i tried that
Chia Bowl
I tried to make my own semi-healthy chia bowl and was pleasantly surprised. Not the first time though, the first one was terrible. But the second one, well lets just say the second time was the charm.
Ok, so, for the first recipe I prepared everything according to the directions.
Now, a disclaimer: I don't want chocolate pudding for breakfast.
If I had made this at any other time, and tried it without maybe the bananas and walnuts, I would have probably liked it way more. This recipe basically uses almond milk, cocoa, vanilla, and chia seeds, which in and of itself actually is delicious. But I wasn't prepared for what it turned out to be. It was too sweet to eat for anything other than desert, which I would do. Totally.
With the first try being somewhat of a bust, I thought about what would make a good chia bowl. Fruit, something creamy, something nutty, and maybe something with a little protein in it. This time I didn't have to go to the local Publix or even do any search engine queries. I just went to my pantry.
I cam out with a package of sugar free jello, I used strawberry, a can of mandarin oranges, and a can of crushed pineapple. I also found some pecans in the fridge, a container of lite whipped topping, and some cottage cheese. *Don't click away now, this is just getting good!*
Ok, so I mixed the cottage cheese and whipped topping together and added the sugar-free jello, and then I folded in my chia seeds. Next I added the mandarin oranges and some chopped up pecans, I pulled out a can of coconut water in case I needed to thin it out, but that wasn't necessary. And then I let the mix sit in the fridge and chill. After about an hour, I pulled it out of the refrigerator and added the crushed pineapple. Now, I know you are asking why did you wait to add that. The answer is simply, I've found that jello does weird things when pineapple is added, so I wanted the "pudding" to set for a while to see if it made a difference. I'm not sure if it helped or not, really. But it did firm up well. Anywhoo - I also added about 1/4 a cup of flax seeds in the mix to because, why not, amirite?
The end result was a perfectly acceptable breakfast or midmorning snack. Light and fluffy, sweet and nutty. I also sliced half a banana on top of it for each serving. I know chia pudding isn't on eveyone's list of awesome things to eat, but for all the fiber, calcium, protein, and omega-3s, it is honestly a tasty filling treat that won't make you feel like you need to do an extra hour of cardio for.
Bottom line: give this one a try. For sure, let me know what you think. Chia isn't just for growing grass/hair in your windowsill anymore y'all. Don't worry if you don't get the reference, it's a 90's thing for all you non Gen-X reading this. Should I have tried them in anything else? Send me a message letting me know, and I'll be sure to try that.