Chia seed pudding is awesome for a number of reasons, some subjective and some more objective… BUT if you don’t like the texture of tapioca or rice pudding, then maybe give up on this recipe and make more doughnuts.

Chia seeds are great if you want to become more regular in your bowel movements because of the fiber content. The gel it forms is great for bowel health and moisture, and they contain a lovely omega-3 fatty acid profile that lots of people seem to like for inflammation and improving the overall lipid profile.

Full disclosure, I like them for their ability to become pudding.

Note that this recipe is vegan, so for all you dairy-free ketonians, have at it! I like to customize the pudding flavor depending on what I’m feelin’ and I generally make huge batches and divvy them up into 1-cup servings for grab-n-go-ness. I use a really specific brand of almond-coconut creamer because I’ve found it works best for taste and texture, but you can just use full fat canned coconut milk if you like instead. The main thing is that you need a lot of fat CUZ YOU’RE ON KETO.

Special Tools:

• Giant mixing bowl for granola
• Regular mixing bowl for pudding
• Whisk/wire whip
• Large cookie sheet with sides to prevent spillage

Ingredients:

Pudding:

• 3 TBSP chia seeds (1.5 CUPS for giant batch that serves 8)
• 1 or 2 Stevia in the Raw packets (4-8 packets)
• 1 cup Califia brand almond-coconut milk creamer (at Whole Foods) (8 cups)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or glycerite for alcohol-free) (3 TBSP)

Grain Free Granola:

• 2 cups walnuts
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 3/4 cup pistachio meats
• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds without the shells)
• 1/2 cup Lily’s stevia sweetened chocolate chips
• 1 cup unsweetened toasted coconut flakes (not shredded)
• 1 1/2 cup almond flour/meal
• 1/2 cup flax meal
• 1/4 cup hazelnut flour (optional can sub with flax meal)
• 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt (or fine ground grey Celtic sea salt)
• 1/2 cup Stevia in the Raw cup for cup baking
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 tsp maple flavor

Method:

Pudding:

1. Use a whisk to stir all 4 ingredients. Stir for at least 1 minute or you WILL get weird clumps of seeds.
2. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Keeps for about a week in the fridge.

You can use this 1 cup liquid to 3 tablespoons chia seeds ratio to make huge batches like I do, if you want to have stock on hand for easy, grab-n-go snacks, for when you might be tempted to cheat, or for desserts. You can also add spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, or different extract flavorings like maple, strawberry, or almond. For chocolate pudding, add 1 TBSP cocoa powder and another two packets of Stevia in the Raw.

Granola:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. Mix all ingredients, except the coconut oil and maple, in a huge bowl with your freshly washed hands. Set aside.
4. In a separate little bowl, mix oil and maple flavor and then pour mixture into dry mixture and mix VERY WELL with your HANDS (yes this is important to get it fully mixed, so I hope you’re not squeamish).
5. Dump out entire mixture onto your cookie sheet and spread evenly.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 15 mins.
7. Stir mixture carefully and bake for another 10 mins. Stir again, or remove from oven if it’s done.
8. Check on it every 5 mins after that to check for doneness and prevent it from burning. Granola is done when it is crispy, dry, and more uniformly golden brown in color. 

Yields:

20 servings of Grain Free Granola – Nutrition per serving:

• Kcal: 290
• Fat: 26g
• Total carb: 9g
  • Fiber: 3g
• Protein: 7g

1 serving of Chia Seed Pudding (per recipe) – Nutrition per serving:

• Kcal: 340
• Fat: 25g
• Total carb: 15g
  • Fiber: 15g (IT’S ALL FIBER!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!!)
• Protein: 9g