Melissa's 30-Second Weight Loss Shake

What a gorgeous picture! 
Endless possibilities!

Don't get all excited now!  The SHAKE takes 30 seconds, not the weight loss....I know, whoever invents that one will be the master of the world!

Remember the Chocolaty Frosty recipe a few weeks back?  Stay tuned for another AWESOME recipe from Satisfying Eats, a terrific blog with grain-free recipes, which are perfect for Stage 1.   Gotta give Melissa a LOT of credit, she works hard to find all kinds of goodies that she shares with everyone - so I want to make sure y'all know these are her creations and not mine, 'cause that would be rude and then all my shakes would taste like shame.

 

Don't forget you can make it dairy free by substituting coconut milk for the heavy whipping cream.  

Once again - be sure to keep frozen almond milk in ice cube trays on hand or you'll have to wait several hours until you can make this! 

 

Chocolaty Frosty

recipe courtesy of Satisfying Eats
makes 1-10 oz Serving

4 cubes unsweetened almond milk frozen in ice-cube trays

1/3 cup heavy cream or coconut milk

2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

2-4 servings of stevia or preferred sweetener

1/2-1 teaspoon vanilla

 

Add ins: 

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup strawberries

1/2 cup blueberries or other fruit (fresh or frozen)

1 scoop protein powder

2 cubes of frozen coffee

 

Pour unsweetened almond milk into ice cube trays and allow to freeze.  Be sure not to fill to the top so that they can be easily removed from tray.   Freeze until solid.

Add 4 cubes of almond milk to blender, Magic Bullet or Ninja.

Add milks, sweetener and vanilla.  Always start with least amount of sweetener first and then taste.

Now is also time to add-in any extras, if desired. 

Blend for 30 seconds or until you can hear that there are no more chunks.

Strawberry Lassi

Whole Foods - that's where you'll find me every weekend most of the time.  It's the only place I can find my full fat Fage Total Greek yogurt (highly recommend!) and my mom likes to go up and down EVERY SINGLE AISLE just in case she might have missed something from last week...

Anywho - the Whole Foods website has tons of great recipes, many of which are P10 compatible or can be adjusted for P10.   I think using Greek yogurt in this will really bump up the protein.  I'm torn between labeling this as a treat, a dessert, a smoothie or even breakfast!  Guess I'll use them all.  You could totally get your kids to partake of the lovely healthy yogurt without their knowledge!   :D

Ice-cold, yogurt-based lassi is a favorite refresher in India. Sometimes made with fresh mango, this delicious version uses strawberries

 

Strawberry Lassi

makes 2 servings

1 cup plain or Greek yogurt

2 cups roughly chopped strawberries

2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar

1 cup ice cubes

1/2 cup milk (regular or almond)

Few pinches ground cardamom (could sub cinnamon or nutmeg)

 

Combine yogurt, strawberries and honey in a blender and pulse until strawberries are pureed. Add ice and milk and blend until smooth. Pour into 2 tall glasses and garnish each with cardamom.

Chocolaty Frosty

This is another recipe from Satisfying Eats, a terrific blog with grain-free recipes, which are perfect for Stage 1.  Check it out and you'll find lots of great things to try!

Now THIS is a summer treat that I bet you've been missing!  Who doesn't totally love a Chocolate Frosty from you-know-where?  Well now you can make your own without the guilt AND if you follow the link back to the Satisfying Eats site, you'll also see you're saving yourself loads of chemicals and harmful additives by making it yourself. 

 

Don't forget you can make it dairy free by substituting coconut milk for the heavy whipping cream.  

Be sure to keep frozen almond milk in ice cube trays on hand or you'll have to wait several hours until you can make this!  If you'd rather have strawberry flavor, try substituting 2-3 strawberries in place of the cocoa powder.

 

Chocolaty Frosty

recipe courtesy of Satisfying Eats
makes 1-10 oz Serving

 

8-9 cubes of frozen unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream or coconut milk

3 servings Stevia or sweetener to taste

2 1/2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Add a ingredients to blender or Ninja. 

Blend for 30-60 seconds until smooth, pour into glass.

Enjoy!

Run and hide from any other people that are hanging around your house this summer...

Now enjoy!!

