Chia Pudding

This is one of my go-to recipes for a quick and healthy breakfast or snack. It’s easy to make and can be topped with a wide variety of things - any fruit (fresh or warmed frozen fruit), cocoa powder (stirred in), nut butter, nuts, seeds, granola, etc etc. It’s also a great make-ahead meal for the next few days. Chia seeds are considered a superfood for good reason - they’re high in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, calcium, magnesium and iron.

You can make chia pudding with any milk. I always make it with homemade cashew milk that I pour over the chia seeds directly from the blender. (A high speed blender is helpful for this.) Note that if you mix the chia seeds with slightly warmed milk (like the homemade cashew milk), they will absorb liquid faster than if it is cold.

The one “trick” to making chia pudding is to stir it pretty often during the first few minutes so the chia seeds don’t clump. Once your pudding starts to thicken, it’s unlikely to clump.

For homemade cashew milk, the general proportion is 1 cup water to 1/4 cup raw cashews. Add some sea salt and blend for a minute of so. Because it’s being used in chia pudding in this case, there’s wiggle room in the proportions.

~~~~~

Chia Pudding

Notes: You can easily scale this recipe up or down as long as you keep the ratio of 3 tablespoons whole chia seeds to 1 cup milk. I often make this with 15 tablespoons chia seeds and 5 cups milk (in two jars).

Raw cashews for cashew milk (1/2 cup-ish)
6 tablespoons whole chia seeds
Sea salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Measure your chia seeds into a large mason jar.

Fill the blender with about 1 3/4 cup water, pour in raw cashews until you reach 2 cups, and sprinkle in a little sea salt. Blend it up.

Pour the milk over the chia seeds and stir right away. Come back and stir again several times over the first 3-5 minutes so the chia seeds don’t clump. Once the pudding starts to thicken, you don’t have to worry about clumping. Add a pinch of sea salt as well as the vanilla extract and the maple syrup, and stir well to incorporate. The pudding needs to sit for at least about 20 minutes before it’s ready to serve.

Favorite toppings:

• Warmed frozen cherries & cocoa powder (stirred in)

• Banana slices, chocolate chips, peanut butter & hemp seeds

• Warmed frozen blueberries and fresh peach and a scoop of almond butter

Store chia pudding in the fridge. Enjoy!

Curried Chickpea Stew

This is the exact same recipe as the Moroccan Chickpea Stew, except the spice mix is changed. I think I like this one better, and my kids definitely feel the same way, but both are great if you like chickpeas and spice-forward stews.

~~~~~

Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Adapted from Moroccan Chickpeas + Kale in Melissa Clark’s Dinner in an Instant (pg 103).

Notes: I make this stew in my Instant Pot and wrote the recipe that way, but you could easily do it in a large stock pot and cook the chickpeas over the stove. If you’re cooking over the stove, add enough water to cover the chickpeas and keep an eye on them, adding a bit more water if necessary. Stove-top chickpeas (if soaked) will cook in 60-90 minutes. Chickpeas that are NOT soaked will pressure cook for 40-45 minutes and stove-top cook for approximately 90-120 minutes.

Special equipment:
Instant Pot or other pressure cooker

1 lb dried chickpeas
Filtered water to cover by 2-3 inches

Good glug of olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4-5 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 large or 3 medium carrots, diced
Between 1/2 and 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Good grinding of black pepper
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (the whole can / do not drain)
5 1/2 cups filtered water
1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped (I use Lacinato here)
Cilantro or parsley, to serve (optional)

SOAK CHICKPEAS:
About 24 hours before you plan to make your stew, put your chickpeas in a pot and cover with filtered water by about 3 inches. The chickpeas will expand quite a bit; you can add more water if they’re dry at the top.

COOK STEW:
Drain the chickpeas and rinse well.

Turn on the sauté function on the pressure cooker and add a glug of olive oil. As it starts to heat up, add the onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Next add the garlic, stirring until fragrant. Add in the carrot and ginger and stir this until fragrant as well. If things are looking a little dry, add another glug of olive oil. Next, add the sea salt, spices, and black pepper. Pour in the entire can of diced tomatoes and stir again.

Add in the drained chickpeas and 5 1/2 cups of filtered water. Secure the lid onto the pressure cooker, turn the knob on top to the “sealing” position, and set it to cook on high pressure for 15 minutes; letting the pressure release naturally. (If the chickpeas aren’t quite done at this point, you can pressure cook for another 5 minutes or so, releasing the pressure manually afterwards.)

Stir in the chopped kale. I find that the heat is enough to soften the kale without any additional cooking.

Carefully taste for salt level and add more as desired. You can serve this as is or garnished with chopped cilantro or parsley.

Serves 6-8

Tomato Peanut Stew

If you love hearty, spicy soups and stews, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this. It’s deeply flavored and full of heart-healthy fats and fiber. As with most soups and stews, this is just as good (or better) the second day. My favorite way to eat this is with a scoop of brown rice. Quinoa is good too. You can up the protein content by adding grilled tofu, chicken or fish to go alongside.

~~~~~

Tomato Peanut Stew
Adapted from Peanut Stew with Spinach & Miso (pg 100) in Super Natural Simple by Heidi Swanson

Notes: The recipe that I adapted this from calls for 3 tablespoons. I used that amount the first time I made this and it was extremely spicy. Curry pastes can vary quite a bit in heat. When it doubt, start small and you can always add. This recipe, as written, delivers a modest, kid-friendly amount of heat. Also, I often make this with fire-roasted crushed tomatoes.

Glug of extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
3 medium carrots, diced
1/2 tablespoon red curry paste
1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
14.5 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (NOT strained)
3 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon white miso
10 oz frozen spinach, chopped
Brown rice or quinoa, to serve

In a large stock pot, heat a glug of olive oil over medium heat and add the onions and sea salt. Sauté for a few minutes, then add the carrots and sauté for a couple minutes longer. Put in the curry paste and peanut butter and quickly stir, followed by the whole can of diced tomatoes (juices and all). Add the water, bring to a gentle boil, and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

To add the miso, spoon somewhere between 1/2 and 1 cup of stew into a small bowl and fully incorporate the miso before adding it back to the whole pot. This will prevent clumps in your finished stew. (Use this same process if you’d like to add more red curry paste.)

Finish by adding the chopped frozen spinach and simmering for a few more minutes. I usually microwave my spinach on a plate for 1 minute to soften it just enough to make it easy to chop.

Serve with a scoop of brown rice or quinoa.

Serves 4-6