Chia and Raspberry Pudding as a Fruit Spread

I love chia pudding because it adds so much flavor and color to my meals. Sometimes I added to my breakfasts, snacks, or even to make a salad dressing with this base. This is a good opportunity to use any fruit you have that is very ripe, just blend or mash it before mixing with the seeds. In my case I used frozen raspberries. I like to buy frozen raspberries because they are cheaper than the fresh ones and when raspberries are chosen to be sold this way it is because they are very ripe and that means they are going to be sweet. I always add a little honey to the mixture. You can add the sweetener of your choice such as stevia, sugar or maple syrup. This recipe does not require cooking time, but it does require leaving the fruit with the chia seeds to rest for at least an hour. Personally I like the result better when leaving the mixture to rest overnight, so the seeds will be well hydrated.

I like to make this pudding with just a few ingredients so that during the week I can decide which meals to incorporate it into. Here are some ideas of the foods to which I add this pudding:

• Yogurt with granola

• Oatmeal with nut or seed butter

• Pancakes, waffles, muffins

• Peanut or almond butter toast, or substitute the jelly for a PB&J sandwich

• Lemonade or juices: add two to four tablespoons of the pudding to water or juice of your choice to give it a different flavor and texture.

• Salad dressing: mix two tablespoons of the pudding with some extra virgin olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and herbs

Let me know what fruits you used to make this delicious pudding.

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen raspberries, or fruit of choice.

Splash of water

2 tablespoons chia seeds

Optional: 1 to 2 tablespoons of sweetener. I used honey

Directions:

1. Depending on the type of fruit you can mash/crush with a fork, or blend until you get a chunky or a thick mixture

2. Add the chia seeds, the splash of water and the honey to the fruit

3. Mix well

4. Cover and let stand in the refrigerator for at least one hour, I like to leave it overnight so that the seeds are well hydrated

5. You can do all of this in a bowl and transfer it to a container with a lid to keep it in the fridge, or you can mix it all in a jar and cover

6. Incorporate into your meals!