Chocolate covered strawberry chia pudding

If this looks awfully familiar it's because it is. A horse of a different color; except we're talking chia pudding. Yep, I'm making it again, and risking redundancy with another post--because we are complex individuals with many multi-faceted moods. And mango is to breakfast on the beach as chocolate covered strawberries are to velvety, starlit terrace evenings. choc_str_chia

So maybe it's not so romantic as that. But anything that defies such absolute simplicity of execution, delivering whopping nutrition, deserves being applauded in many forms. Plop x,y,and z in a bowl, stir it around, and refrigerate/done. Get (and I quote, from not-so-long-ago mango post) omega-3 fatty acids, manganese, calcium, fiber, phosphorous, plant protein and more.  Loads more. Get every health benefit science has ever attributed to nutrition, some studies would say. All in a lovely, light-yet-filling, low calorie pudding. This version is healthy and chocolatey, creamy, refreshing and good. 

Chia today has come a long way in terms of public profile. A far cry from chia pet infomercials. Remember, animal companion and decorative shrubbery in one?

choc_stw_chia2

This week I had an encounter or two that were of no significance except in my head. The kind of irksome but trivial, out-of-my-control stuff I need to get better at letting go. In processing that sort of experience, I have a default  habit of trying to be philosophical by forming illogical connections that often make sense only to me. I find this fun because I am weird...but in your way so are you, and that's what makes us interesting, right?

I only mention this because, in finding myself playing with chia pudding again I decided these staunch little seeds should step up to an analogy as well as the best grains of sand. Why not be chia seeds, too? At some point somebody's pet, and the butt of someone's joke; at some point admired, another dismissed. We're tiny and insignificant, yet packed with power and bursting with potential. We are versatile and changeable. We can soak up goodness, and in so doing we can become great.

No, not cheesy...chia. ;)

 

Chocolate covered strawberry chia pudding serves 2

  • 1 1/2 cups almond or coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup pureed strawberries (about 3/4 - 1 cup whole, hulled strawberries)
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  1. Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl.
  2. Cover and refrigerate, at least 4 hours or overnight.