Putting the Chi in Chia Seeds

Good morning!

Today's smoothie recipe is a variation on one I did Monday morning. Monday's did not turn out so great so I'm glad I made a few adjustments for today's! You'll notice there's also a cup of chia pudding there; this was my second attempt at chia pudding and it came out great so I'll also share that recipe!

Smoothie:

• 1 banana
• 1 apple (peeled and cored)
• 1 handful fresh kale
• 8 oz coconut milk
• 8 oz water
• 1 tbs chia seeds*
• 2 tbs protein powder*
• 2 tsp flax seeds*
• 2 tsp Very Green*

* Supplements aren't required, the smoothie tastes just fine without them. Substitute your favorites!

The trick with this smoothie that made it better than monday's is that I used coconut milk instead of coconut water, I doubled the liquid by adding 8 oz of plain water, and I prepared the fruits and froze them earlier in the week. Overall, the frozen fruit blended better and the extra liquid made for a much smoother texture. 

Another alternative is instead using 8 oz coconut water and 5 oz greek yogurt, which is what I ended up adding to Monday's to make the texture smooth out and loosen up.

Chia Pudding:

• 1 tbs chia seeds
• 3 oz Lactaid (or any milk substitute)
• 5 oz coconut water
• 1 tbs honey
• Combine ingredients in a sealable container, mix well, let sit overnight in the refrigerator for a quick breakfast pick-me-up!

I tried the first batch with coconut milk and it didn't come out as creamy. When I used the Lactaid (Full fat!), it came out perfectly. Now, this recipe could also work with low fat yogurt instead of milk and coconut water if you don't like to use milk and want a creamier texture. Overall, the honey definitely made the whole dish. 

The thing that made me want to try out chia pudding was the fact that these little seeds puff up in liquid and look like frog eggs. I grew up in the country for the early half of my childhood and one of the coolest school trips was always going down to a pond to catch tadpoles and find squishy frog eggs. This would make a great Halloween snack project for a classroom snack day!

Keep an eye out for today's dose of Tango to see his stages of begging for dinner!