Creamy raw fruit chia pudding
1/2 cup cashews
1 cup water
3/4 cup berries, such as raspberries, strawberries or blueberries (fresh or frozen are both fine)
3 tablespoons of honey (or agave nectar)
1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
1 vanilla bean (or 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract)
4 tablespoons of chia seeds (Reserve - do not put them in the blender!! Add at end)
This is my variation of a recipe that I printed off a forum years ago, but I don't know the original source. If you recognize it, please leave me a note and I'll credit the original creator.
Directions
1. Throw everything in the blender EXCEPT THE CHIA SEEDS!
2. Blend in a high-speed blender 'til very very well blended. You can't really overblend this, so feel free to go nuts.
3. Place the chia seeds in a large bowl. Slowly pour the blender concoction over the chia seeds, and stir very well.
4. Stir - Probably take the bowl with you in front of the TV and stir for 10 minutes or so. The purpose of all this stirring is to help the chia seeds declump and plump up. Remember, the chia seeds are like tapioca and they will expand in size. Try not to eat too much of the pudding now. Just take a few tiny spoonfulls and that's it!! Don't eat the whole bowl in front of the TV because it gets even better once it's been refrigerated for an hour or two!
4. Refrigerate - Once everything is nicely stirred and there are no clumps, cover and refrigerate for an hour or two. The purpose of doing this is to let the chia seeds plump up over time. You could probably let this chia seed fruit pudding sit on the counter for the same amount of time rather than refrigerate it.
Enjoy!
The Rawtarian's Thoughts
Creamy raw fruit chia puddings are yet another vice of mine. In fact, my tummy is full of one right now!
This creamy raw fruit chia pudding is my new favourite chia pudding, which is replacing my old favourite chia pudding recipe (although that one may be an oldie but it's still a goody, too!).
In case you don't know what chia seeds are, they are tiny seeds that plump up like tapioca. By the way, you cannot make this recipe without the chia seeds, so don't substitute anything for the chia seeds!
If you try this recipe please let me know what you think. To me, when I make it with raspberries or strawberries this chia pudding reminds me of melted Neapolitan (strawberry, chocolate, vanilla) ice cream.
Images
Comments
Kristi
Nov 28, 2010
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Of course I stumble upon your website AFTER I've gone to whole foods for the week! Grrr! I even tried to find Chia seeds in WF before I left but I gave up. Boo.
Anyway, this looks great. Make some more youtube videos! :)
The Rawtarian
Nov 28, 2010
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Hi! You might be able to find chia seeds in a local bulk food retailer or in a health food store. I live in a small town but I can still find them locally. Maybe next time you have some free time just grab the phone book and call your closest health food stores. It's WAY easier to call around rather than drive around. Do get them, though. I absolutely love them! They're not that great on their own, but I find that they open up a lot of doors in the pudding department, lol.
I will try to make more YouTube videos!! Thanks for the encouragement :)
J. Roger
Dec 08, 2010
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This looks so yummy and I am definitely going to try it out! As for your comment, Kristi, I was unable to find chia seeds locally too so I just get them online at thechiaseed.com
They sell them in pound and a half bags which last me about a month and the shipping is free, so it is overall the best place I could find to buy chia seeds online, and I've been getting my chia seeds from them for about 2 years now. Hope this helps!
The Rawtarian
Dec 08, 2010
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Sounds like a great source, J. Thanks for sharing!
Frannie
Dec 09, 2010
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I am going to try this recipe real soon. Sounds yummy!
@kristi, check Whole Foods Vitamin section. They tend to move
items like chia seeds to different departments.
Have a great day.
Frannie
The Rawtarian
Dec 14, 2010
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Frannie, if you do try it let us know how you liked it and whether you modified it at all.
I keep meaning to try other fruits but I just love raspberries so much that I keep making it with raspberries.
Good tip about Whole Foods. Why do stores insist on moving everything around?? Just when we think we've got it figured out... ;)
George W.
Feb 14, 2011
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Delicious! I tend to add a decent amount of Hemp nuts (shelled hemp seed) for their protein and other benefits when I'm making almost anything, and they work very nicely in this! Thanks for sharing!!
The Rawtarian
Apr 11, 2011
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Aah, now that's a good idea. Love hemp seeds
Dana
Mar 18, 2011
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Yummy! It DOES taste like melted Neopolitan ice cream. I ground my chia seeds first in the cofee grinder and it's really smooth-- like gelatinous melted ice cream. Yum. Thanks! I always love your recipes. For the past month, my fridge is always stocked with chia seed pudding and I eat it with fruit for breakfast each morning.
