Chia Pudding with Berries, Mango and Pistachios

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Since I first discovered chia seeds I’ve really gained a deep appreciation for these omega-3 rich beauties! The usual way I like to eat them is in chia pudding, which is one of my favorite breakfasts.

Chia pudding is perfect when you feel like something more than fruit or a smoothie that is also light and easy to digest. When we add a nut or seed milk to the dried chia seeds, they absorb the liquid and swell up, creating a soft, soothing texture that many have compared to tapioca.

This is one of my “go-to” breakfasts because it is so simple to make and always leaves me feeling satisfied with enough energy to get through the day.

When making chia pudding almond milk tends to be the liquid of choice for many raw foodies, but I’ve actually come to prefer coconut for two reasons.

1) I find it lighter on my system and easier to digest.

2) No need to strain the milk.

I simply put the dried coconut in the blender with water and other ingredients, blend, and pour it right in with the chia seeds. This also would be a great milk for those of you who don’t yet own a high-speed blender.

There may be a little texture remaining from the coconut flakes but for this recipe I think that’s a good thing. This is more of a breakfast pudding rather than a dessert so a completely smooth milk is not necessary or even desirable.

You can use this recipe as a basic template adding whatever fruits, nuts, seeds, or other flavorings that appeal to you. The possibilities really are endless.

Chia Pudding with Berries, Mango and Pistachios

Serves 3

2 1/2 – 3 cups of water

1/2 cup goji berries

2-3 tablespoons rose water (optional)

1 cup freeze-dried blueberries

1/2 cup chia seeds

3 scoops vanilla rice protein

Stevia or agave to taste

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

1 mango, chopped

3 tablespoons pistachios, chopped

Soak your goji berries in the water for about two hours before making the pudding. (If your gojis are already soft you can skip this step, but the ones I was using were very dry so this was really necessary).

Drain the goji berries and add the soaking water to your blender. Add to the blender the coconut, rose water, and rice protein and to create a smooth milk. At this stage, you can also add your choice of sweetener to taste.

Place chia seeds and dried blueberries into a medium bowl. Pour the milk over the top and stir to combine well. Keep stirring every five minutes or so until the chia seeds swell up. This takes about twenty minutes.

Add fresh mango and strawberries and stir again to combine everything well.

Divide between individual serving bowls and top with the chopped pistachios.

In this recipe I used dried blueberries because that is what I had available but I am sure fresh ones would be much better.

The foundation of this recipe really is just the chia seeds and then a slightly sweet nut or seed milk. Everything else is optional. I made another chia pudding recently with chocolate and raspberries that was also fantastic.

Do you have a favorite version of chia pudding?