Chia Pudding with Blueberries and Almonds

Have you ever tried chia seeds? They're nutrient dense, fiber rich tiny seeds of the chia plant that expand when you soak them in liquid to something like tapioca, but with really small pearls.

You can add them to smoothies for extra protein and fiber, or let them soak for a while and plump up to make an easy dairy-free chia pudding.

When chia seeds started popping up on food blogs a few years ago all I could think of was those sprout-covered terracotta chia pets marketed on infomercials in the early 80s.

I shied away. Too many memories of sprouting clay animals rattling in my brain.

But then I tried a drink with chia seeds and it reminded me of bubble tea! Albeit with tiny bubbles. In a flash decades of green sprouty images disappeared, replaced with food possibilities.

Here is what I've been making for breakfast recently with chia seeds—a wonderfully satisfying blueberry and almond chia pudding.

All you have to do is purée some blueberries in almond milk and then stir in chia seeds. For extra zing a little cinnamon and honey. Let it soak overnight or for at least a couple of hours. Then top the chia pudding with whole blueberries and some toasted almonds to eat.

I'm using almond milk because I have it on hand, and I'm making an effort to reduce dairy (lactose intolerant here), but you could easily use regular milk instead.

If you don't want to bother puréeing the blueberries with the almond milk, skip it and mix all of the blueberries in with the chia pudding at the end!