Chia Seed Pudding- 4 Different Ways

If there's one thing you'll never get from me, it's nutritional advice. I'm the worst at diets and the like. In fact, my brain shuts down anytime someone mentions the word 'diet' to me, even if it's coupled with another word like juice or paleo.

I live my life by the Anti Diet mentality which makes my love for food much easier to cope with. About 75% of the time I eat lots of salad and veggies and watch my fatty carb intake. But another 25% of the time I chow down on things like Homemade Pop Tarts, Guac-Bac Grilled Cheese, and Goat Cheese Tarts.

Since Stephen and I are both pelatihan for big events in September (he's doing a bike race, my team is competing in playoffs), we're trying to clean up our eating....just a little. I started this week off on the right foot by waking up early to hit the gym with a teammate and then had the most delicious (and good for ya too) breakfast: Chia Seed Pudding!!

Chia seeds are ALL the rage right now (insert snarky voice here). Thanks to the ever faithful Pinterest, I've seen this concept for some time of mixing milk with chia seeds and letting it sit over night. I decided to try it myself with a few different variations. I found a couple that I LOVE: raspberry, blueberry, chocolate, and a vanilla cinnamon flavor.

(I'm eating leftover blueberry chia pudding as we speak and it's somehow important for you to know that).

Next to how delicious this pudding tastes, my favorite part about it is how easy it is. It takes no more than a few minutes to prepare at night and put in the fridge. In the morning, you can just grab it and go with no effort. If you're like me, an "on the go" breakfast is the only way breakfast will get eaten.

Alright, let's make us some pudding! Start by picking your flavor. There's really no limit to what you can flavor this pudding with but I'm going to show you my favorites. If you're using fruit, start by placing it in the bottom of a jar and mushing the hell out of it.

Next, pour your milk of choice (I went with almond milk) on top of the fruit/ flavoring, top with chia seeds and then pour in a little agave nectar for sweetness.

Once the lid is on, all that's left is a thorough shake of the jar and a good nights rest in the fridge. The next morning you've got breakfast!!

The chocolate and vanilla/ cinnamon puddings are made essentially the same way except I add in the flavoring at the end so it doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the jar.

These last for a good 4-5 days assuming your fruit is fresh so I like to make a big batch on Sunday night and have them ready for the week.

Chia Seed Pudding
Ingredients:
1 cup of milk (almond, coconut, regular, etc)
1/4 cup chia seeds
2 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup
Flavoring of 1/4-1/2 mashed fruit, 1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder, OR a splash of vanilla + 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Directions:
1) If using fruit, place fruit in the bottom of a jar and mash thoroughly. (You can also do this by putting the fruit in a food processor with the milk.)
2) Add in milk, chia seeds, and agave nectar. Shake until all of the ingredients are well combined.
3) Place in fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.
4) ENJOY! :) I like adding a bit of fresh fruit on top or even a few nuts for a nice crunch.

Here are the 4 flavors I made:
Raspberry (1/4-1/2 cup mashed raspberries):