Chia seeds and almond milk pudding, with fresh pineapple and a strawberry compote, topped with raw pistachio nuts and toasted fresh coconut.
On the back of this Chia and Coconut Jelly, and looking to create breakfast and dessert options with the Superfood Chia seeds, I made two variations of a pudding using Almond milk, with a hint of vanilla, flavoured with cardamom and cinnamon powders.
Chia seeds blended with home made Almond milk (albeit with the soaring cost of raw almonds), fresh pineapple and the powdered spice seasoning, sweetened with date paste; honey; or maple syrup, adds a well developed taste sensation in this pudding. The process of allowing the ingredients to set in the refrigerator overnight, also made for a good opportunity for the cardamom and cinnamon powders to infuse with the other ingredients. While pineapple, which I love as my fruit of choice to add a fruity taste to the almond milk and chia seeds mix, I would imagine apple or banana would work well too.
Typically a dessert or sweet treat meal, this may serve well for breakfast too, providing a different option to a meat-based protein meal. The sweetening agent of choice may be altered to suit personal preferences, and while almond milk works brilliantly, coconut milk may be used for a sweeter alterative. Toppings of my choice were raw pistachio nuts and toasted fresh coconut. Raw nuts and seeds and / or desiccated coconut may be used too.
The ingredient listing below makes 3-4 medium sized glasses or small dessert bowl servings.
Ingredients
2 cups almond milk (sugar and preservatives free, preferably flavoured with a vanilla pod)
½ – ¾ cup chopped, fresh pineapple
½ cup chia seeds
½ tsp cinnamon powder
¼ tsp cardamom powder
½ cup date paste ) OR ⅓ cup raw honey or pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups chopped strawberries
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 tblsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ tsp cardamom powder
2 tsp arrowroot powder or 1 tsp tapioca powder
Nuts and seeds for topping
Here’s How
- Add the pineapple pieces and the almond milk into a high speed blender or food processer and blend until the pineapple has been reduced to a pulp and blended into the almond milk.
- Then add in the chia seeds, ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder, ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder, the date paste, raw honey or maple syrup, and vanilla extract and blend the ingredients together.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Make the strawberry-cardamom compote by adding strawberries, date paste, honey or maple syrup, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon cardamom to a medium sauce pan. Heat over medium-low and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Transfer the strawberry mixture to a blender or food processor, along with the arrowroot powder or tapioca flour, and blend together until smooth. Return the blended mixture to the non-stick pot, and heat over medium-low stove top heat for about five minutes to thicken the sauce.
- Allow the compote to cool, then refrigerate overnight to thicken and set.
- In four small glasses or two larger glasses, or dessert bowls, create layers of chia pudding and strawberry-cardamom compote, beginning with the chia pudding. Round of with toppings of raw nuts, seeds and / or toasted coconut flakes. I did 4 total layers or 2 layers of each.
