How about some Vanilla Cinnamon Chia Pudding or just plain Organic Chocolate?

How about some Vanilla Cinnamon Chia Pudding or just plain Organic Chocolate?

      With the weather being so cold, and plenty of snow to play in, sometimes Hot Chocolate becomes boring.  How to mix it up and be healthy?  Make home made pudding.  This recipe is an adaptation of Grandma's Jello Salad recipe.  Which, is one of my most popular recipes!  Give it a try.  Anyway, my son and I love Chocolate.  I try to make healthy treats for us, and can't bring myself to use the boxed pudding mixes any longer.  If I can't pronounce an ingredient, without a Chemistry dictionary, then I probably shouldn't be eating it.  Thus this recipe was born.  I made a vanilla pudding for Rice Pudding and raisins.  It was very good.  So why not make chocolate?  I used Organic Cacao powder, it's a superfood!  

Organic Chocolate Pudding

   This picture shows how silky smooth the pudding is.  In fact, my son liked it so much he keeps asking for it.  When making my second batch, I messed up the flour and sugar  measurements.  Not to worry, the result was a super thick pudding, so I just added milk to thin it out.  Worked great. So, don't freak if the pudding looks super thick, just add more milk.  Don't forget you can also use 2% or skim milk for this.  We were snowed in and this was the only milk I had.  I don't usually use this brand, but when a snow storm is on the way, you sometimes have to take what Organic milk you can get.  

When I was enjoying this delicious dessert I thought about my friend whose son has a lot of food allergies, like me, and my other friend who is opening a restaurant and wants to use "healthy alternative" foods.  

My friends son wouldn't be able to enjoy this pudding because of the milk and egg.  So I sent her a message to ask what she used to substitute eggs.  She told me Chia seeds or flax seeds.  Ok, I had coconut milk and chia seeds.  She was coming over today, so I put her to work. We created this new pudding recipe.  I'm so happy with it!   Her son loved the pudding.  The consistency was a touch thinner, and it didn't set up as solidly as a pudding, but it was setting up better as it cooled.  

Vanilla Cinnamon Chia Pudding

Homemade Chocolate Pudding 

1 cup of organic milk

1 organic egg  beaten

2 Tablespoons of organic flour

3 Tablespoons of organic sugar

1/2 cup of Cacao powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

1 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon stick (optional)

In a sauce pan over medium heat, 

pour 1 cup milk and beaten egg

vanilla and cinnamon (both are optional)

DO NOT LET IT BOIL!!!!!!!  

Whisk frequently (you'll see it start to thicken)

Get the flour and sugar ready to whisk into the hot mixture.  

Whisk as you put the flour in to avoid lumps.  

I put my flour and sugar in a bowl, whisk with one hand and shake in with the other hand.  

After you have incorporated the flour and sugar then whisk in the cacao powder.

If the mixture is too thick or you just prefer a thinner pudding, then whisk in  more milk until it is the consistency you like.  

After the cacao is mixed in thoroughly and there are no lumps the pudding is ready. 

Homemade Vanilla Cinnamon Chia Pudding

2 cans Coconut milk

1 Tablespoon of milled Organic Chia seeds (substitution for eggs)

4 Tablespoons of Organic Flour

4 Tablespoons of Organic Sugar

1 1/2 Teaspoons of Vanilla extract

1 Stick of Organic Cinnamon (ground well)

I put the cinnamon stick and the chia seeds in my vitamix and milled to a powder

Put the milled mixture in a measuring cup and add 1/2 can of coconut  milk.  This will allow the seeds to thicken.  You may want to add the entire can if it looks like the seeds have thickened a lot. 

Put the other can of coconut milk and the vanilla, in a sauce pan over low heat. 

When it starts to steam add the chia seeds.  DO NOT LET IT BOIL.

Whisk in the flour and sugar. 

If the mixture is not as thick as you like, add some more flour, just be careful that you don't add too much.  You don't want to taste the flour in the pudding.  

You may want to add Cacao powder to this to make it chocolate.  We couldn't because Junior is allergic to nuts, and the Cacao was packaged in a facility that also pacakages tree nuts.  

This was very good!  I was surprised to be honest.  Pleasantly surprised.  

If you like this recipe, please comment below and visit me again!