Chia seeds have an impressive amount of fiber and protein and are considered a superfood. Adding chia seeds to your diet can provide numerous benefits, including brain-boosting omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals.

Chia seed pudding can be served for breakfast, as a snack, or a dessert. Phil and I eat it for breakfast, and it was the very first food we introduced to our diet on a regular basis. This is the most basic version, which I prepare for the two of us once a week. One cup of chia seeds makes almost 4 cups of pudding, which will last us for about a week. The one caveat is that it has ti be prepped ahead of time and ideally chilled in the fridge overnight, although two hours of refrigeration can be enough for the seeds to turn into pudding. See below for variations and what to add to it to make it the most satisfying breakfast you can have!

CHIA SEED PUDDING

PREP TIME: 5 mins
CHILL TIME: overnight is ideal, but can be two hours.
TOTAL TIME: 8 HOURS
SERVINGS: ABOUT 10 (one serving is two tablespoons)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Chia seeds

3.5 cups zero sugar Almond milk (or any other zero sugar milk substitute)

4 teaspoon of Stevia, or to taste (any sugar substitute will do)

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

METHOD

1. In a 32 oz mason jar or other glass container, add 3 1/2 cups of almond milk
2. Add cinnamon, sweetener, and nutmeg. Shake or stir.
3. Add 1 cup of Chia seed (you can play a bit with these proportions as you experiment; the more chia seeds, the thicker the pudding will be.)
4. Stir again until all the chia seeds have been distributed evenly into the milk. There shouldn’t be any clumps left. Wait about 10 minutes and give it one more last stir.
5. Cover and refrigerate the pudding for at least 2 hours or overnight.

WAYS TO SERVE IT

Serve two tablespoons of the pudding into a bowl. You can then add:

1. chopped nuts (best ones, carbs wise, are Brazil nuts)
2. lemon zest
3. a quarter of a green apple, shredded, and/or blueberries
4. caraway seeds
5. zero sugar free vanilla creamer

SIMPLE VARIATION: add pure cocoa powder when preparing it at night, and you will have a chocolate pudding!