Last week I introduced the low-sugar diet the doc put me on in order to kick my diabetes' ass and I've been experimenting with new breakfast ideas, because my go-to for the past year has either been epic fruit salads or fruit smoothies. Now I'm only allowed to have one fruit serving per day and that does not a breakfast make.
Lately I've been alternating all-vegetable green smoothies with chia seed pudding and it's becoming a breakfast staple. We've all heard how wonderful chia seeds are, but what I was surprised to learn is that these little guys are filled with 2x more protein than most grains and 5x more calcium than milk, they have 8x more Omega-3 fatty acids than salmon and if prepared properly, the high fiber content will make you poop!
So here's what I've been making as of late, a sweeet tropical chia seed pudding that's gluten-free, sugar-free and vegan. Makes 2 servings
Ingredients
1/3 cup chia seeds • 1 cup of unsweetened cashew milk • 2 cups of water • 2 tbs of unsweetened coconut flakes • 1 tsp vanilla extract • 2 tbs raw almonds slivers • 1 diced kiwi fruit
Combine the cashew milk and water in a storage container and stir in the seeds. I used cashew milk because it's gluten-free, unsweetened and low-carb, but any unsweetened nut or coconut milk would be awesome in this recipe. Avoid rice, oat or soy milks if you are on a low-sugar, anti-inflammatory diet like me. Once the chia seeds are in they will sink and clump together so stir them continuously for a few minutes until they break up and float around evenly. Mix in the coconut flakes and vanilla extract. From here you can either store the chia pudding overnight or wait 15 minutes for the little seeds to get all jelly-like and pudding up. Pour half of your pudding into a pretty bowl, top with almonds and kiwi and voila!
I'm really enjoying this pudding and the creamy cashew milk and vanilla extract add a hint of natural sweetness. The tart kiwi worked really well, but any low-glycemic fruits will work great.
Nutritional breakdown per serving
Calories 427 • Carbs 35g • Dietary Fiber 20g • Protein 16g • Fat 32g