The Rawtarian
Apr 11, 2011
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Grinding the seeds is a good idea! Nice alternative, although I do like the chewiness of the balls, except I don't like it when they get stuck in my teeth :)
Cyd
May 28, 2011
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YUMMY!Chia seed and I used fresh figs, didn't have the berries.
Will do it the way you do asap.
I told the kids it's coco pudding~
The Rawtarian
May 29, 2011
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Did they like it??
Cyd
May 28, 2011
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Can you tell me how to make fruit leather rolls?
The Rawtarian
May 29, 2011
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Hi Cyd! I think we resolved your question on the facebook group :)
Erin
Jun 04, 2011
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Wow! That was good. I think I could eat a huge bowl every day. :)
The Rawtarian
Jun 05, 2011
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I know, love it!! Did you use raspberries?
Erin
Jun 05, 2011
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I used frozen strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. I am making more today to take to a family dinner. Yum!
The Rawtarian
Jun 06, 2011
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Nice combo! Can't go wrong with that triple threat :)
paula
Jun 07, 2011
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my chia seeds are not expanding???!!!
The Rawtarian
Jun 07, 2011
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Lol, deep breaths! They can take a couple of hours to expand. Did you stir them really well? Did they eventually expand??
Please come back with an update! Inquiring minds want to know :)
It's possible that your chia seeds are duds, but I've never experienced that problem.
Where did you get your chia seeds from?
paula
Jun 07, 2011
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i got the seeds from whole foods!
and i stirred them and left them over night..and nothing!!!
can u believe it?!
first i put/soaked them in almond breeze milk...then tried just plain purified water...nothing.
so weird
what do i do..? do u think it was the seeds?
The Rawtarian
Jun 08, 2011
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That's odd! Darn that whole foods.
Can you still eat the pudding? I would think it's probably a bit runnier than usual, but it should still taste okay.
Send me your mailing address to lj@therawtarian.com and I'll send you some sample chia seeds in the mail for free. (I've got a bunch.) That should cheer you up a bit :)
shirley
Aug 30, 2011
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Love the recipe tho' I think next time I'll cut back on the agave a little.
To the person whose chia seeds did not plump: my WF keeps the chia immediately next to the poppyseeds in identical containers. I almost made poppyseed raw pudding when i grabbed the wrong one in a hurry. You might want to check the labels before the check out lane, just in case!
Keep those recipes coming!
The Rawtarian
Sep 02, 2011
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Lol, you sound like me when whizzing through the grocery store :)
Corinne
Dec 18, 2011
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Will the chia seeds still plump up if I throw them into the blender?
The Rawtarian
Dec 26, 2011
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If you blend the chia seeds they will make the WHOLE recipe be slightly gelatinous - but you won't get the "tapioca" pearl feel.
But that's okay, it'll just be more smooth and creamy, which is a nice alternative
Vicky
Feb 26, 2012
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This sounds yummy!
How long does this keep in the fridge?
Also can it be frozen and for how long?
The Rawtarian
Feb 28, 2012
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Keeps in the fridge for probably 2 days. STIR vigorously after removing from fridge. (It never lasts very long in my house, by the way, because we eat it right away b/c it's so good.)
I have never frozen it. It is actually a great contender for freezing - maybe you could make popsicles out of it and eat it like a popsicle?? Never done it myself though
Robinotl
Apr 11, 2012
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OK, I just whipped up a batch of this. It was easy and only took a couple of minutes. I was able to make this using my regular Oster blender (as I don't have a Vitamix) and I'm pretty excited to try it. Will report back in an hour or so. Chia seeds - my new found food source...
Robinotl
Apr 11, 2012
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This was pretty good! I think the next time I make it I will add even more berries. I used fresh strawberries. However, I had to force myself to not eat the whole thing in one sitting because I am new to eating chia seeds and I know they can expand even more... pretty good.
The Rawtarian
Apr 11, 2012
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Lol that is good that you didn't eat the whole thing - as tempting as it is!
I do usually use frozen thawed fruit for this - there is probably more packed into them since they get all squishy and dense when thawed from frozen. Thus I think it's a wise comment that you've made
Robinotl
Apr 13, 2012
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Hmmm, I will have to bear that in mind. I get such good produce where I live, especially this time of year, that it was hard to resist using the fresh berries. That being said, I think if I make this again I may cut the recipe in half so then I can eat the whole thing in one sitting...it got really thick after a day or two in the fridge...
The Rawtarian
Apr 13, 2012
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Fresh is always best though.So no need to resist :)
I like it when it gets thick in the fridge! Just give it a vigorous stir before eating
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