  

 

Liquid Salad

What the heck is a liquid salad? 

Some might prefer to call it a green smoothie.

Lately, my brother and baby sister have been all gung ho about juicing – and they are feeling healthier and losing weight.  But it can be a difficult lifestyle to maintain indefinitely.  My brother let me borrow his Vitamix and I did some experimenting with that (and then he took it back!)  Then, my mom hopped on the bandwagon and got a Nutribullet – and now the family is crazy about smoothies.  This weekend us gals went together to WalMart and my other sister and I both got Nutribullets.  Then, we all went to Whole Foods and loaded up on some good stuff to use in them.  Instead of lasagna, I think we’ll do smoothies for my birthday party in May…

On Easter when the family was together, I remembered that my mom hadn’t seen the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, so I brought it up on my Netflix and we all watched it together.  My niece thought juicing/green smoothies were gross but I told her ‘would you rather sit and eat that giant salad on the TV, or turn it into juice and drink it down?’ – and that made sense to her.  And it really does.  Not all of us stay awake at night dreaming of greens and veggies and how much we really really really love them. 

So there’s no law that says you have to drink the green smoothies 24/7 – some people do if they are desperate to kick off a weight loss or detox (like the guys in the movie).  So how about ONE A DAY?  Just one.  And you can choose which meal as well.  Baby steps – and you will see a difference!

My mom is 66 and she has her normal breakfast and then uses her Nutribullet to make a green smoothie for lunch each day.  And she can feel the difference already – and her doctor can see it.  And it shows on her scale too (and it hadn’t budged much for a while).  Can you sit down and think about doing a green smoothie once a day?  

I love breakfast, it’s my favorite meal of the day and I like a nice warm filling breakfast so I’ll go ahead and keep that one.  I had a green smoothie for dinner tonight.

You could blend up a smoothie and

• take it to work in a travel mug for later; or
• make extra, pour them into bags and freeze them for later use; or
• take the frozen smoothies to work and remember to defrost one each day for lunch;

It tastes better than it looks.  You use greens, some fruit and some boost along with some liquid and there you go.  And you can make the combinations yourself and use what you like best.  You can either blend it all up and drink it down or sit there with a plate of greens and fruit and take your sweet time chowing it all down.

Blender – You’re going to need something powerful enough to blend up the greens, chunks of apple, etc.  If you don’t have something you could use, check on Amazon to see what’s within your budget and has the power to handle the job.  Also, if your credit cards have ‘points’, use them on Amazon to purchase the blender or check the card’s points program to see if they have a blender you could get for free.  I’m using the Nutribullet right now and it’s easy to operate and clean and works great. 

Greens – start with spinach, it’s milder and blends up easily.  You can work your way up to kale and collard greens and such.  Or you can add some kale in with the spinach gradually.

Fruit – on P10 we not supposed to go overboard with the fruit so keep it to a single banana or around a cup of berries or about a dozen grapes.  If you wash, cut up the fruit and then freeze them in pieces you can get a colder creamier smoothie.   Bananas end up being kind of bland so you’ll want to use something with a kick to it once you start drinking more smoothies.  

Boost – now is the time to toss in some of those ‘superfoods’ we hear so much about.  I’m partial to chia gel.  You could also use goji berries, maca powder, raw almonds, cacao nibs, acai berries, etc.  More on those later.  I need to have some info for future posts!

Liquid – in the past I’ve been a big fan of almond milk and you could use that if you’d like.  Nothing wrong with trying some nice clean water or even some coconut water if you’d like to have that extra ‘oomph’.  I’m guessing about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of liquid, less for thicker, more for thinner – you choose.

Basic Beginner’s Smoothie

1 banana

2 cups spinach

1/4 cup chia gel

1 1/2 cups water

Combine until smooth and enjoy.

Makes one very large serving or two regular servings

Chocolate Chiapioca Pudding

Let's continue with this week's 'Ideas with Chia' - here a dessert you'll love!

I loves me some chocolate pudding and I'm also interested in using chia seeds so I was eager to try this recipe.  I have a mixer at home and I'll use it at the drop of a hat so I did a cheater version and put everything in the mixer bowl and just turned it on every five minutes until it was ready.

