Too much chia pudding

I've made a lot of chia pudding this month, so FWIW here's my conclusion about the best way to make it. Whatever you do, don't forget that pinch of salt!

100 chocolate chia puddings for a breakfast cooking class I taught on Tuesday!

Vanilla Chia Pudding
2 tablespoons chia seeds
3/4 cup Oatly full fat oat milk (or whole milk)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt!
Sweetener such as maple syrup, agave nectar, honey, etc. to taste

Chocolate Chia Pudding
2 tablespoons chia seeds
3/4 cup Oatly full fat oat milk (or whole milk)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder (better cocoa powder = better taste)
Pinch of salt!
Sweetener such as maple syrup, agave nectar, honey, etc. to taste

Whisk ingredients together, cover, and refrigerate. Stir again after about an hour to remove any clumps of chia seeds that might be sticking together at the bottom. Allow pudding to sit for 6-8 hours, or overnight, for best results. Adjust consistency with extra milk or chia seeds if needed. Top with whatever you like… whipped cream and caramel sauce are my favorites.

Fall Caramel Apple Chia Pudding: Vanilla Chia Pudding Layered with Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce and Diced McIntosh Apple

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Some additional thoughts on chia pudding:

I see chia pudding as a fun item for the breakfast/snack rotation, not a substitute for regular pudding, which is a great dessert that doesn’t need to be replaced/messed with (unless of course, you’re topping it with crushed Oreos and gummy worms).

Now that that’s out of the way, here’s why chia seeds are pretty awesome from a nutrition standpoint:

• Fiber: 2 tablespoons of chia seeds have 8 grams of fiber! It’s about a third of your fiber needs for the entire day.

• Calcium: 2 tablespoons of chia seeds contain 160 mg of calcium. If you combine that with the calcium you get from the milk you’re mixing with them to make chia pudding, that’s about 400 mg of calcium total (to see your daily calcium needs, click here).

You may notice I am not mentioning their omega-3 content (which seems to get a lot of press). That’s because although chia seeds are packed with plant-based omega-3s, they’re in the ALA form, which needs to be converted to EPA and DHA for your body to use it, and that process is not very efficient. Better sources of EPA and DHA would be things like algae (commonly available as a supplement) or fish (which get their omega-3’s from algae!).