Four ingredient vanilla chia pudding

It's the new year and most of us have already busted our new years resolutions... sigh. Some of us broke them on the first day - big sigh.  I personally don't love making new years resolutions. I used to - for years - I would have a beautiful list and have the best intentions for the new year but somehow by day three I would blow one of them - or all of them and I would feel defeated.  The put downs and self hate would begin and I would trow in the towel.  When I was younger this was pretty bad, especially when it came to food and my weight.  I had the best intentions to start my "diet" on January 1st and by noon I was wolfing down the leftover new years cake from the night before.  I just said the word "diet" but I cringe when I hear this word.  Honestly, I get a sick feeling when I hear it because of all the yo-yo diets I've endured over the years and the guilt and shame associated with those diets. I used to be addicted to dieting and setting goals and achieving them only to bounce right back to where I began. This yo-yo cycle made my teenage years so difficult. So now in my clinical practice I try to help people remove the weight of "dieting" and instead develop a better relationship with food and with themselves.  I practice this myself and I can honestly say that I have found freedom in this area of my life.  I actually put it to the test during this holiday season.  I allowed myself the freedom to eat whatever I wanted. There's a caveat here in that I don't gravitate towards junk food anymore - so even when I let go - I don't gorge on junk.  Instead I enjoyed (maybe a bit too much - hee hee) all of the wonderful homemade cookies and treats we baked at home. I ate far too many crocette that I made using my Italian mother-in-law's recipe.  I'll post it sometime, but it's essentially dried figs stuffed with walnuts and oven baked with honey or date honey. Yum!  And as I let go I did not feel an ounce of guilt. It was so freeing! As I let go, I even put on a couple of pounds and I was ok with that, because I recognize that as soon as I resume my normal lifestyle those couple of pounds will come off.  The key is though that the guilt and shame associated with those couple of pounds have also been removed. In the past, as soon as I saw the scale inch upwards it would send me into an abyss and I would feel so defeated that I wouldn't be able to move forward. I would get stuck and the cycle would begin again. This change is pretty amazing and a huge blessing!

Now I say all of this because I KNOW there are others struggling in this same way and I want to tell you that you don't have to live this way. You are more than welcome to connect with me and I would love to walk you into this type of freedom - or you can connect with a local fellow nutritionist in your area who can guide you in a healthy way to better health. Just know that the cycle can end and you don't need to yo-yo diet any longer.

This is a favourite healthy treat of mine and super easy to whip up.  It's a great snack packed with fibre and made with whole foods.  It's simple chia pudding that can easily be changed up. I sometimes spice this up with some cinnamon and ginger or I turn it into a matcha flavour by adding in 1/4 tsp of matcha powder. Very versatile and so good! The vanilla recipe is how my kids like it so that's what I'm posting.  I'll make a future post of all my favourites and show you how simply you can make a chia pudding. Oh I should mention that some people don't like the texture of the whole chia seeds (we love them!) but you can easily grind them and include them in your pudding so you remove the chia texture.

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Four ingredient vanilla chia pudding

Yield: 1

Author: Lara

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 5 MinTotal time: 10 Min

Delicious, creamy and naturally sweetened chia pudding will have you licking your spoon clean. So good and nutritious!

Ingredients

• 1/2 ripe medium banana
• 3/4 cup cashew milk (refer to my previous post for recipe)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp chia seeds

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients outside of the chia seeds in a blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
2. Add chia seeds and pulse 2-3 times until just combined.
3. Place into airtight container and allow to thicken overnight or a minimum of 2 hours.
4. Can serve with fruit, granola, shredded almonds or any nut of your choice or enjoy just as they are!

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