Tropical Chia Pudding with Mango Sorbet

Super easy and refreshing and perfect for breakfast, a snack any time of the day or even for a light dessert!

I topped mine with passionfruit pulp, coconut flakes and blueberries but you could use whatever you have on hand (some granola might be nice... just saying).

 

 

 

Tropical Chia Pudding with Mango Sorbet

For the Mango sorbet:
1 banana, thinly sliced and frozen
flesh of half a mango, frozen
1/4 cup coconut milk

For the Chia Pudding:
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp maple syrup (or other sweetener)

Optional Toppings:
passionfruit pulp/juice
coconut flakes
blueberries


To make the mango sorbet, simply blend the mango, banana and coconut milk in a food processor until smooth. Spoon into a container and place in the freezer to stop it melting.

For the chia pudding, mix all ingredients in a glass and refrigerate until the liquid has been totally absorbed (about 1 hour). 

Spoon the sorbet over the top of the chilled chia pudding and spoon/sprinkle over your desired toppings.  

Vanilla and Coconut Chia Pudding

What do you get when you combine four simple ingredients and a rainy, lazy Sunday afternoon? 

This badass, vegan, diary and gluten free, fibre and omega-3 packed bowl of pudding deliciousness is what!  

Any part-time Instagramer will know the popularity of chia puddings amongst the health and fitness community. Chocolate flavoured, fruit topped or served in a freshly halved coconut... there's a range of flavours and ways to get your chia fix. 

Variety is always a good things, but sometimes you just want to keep it classic and simple and it doesn't get more simple than this recipe. Throw your ingredients together, let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours (if you can wait that long) and you're ready to go. 

Need even more reason to get your chia on? As an added benefit for us 9-5'ers you can mix everything in a jar in the morning, stick it in your bag and when lunchtime rolls around you have a perfectly set lunch to keep you going for the rest of the day. 

Yay for work productivity and a healthy dose of daily fibre!     

 

Vanilla & Coconut Chia Pudding

Ingredients

1/4 cup Chia Seeds
1 cup Coconut Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 tbsp Honey
1 tsp Vanilla Extract


Mix everything in a jar or glass and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight until the seeds have absorbed the milk and the mix is thick and 'pudding-y'. 

Eat as is or top with berries, fruit, shaved coconut or whatever else your chia power brain can conjure up! 

Green Smoothie #2015

Happy New Year!


I realise its been a while since my last post, but with Christmas, New Years, work etc I just haven't had the time!

Previously where I have uploaded anything to this blog it has been the result of many hours of cooking, setting up camera angles, trying to style the food as best as my limited abilities will allow etc etc... Not a quick process!

Thanks to the magic of technology and apps like the ever-fabulous Instagram (check out my account here!) I still snap and upload pictures of what I'm cooking up on a day to day basis with just the click of a button. So, in the interests of keeping this blog chugging along, I have decided that where I simply don't have the time to to create highly detailed, multiple angle, step-by-step style posts; I will simplify the posts so that you still have the recipe and whatever quirky observations I feel like throwing in, just with less focus on having multiple pictures. Though some may see this as me compromising on the blog's aesthetic quality, I feel like this is a worthwhile trade off if it means I am able to post more often and get more recipes out into the world for you to enjoy!

So what better time to start this little shindig than right now?!

See below for said shindiggery.

Refreshing Green Smoothie

Start your 2015 on the right foot with this super refreshing drink! If you're already on board the green smoothie train: I like you, lets be friends. If you haven't tried them yet: It's not to late! The train to deliciousness is still boarding!

Ingredients:

1/2 large banana
1/2 cup frozen mango
1 tsp chia seeds
1 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk or water)
1 packed cup of spinach leaves
Few ice cubes

Simply blend everything except the fruit until well processed and then add in the fruit and continue blending until totally smooth. Super easy!

(Side note: I rimmed my glass with some honey and dessicated coconut, optional but yummy!)

 

To all those reading this recipe and thinking "oh, that sounds like a nice, healthy snack/meal" BE WARNED! 

Oh yes, this granola may be a mix of nutritious oats, nuts, oils, seeds and full of healthy fats, carbs and proteins but don't be fooled! It will create in you the most unhealthy of obsessions! 

Think you can have one spoon and walk away? Think again!

Surely one bowl will be enough? Wrong!

Well surely after eating the whole batch I will be so satisfied I won't want to touch the stuff again for at least a few hours? Oh you poor, simple fool!

Seriously, I am not exaggerating when I say only chopping my hands of Jamie Lannister style will stop me devouring buckets of this stuff... and even then I may just dive in head first.

As of late I have been taking the vegan/clean/natural lifestyle for a test drive, to admittedly amazing results! I feel full of energy, I eat when I want without any feelings of guilt and just feel generally happier and healthier! This weekend alone I played two full games of football (AFL, not that other rubbish) without any breaks, hit the gym for a pretty intense cardio session and still felt amazing and ready to keep running! Any who, as part of my new eating plans I have been scouring the web for inspiration when I stumbled across this recipe from My New Roots. I actually had a bag of buckwheat seeds that I was wanting to make into a breakfast granola, so you can imagine my delight at adding chocolate into the equation!

I did stick the recipe in a general, using-what-I-have-on-hand sort of way and what eventuated was a deliciously sweet (but also kind of savoury...) mixture of rainbows and puppy dog smiles!Really you can just throw in whatever ingredients you have on hand and add more and less of those things you love or just like.

If you do manage to resist eating the whole thing hot from the oven (I applaud you and your restraint!) there are 101 ways you can enjoy this granola! Serve it as a breakfast cereal with the dairy/nut/soy/whatever milk of your choice. Layer it with frozen banana 'nice cream' (see my earlier recipe here). Sprinkle it on freshly sliced fruit... 

Excuse me. I have to go... not make another batch... right now!

Chocolate Buckwheat Granola

You will Need

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cups raw buckwheat, soaked in water for an hour and then drained
1 ½ cups / 65g coconut flakes
2 cups raw nuts, roughly chopped (I used a mix of walnuts, cashews and brazil nuts)
3/4 cup chia seeds
½ tsp fine grain sea salt
¼ cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup cacao powder

 

Preheat your oven to  175°C and line a large baking tray with baking paper. 

In a large bowl combine the oats, drained buckwheat, coconut, chia seeds, sugar and chopped nuts.

Mmmmmm... soaked buckwheat!

In a small saucepan combine the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and salt and heat over a low flame until the coconut oil is melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cacao powder.

Trying not to eat this chocolate pool of magic as it is, pour it into your bowl with the oat mixture and stir well to make sure every nut, oat and coconut flake gets some chocolate loving. 

 

 

Dump the whole mixture onto your lined baking tray and stick in the over for about 15-20 minutes. When the time is up, grab a spatula and flip the mixture over to expose the bottom and stick it back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so, stirring and mixing around frequently to make sure the entire mix gets nice and toasted. You should be able to smell when it's ready, the nuts will be giving off a delicious toasty smell so if you see some drool pouring down your chin... its probably done! 

 

And that's about it! If you have the strength, let your granola cool in the tray before hoeing in... or just go for it. I promise not to judge.