I can't really tell you how much sweetener to use - it's a Jersey thing...no, but really, it's personal preference.  And I kept adding agave and it just didn't taste right, so I added some Truvia and that did it for me.  Wait until it thickens up a little and add the sweetener, mix, taste and then see what more you'd like to do. 

OH - and guess what else?  I had this after dinner one night and I had energy to get up and go - so out I went grocery shopping - and I also did a lot more chores around the house that night than I usually would so this will give you some 'get up and go'.   Best of all, the Kid, who continually mocks my chia gel ate a big bowl of this and thought it was tapioca - so neener neener on her!

One morning I had forgotten to make a new batch of chia gel for my smoothie so I plopped in some of this pudding instead and it worked just fine!  Pudding Smoothie, anyone?


It tastes better than it looks!



PS:  Isn't 'chiapioca' a cute word!  I can't take credit for it though, I got that from Robert on the WB Facebook site. 

Chocolate “Chiapioca” Pudding

makes 4 servings

adapted from Maria's Delicious and Nutritious Journal

3/4 cup chia seeds

2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

    (or use plain almond milk and add a little more vanilla extract)

 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of salt

sweetener of your choice (agave nectar, Stevia or Truvia) to taste



In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together and then let the pudding set up for a few minutes.

Stir the pudding every five minutes.

After sitting for 20 minutes the chia seeds will thicken up and it resembles tapioca pudding.

Print the recipe:  Chocolate Chiapioca Pudding

Ideas with Chia...

OH NO - I'm back up on the bandwagon, gonna do a little preaching about CHIA.   If you're not using chia seeds already, you SHOULD BE.  Check out the info below and think about how you can incorporate chia into your everyday meals.  I scramble chia gel into eggs, mix into my smoothies and anything else it will mix into!  My husband has noticed the difference in energy in the mornings.


and absolutely NO side effects!

<-----Yes, this picture IS embarrassing, but I do it because I love you....


Chia seeds…yes, the same ones.  Yes, really - the same ones we used to smear on little clay sheep and Tweety Birds and such a waste!  Of course, if our mothers had caught us eating them we’d probably have gotten smacked. 

There, there now, I thought the exact same thing you’re thinking right now but once I tried them and got used to it I was hooked and you will be too.  They have SO many health benefits and are easy to use.  First and most important of all – their texture is similar to sesame seeds, crispy and chewable, not at all like the nasty blackberry seeds we all hate to get caught in our teeth.  And it has a mild taste so hopefully it shouldn’t really bother you. 

And, I’m here to tell you that you can believe the hype.  I put a heaping spoonful of chia gel in my morning smoothie or eggs and I can tell the difference in energy levels and fullness.  For a mid afternoon pick me up, I eat  a spoonful of solid coconut oil rolled in chia seeds and that’s a great combo to feel full and get energy. 

This is the article I read that turned me on to eating Chia - The Chia 'Cheat Sheet' and Ten Raw Chia Recipes

The following information is excerpts from the article BUT please click the link and read all about it, I just hit the highlights.

Why would you want to eat Chia?

Chia seeds are said to have:

*2 times the protein of any other seed or grain,

*5 times the calcium of milk, plus boron which is a trace mineral that helps transfer calcium into your bones,

*2 times the amount of potassium as bananas,

*3 times the reported antioxidant strength of blueberries

*3 times more iron than spinach

*copious amounts of omega-3 and omega-6, which are essential fatty acids

They are a complete source of protein, providing all the essential amino acids in an easily digestible form. They are also a fabulous source of soluble fibre. Like flax, chia is highly hydrophilic: the seeds absorb water and create a mucilaginous gel. They can hold 9-12 times their weight in water and they absorb it very rapidly - in under 10 minutes.

Which medical conditions can Chia help relieve or support?

Chia is reported to be beneficial for a vast range of issues, for example:

*weight loss/balance

*thyroid conditions

*hypoglycemia

*diabetes

*IBS

*celiac disease

*acid reflux

*lowering cholesterol

The Basic Gel

To make a basic chia gel, simply add 1/3 cup of seeds (2oz) to 2 cups of water. Stir the mixture well, to avoid clumping, then leave it in your fridge, in a sealed jar. This will yield around 17oz of chia gel. You can begin to eat the gel almost immediately if you like. Just 10 minutes is enough time for the gel to be formed. More of the nutrients will be easily accessible after a few hours however, so many people like to make up a batch like this and leave it in the fridge. It will stay good for about three weeks. Then you can just reach into the fridge and take out some of the ready-made gel whenever you need it. You might add it to smoothies, mix it with salad dressings, puddings or granola, or simply take it by the spoonful.  


