We’re entering week 2 of National Nutrition Month®, it’s officially daylight savings time, and it’s International Women’s Day! That’s a lot to celebrate. I’ll going to stick to nutrition today here on the blog, but if you’re in need of simple tips to adjust to daylight savings time, this is a good visual from Real Simple. And keep reading for why chia seed pudding is a must make!
International Women’s Day. Below is a great visual that summarizes it quite nicely. Women supporting women. Taking the time to acknowledge how far we’ve come and how much more we have to do. Happy International Women’s Day!
Diagnosis: Diabetes
Now back to nutrition and cereal. Yesterday was #NationalCerealDay because there’s a holiday for everything these days. As I was scrolling through Instagram I saw a lot of fellow dietitians celebrating this said holiday and underneath their picture there were the words #ad #sponsored This could be a whole post in and of itself (which ironically I have posted about before) but it led to the discussion of cereal and nutrition. Is it healthy? I had a lot of people messaging me asking why I was promoting something that obviously isn’t healthy at all. To which I responded, I might need to do a post about this.
If you’ve ever seen a presentation that I’ve done in the community or read my blog over the years then you already know what I’m about to say. There are no good foods and there are no bad foods. However, coming from the field of nutrition that specializes in diabetes, I’m always out there educating as it pertains to people with diabetes. The irony is that everyone should eat as if they have diabetes, an overall healthy eating pattern all the while including foods they enjoy. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve counseled patients where the family members think they have to change how they’re eating just because someone was diagnosed with diabetes in their family.
Way to make a family member feel ostracized thinking they have to eat things different from you. Additionally thinking they can’t participate when you are eating foods that might not be as healthy. Many times the whole family needs to make changes in order to improve their health. The diagnosis of diabetes simply is a wake-up call most times. Keep in mind, every patient and every family that I counsel is different. Ultimately, the key is meeting yourself where you’re at all with the end goal of improving your health bite by bite.
Nutrition: Cereal
I actually didn’t even know it was #nationalcerealday yesterday. Sure, I used the hashtag but I did not receive paid endorsements from the cereal companies to promote their cereal and promote it as part of a healthy balanced diet. Working on creating recipes for the upcoming holidays and as St. Patty’s day is right around the corner, I thought it’d be fun to incorporate a childhood favorite of mine. I also completely love Christina Tossi of Milkbar. For those that not familiar with Christina Tossi is, she is the founder of Milkbar, creator of cereal milk. She’s an overall food goddess, so even more perfect on this International Women’s Day.
Long story made short, I used cereal for a dessert recipe that I’ve created (with inspo from Christina Tossi). It’s kind of simple in my mind. And yes, #thisdietitianeatsdesserts in moderation and within a portion controlled amount. Here to show you that all foods fit in a given time and place and we shouldn’t be demonizing foods nor eliminating foods. Cereal at the end of the day is not something I as a dietitian promote for people (with diabetes or without) to include on a daily basis. It’s high carbs, virtually no protein, and highly processed.
But for people to write and say that I was promoting cereal is a little bit of a stretch and also taken out of context. Sure, I used the hashtag, however, I also believe that it’s gotten hard to decipher on social media what is being promoted and what isn’t being promoted. Regardless, you should be following people that you know what they stand for and believe. I felt that I should write a little bit of background before posting this (because of some of the comments I received) but now will leave you with a fun, festive recipe for St. Patty’s Day. And even if you don’t use cereal to make cereal milk, the basic chia seed pudding recipe is below. I’d call that luck!
Print
Chia Seed Pudding
Chia Seed Pudding can be breakfast or dessert depending on how you make it and all that you add in to it! Chia seed pudding a simple, go-to recipe you want to have on hand!
- Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
Lucky Charms Cereal
- 2 cups Lucky Charm cereal
- 2 cups milk
Chia Seed Pudding
- 2 cups cereal milk (or milk of your choice for regular chia seed pudding)
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (*optional)
- A few Lucky Charms marshmallows, garnish
- Edible gold leaves, garnish (*completely optional)
Instructions
- Place the cereal in a large bowl and cover with the milk. Place a bowl or plate over top of the cereal so it’s pressed into the milk. Occasionally stir to get the cereal covered and mixed up a bit. Let it sit and steep for 45 minutes.
- Strain the cereal out of the milk. Voilá, cereal milk! You will have a little more than 2 cups. Measure 2 cups of the cereal milk for the actual chia pudding (or else the pudding won’t set if there is too much liquid).
- Stir together the milk, chia seeds, vanilla, and maple syrup, if using, in a large bowl. Cover and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, stir and separate any clumps that may have formed. Cover again and place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Alternatively, you can place in separate mason jars (4-1/2 cup servings). When ready to serve, scoop out some of the chia pudding and place it in a bowl or jar. Cover with a few Lucky Charms cereal, if using.
- Eat and enjoy!
Notes
*I used regular cow’s milk. Feel free to use the milk of your choice. And as mentioned, you do not need to use cereal milk.
*If I’m not using cereal milk and making just regular old chia seed pudding I do use a tablespoon of maple syrup.
*Depends on my mood, but sometimes I’ll add a scoop of nut butter as my topping, other times I’ll add sliced fruit for a topping. It really just depends on what flavors I’m looking for – & either breakfast or dessert!
*Chia pudding can be stored for up to 5-7 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: dessert
1 thought on “Chia Seed Pudding”
Creating that ‘cereal milk’ and using it for a dessert was genius (love Christina Tosi!)