Apple Cinnamon Chia Pudding

Chia seeds are an exceptional superfood, they are so full of goodness. I've had some around for a while and I've been using them in smoothies and just eating them dry. I also tried adding a tablespoon to a glass of water and drinking the resulting gel, which was wonderful and refreshing. But I really wanted to do something more with them, I wanted to use them in as a main ingredient in a dish. So I went searching online for recipes and came across a video called “Chiary Pudding” by Kate Magic.

Inspired by Kate's recipe and all the great things she says about chia, I put my chia seeds on to soak the next morning and came up with my own chia creation that afternoon using ingredients I had at hand. Just before I was going to put the pudding mix into the mold, Suzi came in from the garden with a handful of the first strawberries of the season. Perfect timing! They really gave the chia pudding an extra lift. Here's my recipe, along with the video that inspired it and the notes I took from the video.

Ingredients:

1 cup chia seeds
3 cups water
2 small, or one medium apple, peeled, cored and quartered
4 tablespoons water (or as needed, for the applesauce)
2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
1 tablespoon mesquite
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon camu camu
pinch of Celtic or Himalayan salt
2 tablespoons bee pollen
fruit to garnish, such as berries, grapes, mandarin slices

Instructions:

1. Soak the chia seeds in 3 cups of water for 4-6 hours in a mixing bowl.
2. Blend apple, honey, cinnamon, camu camu, and salt together until it's the texture of applesauce. Add a bit of water as needed to get the right consistency, I used 4 tablespoons of water, but depending on the apples and blender you use you might get by with less.
3. Add the applesauce mixture to the mixing bowl with the soaked chia seeds and mix together thoroughly. If you have enough fresh fruit you can mix it in as well.
   

   Mixing applesauce into soaked chia seeds

4. Turn the apple-chia mixture out into a silicon mould, or a glass pie plate
5. Sprinkle with bee pollen and garnish with fruit. I used slices of strawberry and grapes to garnish.
   

   Apple Cinnamon Chia Pudding ready to eat

6. Refrigerate or serve immediately.
   

   Apple Cinnamon Chia Pudding ready to eat

Here's the video that inspired it all!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rPRkoGMJ-o

Recipe from the video:

1 cup chia seeds to 3 cups water (Soak for 4-8 hours and it becomes quite stiff)
1/2 cup mesquite
1 T camu camu
1 T tahini
1 T agave
1 teas suma
250 g strawberries (optional)
Bee Pollen

Mix all everything except the strawberries and bee pollen together. Add in the strawberries and mix them through.

Put into a mould (silicon moulds are good), sprinkle bee pollen on top, and put it into the fridge to set so you can cut it like a jelly, or you can eat it immediately.

Variations – add:

• Lucuma
• Cacao
• Berries

Makes a lovely, quick pudding that's really sustaining, filling and energizing. Good source of essential fatty acids and good source of energy. Very uplifting and energizing.

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