Pudding, aka Almond Banana Chocolate Chia Pudding (Gluten-free, Vegan, Soy-Free) – Serves 1-2

• 2/3 cup dairy-free milk (I used So Delicious Unsweetened but you could use homemade almond milk)
• 1/2 a banana
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used Sunwarrior but if you use an unsweetened protein powder, add vanilla stevia to taste)
• 1 Tbsp raw cacao
• 1 Tbsp raw almond butter (roasted would work fine as well)
• 3 Tbsps chia seeds
• 1 Tbsp raw cacao nibs

Whisk dairy-free milk with banana, raw cacao and protein powder until banana is broken up into pieces. Whisk in the almond butter is distributed pretty evenly (you will still have small chunks of almond butter, but that makes the pudding even better).  Add chia seeds and combine well.  Set aside for 10 minutes. Stir again and place chia pudding in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, but overnight is fine too.  Prior to serving, stir in or top with cacao nibs.   

I know I tend to have a heavy hand with raw cacao but in this pudding the cacao works with the banana and almond butter in equal parts of flavor as opposed to the dominating flavor.

I am submitting this recipe to the following weekly events starting with:

Summer Wellness Weekend, hosted by Ricki of Diet, Desserts and Dogs. The concept behind Summer Wellness Weekends is “any good-for-you, whole foods, especially those with antioxidant properties or “functional foods” (ie, offering naturally medicinal or health-promoting qualities–such as garlic, coconut oil, all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.).” Raw cacao is antioxidant central, plus this involves other great things like chia seeds and banana.

A blog event hosted by Flip Cookbook called Sugar Free Sunday, which includes sweet and savory dishes made with non-refined sugars.

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday with Amy of Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free – almond with chocolate and banana tastes decadent, yet is only slightly indulgent.

Gluten-Free Wednesday, hosted by the Gluten-Free Homemaker.

Real Food Weekly with Diane of The WHOLE Gang. As long as you use homemade dairy-free milk, this recipe is eligible for this event.

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