After last month's debut of the green smoothie on WSS, I thought it was about time to share another breakfast favorite of mine with you all - the chia pudding.

Chia seeds are teeny tiny, but impressively clever. They don't have a lot of flavor, but when soaked in water they transform into a highly detoxifying gel that absorbs flavour really well. Because of this, they are super versatile and can be used in so many different ways. My favorite, however, is still to make a simple chia pudding with them.

And this breakfast is 100% I Quit Sugar approved, because:

It mixes fruits with healthy fats, which helps to slow the conversion of carbohydrates from the fruit into sugar
It uses organic rice malt syrup as opposed to other types of sweeteners (Ever since doing the IQS program, this is the only sweetener I ever use!)

Did you know that chia is a member of the mint family? No? Well, there's a fun fact of the day.

Native to South America, chia seeds are said to be used as early as the 1500's by Aztec tribes thanks to stamina-increasing properties. And rightly so, because chia seeds are a powerhouse of nutrition.

What you need to know about chia seeds

They contain about 20% protein, 35% good fats and 25% dietary fibre.
They are easily digested and help the body detoxify thanks to their high vitamins A, B, D, E, calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium content.
Because they absorb liquid and swell in size when soaked over night, they are a great way to curb appetite.

If you are looking for a healthy sweet breakfast dish that still has a good serving of protein, then this is your meal of choice! Chia pudding is also easily portable so it makes an amazing breakfast if you’re mornings are very rushed. And since you have to prepare the pudding the evening before anyways, you barely have any work left in the morning.

You can make chia pudding in many flavors but this particular recipe tastes just like summer and is my go-to option.

I've tried making chia pudding with all types of milk: almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk, you name it. My personal favorite is coconut milk, as it gives the dish that lovely creamy consistency that I'm looking for. It also adds the most flavor, and as chia seeds are rather flavor-less by nature, it's the only milk I choose these days. If you're in Australia, Inside Out has the most amazing unsweetened coconut milk.

But regardless of which liquid base you choose, your magic ratio is 1 cup of liquid to 3 tablespoons of chia seeds!

P.S.: If you're looking for a homemade granola to sprinkle on top, try this buckwheat chocolate granola recipe of mine.

Ingredients (1-2 servings)

Chia Pudding

2 tbsp. chia seeds

200ml Inside Out unsweetened coconut milk

1 tsp organic rice malt syrup

Dash of cinnamon

2 drops vanilla essence

Berry Protein Mix

1 scoop vanilla protein powder of your choice

1oo ml Inside Out unsweetened coconut milk (add some water if needed)

A handful of (frozen) strawberries

A handful of (frozen) blueberries

Instructions

1. Place all of the ingredients for the chia pudding in a jar and shake well. Leave to soak overnight in the fridge. In the morning, the mix should have a gel-like consistency.

2. The next morning, blend all the ingredients for the berry protein mix in a blender.

3. You can then either pour the berry protein mix into the jar with the chia pudding to serve beautifully in a jar (like the picture above) or mix it all up in a large bowl (what I did after taking this picture, if we're being honest!)