I mean there aren’t many things I prefer to chocolate. Lavender body wash maybe? Northstar’s village salad? Cotton scented candles? No dessert contenders there.
As much as I love a juicy hunk of dark chocolate after dinner, I love me some banana-flavored breakfasts and snacks. This kind of banana flavoring comes from a legit banana, not those icky fake flavorings that have taken over the processed food world. Have you ever seen the label of instant banana cream pudding? Sugar, modified food starch, artificial flavor, disodium phosphate, preservatives, yellow #5, more fake colors and a bunch of other crap I can’t pronounce. Um, ew. Maybe that’s why I never liked banana pudding. IT’S NANNERLESS.
Since real nanners are naturally sweet, I don’t have to jack up this chia gunk with a bunch of added sugar. Instant pudding has 18 grams of sugar per serving–that’s over four teaspoons! I did add a couple dates for sweetness to this version because you know how much I adore those little guys.
I’m sure you know by now if you’re into the texture of chia pudding or not. It’s not for the faint hearted. It’s gelly and mushy and weird and fantastic. Since each tablespoon of chia packs a whopped five grams of filling plant-based fiber, these parfaits have well over ten grams of fiber each! That’s like two big apples. Kind of a big deal!
I always get asked about healthy snacks and I often tell people to think of them more like mini meals rather than “snacks” because that word shifts people’s minds to crackers, pretzels, chips and other refined, high-carb, nutritionally void foods. Chia pudding may be perfect for breakfast, but you could also cut back on the portion and call it a snack. Veggie chili for dinner? Snack on half a cup the next afternoon with some sliced peppers and hummus. Beet and green bean salad for lunch? Nosh on a bowl mid-morning and call it a sexy snack!
Chia seeds are one of the easiest ways to add fiber to your diet because they don’t even taste like anything. Fiber pushes all the yuckies out, combats cholesterol and helps solve your bathroom woes. Yeah, I said it. You want it in your life. Often. I like to keep a batch of chia pudding (remember my chocolate covered strawberry version?) in the fridge for those days when I’m running around like a madwoman and need a quick snack that’s uber nutritious. Ya know those days where you sleep through breakfast and want eggs and toast for lunch? Maybe you skipped your fiberlicious morning smoothie? Enter the chia pudding life saver. You’ve got your fruit, your healthy fats, fiber and plant-powered protein. You could even blend in a handful of baby spinach. WOAH THERE, SISTER.
Go crazy!
[tasty-recipe id="22629"]
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Banana Coconut Chia Pudding Parfaits
July 31, 2014
My nutritionist, Denise at OSU, gave me your website at my session (I believe you know her…). She was touting how wonderful your site is and how great your ideas are and she did not lie! Love the Chia pudding! My toddler daughter is in a heavy banana phase, so we have nanners a plenty in our household. I will be making this tomorrow. Keep up the great work, and I can’t wait for the new center to open! 🙂
My nutritionist, Denise at OSU, gave me your website at my session (I believe you know her…). She was touting how wonderful your site is and how great your ideas are and she did not lie! Love the Chia pudding! My toddler daughter is in a heavy banana phase, so we have nanners a plenty in our household. I will be making this tomorrow. Keep up the great work, and I can’t wait for the new center to open! 🙂
I’m tempted to say that something looks a little different around here, and I hope this change didn’t happen forever ago without me noticing it. Either way… looks great, lady!
And I’m obsessed with all things banana… unless we’re talking extremely green bananas. There’s no way you can get me to eat one of those. Blech.
I’m tempted to say that something looks a little different around here, and I hope this change didn’t happen forever ago without me noticing it. Either way… looks great, lady!
And I’m obsessed with all things banana… unless we’re talking extremely green bananas. There’s no way you can get me to eat one of those. Blech.
BEAUTY. And I appreciate recipes like this for the culinarily-challenged. 🙂
Hope you love it, Lindsay! We all need a nice and easy recipe here and there!
BEAUTY. And I appreciate recipes like this for the culinarily-challenged. 🙂
Hope you love it, Lindsay! We all need a nice and easy recipe here and there!
This looks fantastic! Also, Northstar village salad ❤️
My FAVE. Obsessed.
This looks fantastic! Also, Northstar village salad ❤️
My FAVE. Obsessed.
Yep yep, I’ll be making these as soon as my nanners go brown.
★★★★★
Wahoo!! Love me some brown nanners.
Yep yep, I’ll be making these as soon as my nanners go brown.
★★★★★
Wahoo!! Love me some brown nanners.
I love nanners! I have my moments with them, where I’ll purchase some at Costco, then take a couple week break and then be reunited…They’re the bomb and make any snack of breakfast DELISH! 🙂
A couple weeks break?! That sounds like a couple weeks to long!! 😉
I love nanners! I have my moments with them, where I’ll purchase some at Costco, then take a couple week break and then be reunited…They’re the bomb and make any snack of breakfast DELISH! 🙂
A couple weeks break?! That sounds like a couple weeks to long!! 😉
pushes all the yuckies out. Screw men. You can marry me just for saying that.
THANKS GURL. Curt can come on all our dates if he brings cute friends.
pushes all the yuckies out. Screw men. You can marry me just for saying that.
THANKS GURL. Curt can come on all our dates if he brings cute friends.
I’ve been wanting to try making a chia pudding for so long, but I’m nervous about the texture. It sounds so healthy and delicious (and your pictures are soooo yummy looking). I gotta get over the texture issue haha!
It takes some getting used to, but I actually love it!! You could even try blending it all up for a smoother texture if you wanted.