Whole SeedsYou can also sprinkle the dry seeds onto salads or add them to granola mixes. You may also want to experiment with grinding them first in a coffee grinder, to make a 'chia flour' you can then add to smoothies, soups and so on.

Whey Protein Semi-Fasting – the deets

There are still many questions after reading the original Whey Protein Fasting post so I thought I’d put a little more detail behind it, after all, I can read my own mind, why can’t you? 

Richard loves you and thinks you're worth it!
Hey!  Gotta love Richard!

FIRST of all – the CYA – I’m not a doctor, a nutritionist or even very cute.  I’m just sharing what I did.  We are all grown and capable of deciding for ourselves what works and what doesn’t. 

Okay, now let’s get down to the details.  I’m going to go over my first fast and then my second fast and then give you a boring breakdown of the anatomy of a smoothie.  Then you can have some ideas to work with.  AND I can do this because I keep a food journal (nudge nudge wink wink).  Don't wig over the extreme detail.

My first whey protein semi-fast was the inspiration to start this blog, because I wanted us to be able to share in our journeys.

(RMPP = Bob’s Red Mill Whey Protein Powder)

First Whey Protein Semi-Fast – February 7-9

Day 1 –

wrote down starting weight

6:15 am –12 oz water and 1/2 cup RMPP; along with a side of greens and nori and lemon

12:15 pm – 20 minute walk

1:30 pm – 12 oz water, 1/2 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 truvia packet; along with a bowl of greens, olive oil and lemon

6:15 pm – 12 oz coconut water, 1/2 cup RMPP, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 truvia packet; along with a plate of roasted asparagus

(see, I’m getting smart and adding some flavor – it really helps.  But the greens for breakfast were gross)  I slept 7.5 hours this night, and slept really well

Day 2 –

Down 1.6 lbs since yesterday

6:15 am – 20 minute walk

6:45 am – 12 oz coconut water, 1/2 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 tsp agave, 1/2 cup coffee and 2 tsp fiber powder; (didn’t have greens)

12:15 pm – 12 oz coconut water, 1/2 cup RMPP, 1/2 cup decaf coffee, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 truvia packets; along with a large bowl of greens with olive oil and lemon.

7:15 pm (yep, you’re reading that right) – 8 oz coconut water, 4 oz almond milk, 1/2 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 tsp agave, and 2 tsp fiber powder; along with salad greens and roasted asparagus

8:30 pm – 20 minutes of Wii Fit yoga

Again, I slept 7.5 hours this night, and slept really well.  Skipped exercise the next morning ‘cause I was too warm and comfy to get up.

Day 3 –

Down 0.8 lbs from yesterday; down 2.4 lbs total for the fast

6:45 am – 8 oz coconut water, 4 oz coffee, 1/2 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 tsp agave, 1 tbsp fiber powder

12:45 pm – 12 oz coconut water, 4 oz decaf, 1/2 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 truvia packets, 1 tbsp fiber powder; along with a bowl of greens with olive oil and lemon

6:15 pm – 8 oz coconut water, 4 oz almond milk, 1/2 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 truvia packets, and 2 tsp fiber powder

Yep, we're going old school today with
the pics - remember this one?

Day 4 – broke my fast by eating a big breakfast, a hearty lunch and a ‘oh dear Lord what was I thinking’ dinner.  DON’T DO THAT.  I might as well have shot myself in the foot.  Celebrate your weight loss and eat lightly and wait to be hungry.

Notes – The info I posted before said not to exercise because you might feel weak but to be honest, I had a lot of energy and I should have taken advantage of it by listening to my body and exercising.  I also spent a lot of time in the bathroom but I think it was very beneficial.  The greens were the turning point to helping detoxify.  I think our bodies like the protein and use that fuel to keep going and use the greens to help move the mail.

