When all else fails, make chia pudding!!
I mentioned on facebook how I was working on a brownie recipe for Valentine’s Day. After several attempts it’s still not perfect, and I won’t post it until I think its just exactly right. So plan b? This pudding!! And actually, it’s a whole lot easier and a whole lot tastier in my opinion. Though I might be writing this while enjoying both a generous serving of this pudding and a glass of wine, I consider myself unbiased in the fact that this recipe is seriously delicious.
I love turtles. The chocolate and caramel and pecan kind. Actually, I love the reptiles too (I like to point out every time I see one when we are at Disney). But here I was really talking about the chocolate variety.
Hubby buys me these amazing sea salt dark chocolate turtles every once in a while, they are seriously to die for. Like, ok I might not chase one out into traffic, but I might pause and consider it for a split second. Yeah, that good.
So when I needed a fill in chocolate fix, Valentine’s Day approved recipe, I knew I wanted to do something turtle inspired.
I don’t know that my explanation can do it justice, but I think I want to keep a batch in the fridge at all times. I especially love that the chia seeds, which are high in omega-3s, can help fight off the winter blues. So you definitely can’t help but smile and feel good about joyously shoveling this pudding!! Hooray!!
Health highlight of chia seeds: Chia seeds are magical little things. Not only can they give a chia pet a glorious mane of green hair, but they are super healthy to eat too!! They are high in fiber, a very rich source of omega-3s, and a good source of calcium! Chia seeds are extremely high in antioxidants, in fact they have one of the highest known concentrations of antioxidants. Chia seeds are considered a superfood because of their excellent nutritional profile.
The caramel here is inspired by Angela’s Rolo Knock-Offs (which are out of this world btw)
- 2 ounces Unsweetened Chocolate chopped
- 1 cup Water (you can use almond milk for a richer pudding)
- ½ cup Chia Seeds
- ½ cup Unsweetened Yogurt (non-dairy for vegans)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 8 Medjool Dates (remove pits)
- 1 teaspoon Peanut Butter
- ¼ cup Water
- ¼ cup Pecans
- ¼ cup Choc Chunks
- In a medium microwave safe bowl add the chocolate and water (If you don’t like microwaves you can do this over a double boiler)
- Microwave until the chocolate is melted, about 45 seconds
- Stir well to combine
- Add the chia seeds to the hot chocolately liquid
- Set aside to cool, about 5 minutes
- While the mixture with the chia seeds is cooling, make your caramel by mashing up the dates and peanut butter using a fork in a bowl (or you can use the food processor)
- Once the dates are well mashed, add the water and mix well, it should look like a thick caramel sauce when ready
- Stir the yogurt, vanilla, caramel, pecans and chocolate chunks into the chia and choco water mixture
- Stir well to combine
- Cool if desired, or start eating right now!!