Second Whey Protein Semi-Fast – April 24-26

I did this one a little differently, you’ll see more interesting items in the smoothies now….

Day 1 –

wrote down starting weight

5:15 pm – 45 minute walk

6:15 am –8 oz almond milk, 1/4 cup half & half, 1/4 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 truvia packets, 2 tsp fiber powder, 2 tbsp chia gel and 2 tbsp coconut oil; no greens

12:30 pm – 8 oz almond milk, 2 tbsp almond butter, 1/4 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 truvia packets, 2 tsp fiber powder, 2 tbsp chia gel and 2 tbsp coconut oil; no greens

6:30 pm – 8 oz almond milk, 4 oz coconut milk, 2 tbsp almond butter, 1/4 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 truvia packets, 2 tsp fiber powder, 2 tbsp chia gel and 2 tbsp coconut oil – added 1/2 an avocado and about 1 1/2 cups of spinach leaves to the smoothie!

I had great energy all day.  Got to bed late but slept really well.

Day 2 –

Down 1.4 lbs since yesterday

6:00 am –8 oz almond milk, 2 tbsp almond butter, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 truvia packets, 2 tsp fiber powder, 2 tbsp chia gel and 2 tbsp coconut oil; no greens

Okay, so this turns out to be Administrative Professionals Day and they want to treat me to lunch – so I decide that would be fine…

12:30 pm – sashimi salad – a large bowl of greens and avocado with slices of raw fish, no dressing – so I was having the greens and protein, just not in liquid form…now check out the rest of the day….

Worked with continuous focus and energy until 8:30 pm.  Was not hungry at all and didn’t eat dinner, tummy growled a little at bedtime but nothing major.

Again, I had great energy all day.  Got to bed late but slept really well.

Day 3 –

Down 2 lbs from yesterday; down 3.4 lbs total for the fast and FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY past the darn plateau I’ve been on for a month…why didn’t I do this sooner?

6:30 am –8 oz almond milk, 1/4 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 truvia packets, 2 tsp fiber powder, 2 tbsp chia gel and 2 tbsp coconut oil; along with 1/2 of an avocado

10:30 am – a large spoonful of coconut oil

12:30 pm - 8 oz almond milk, 2 tbsp half & half, 1/4 cup RMPP, 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 truvia packets, 2 tsp fiber powder, 2 tbsp chia gel and 2 tbsp coconut oil

6:30 pm - I'm actually writing this around 2:30 in the afternoon so I haven't had dinner yet but since I want to use my Target gift card to go buy new clothes tonight I'll have the same thing I had for breakfast.

Day 4 - hold me accountable, I'm gonna go slow and easy, eat lightly and not gorge....

Day 5 - our 5th wedding anniversary, we're going on a picnic (which I'll pack light and healthy) and then to a steak dinner that night....

Breakdown of a Whey Protein Fast smoothie -

As you can see, there's a pattern:  liquid, protein, fats, flavorings, and boosters.  If you don't use enough protein and fats you'll miss them.  If these are the only things you're gonna have for 3 days you need to make sure they're balanced.

Remember to always put the liquids in first and then add the other items!

Liquid - at least a total of 12 oz of any combination of water, coconut water, almond milk, maybe a little coffee, coconut milk, whatever you have available.  If you know coconut water is good for you but really can't stand the taste now is the time to add it in, so you can get the benefits without being able to taste it.  :o

Protein - 1/4 to 1/2 cup of whey protein powder; you could add 1/4 cup Greek yogurt or one or two raw eggs if that's the way you roll.

Fats - this is important, this is what will make you feel full and give you fuel.  Any of the following are good - 2 tbsp almond butter; 2 tbsp half and half or heavy whipping cream; 1/2 an avocado, or 2 tbsp coconut oil

*TIP* zap the coconut oil in the micro, then pour into the smoothie while it's blending

Flavorings - this makes the smoothie go down a little easier, but this is where you can hurt your progress.  If you put all kinds of fruits and sweeteners and goodies in it, it will taste great but not do much to help your fasting.  So go easy on truvia, stevia, agave, fruits, etc.  Try to lean towards cocoa powder, cinnamon, vanilla extract.

Boosters - these items are not necessary but can help give you a little oomph for your day.  If I know I'm not going to get enough greens then I'll add 2 tsp of this fiber powder; as you can see, I'm also now adding 2 tbsp chia gel and that is very worth it as well.  I highly recommend you boost yourself EVERY DAY with some chia gel in your diet.

I've read about how some people put baby spinach or greens in their smoothies and they were right, you get an extra boost and you can't really taste it.  Make sure you add them in last after everything else is mixed and while the blender is still going.  And also add extra liquid while it's blending because it'll thicken up quickly.

So I hope you're not rolling your eyes and screaming 'enough already' but hopefully have a better grasp on how this works.  As for me, having done it twice, I think next time I'll bump up the protein powder back to 1/2 cup, keep adding the chia gel and then blend greens in for breakfast and eat them alongside for lunch and dinner because the greens really do help a lot. 

Take care and see if this will help you get over a hump and onto a fast track.  Let me know how you do.

Rawtella Review

 

I KNOW that this is what God puts on His toast in the mornings.  It’s heavenly.  It’s Nutella - but modified to be raw, certified organic, vegan and safe for those with peanut allergies. 

 

Only THREE ingredients - Hazelnuts, Cacao Nibs, and Coconut Sugar.  It comes in different flavors like Original, Mint, Silk, Crunch and Coffee.

 

It's less creamy than Nutella but packs an insanely rich, chocolaty punch.

 

I found Rawtella at a health food store but you can buy it online at the Rawtella website or on Amazon.com.  I think it’s a bit pricey but worth it if you don’t feel like making your own homemade healthy version of Nutella.  Best of all, the Kid thinks it’s ‘diet’ so she won’t touch it.

 

 

So – let’s fantasize think about what we could use it for….

• Eating it straight from the spoon ---->
• Dipping berries and bananas into it
• Blending into smoothies
• Hot chocolate
• Add to your coffee
• Spreading on toast or muffins in a minute
• Topping pancakes or waffles
• Stirring into oatmeal
• Frosting

I have only tried the Original and Silk flavors because that's what was available at my local store.  There are not enough words in the English language to describe the extraordinary deliciousity of this wonderful product.

Please go check out their website to get all the information - and don't forget to LIKE them on Facebook to get coupons, recipes and more info!

For those of you who are wondering, they did not ask me nor pay me to write this review, but IF anyone from Rawtella likes what I had to say, I'm willing to accept a few crates as a token of your gratitude!!

 

 

Chocolate Chiapioca Pudding

I loves me some chocolate pudding and I'm also interested in using chia seeds so I was eager to try this recipe.  I have a mixer at home and I'll use it at the drop of a hat so I did a cheater version and put everything in the mixer bowl and just turned it on every five minutes until it was ready.


I can't really tell you how much sweetener to use - it's a Jersey thing...no, but really, it's personal preference.  And I kept adding agave and it just didn't taste right, so I added some Truvia and that did it for me.  Wait until it thickens up a little and add the sweetener, mix, taste and then see what more you'd like to do. 


OH - and guess what else?  I had this after dinner one night and I had energy to get up and go - so out I went grocery shopping - and I also did a lot more chores around the house that night than I usually would so this will give you some 'get up and go'.   Best of all, the Kid, who continually mocks my chia gel ate a big bowl of this and thought it was tapioca - so neener neener on her!


One morning I had forgotten to make a new batch of chia gel for my smoothie so I plopped in some of this pudding instead and it worked just fine!  Pudding Smoothie, anyone?


It tastes better than it looks!



PS:  Isn't 'chiapioca' a cute word!  I can't take credit for it though, I got that from Robert on the Wheat Belly Facebook site.  He also gave me a regular chiapioca pudding recipe to try.  I'll have to get back to you on that one.

Chocolate “Chiapioca” Pudding

makes 4 servings

adapted from Maria's Delicious and Nutritious Journal

3/4 cup chia seeds

2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

    (or use plain almond milk and add a little more vanilla extract)

 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

 

pinch of salt

sweetener of your choice (agave nectar, Stevia or Truvia) to taste



In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together and then let the pudding set up for a few minutes.

Stir the pudding every five minutes.

After sitting for 20 minutes the chia seeds will thicken up and it resembles tapioca pudding.

Print the recipe:  Chocolate Chiapioca Pudding