If you've been following me, y'all know that I've been on the Sugar Crush Sugar-Free Challenge since the beginning of March. Mainly because I have a huge sweet tooth that had has gotten out of control. I mean I was eating cookies, pancakes with sweet syrups, and more cookies! And my thinking was this challenge would help me regain control of my sweet tooth once again.
Over the last few weeks, I'm slowly starting to regain control of my sweet tooth {smile}. And it really wasn't that difficult to do.
The first five days, I kept a food journal and kept tabs on the sugar content of the foods I ate. Most of my sugar was in my breakfast meals, hidden in my orange juice and milk. Since then, I've learned ways to cut my sugar down in my breakfast.
I've also started eating other foods that I had never tried before like chia seeds and matcha (recipes coming soon for matcha too!). So in all, I'm just trying to get back to my " healthy" and keep cutting out the sugar in my diet so my overzealous sweet tooth doesn't take over again!
And in doing so, I've learned how to make chia pudding. I know, if you've seen photos of chia pudding before, it doesn't look appetizing at all, with those little seeds covered in what some may call, er, slime. But really, if you grind those little seeds up, not only will you get more nutrients from them, but they don't have the slimy texture either. And you're left with a creamy, pudding- like mixture that is also good for you.
To make this, I ground up my almonds, used unsweetened almond milk, a little agave nectar along with dates for sweetener, some cinnamon, vanilla and almond extract, and wa-la, Almond Date Chia Pudding was born.
The best thing about this pudding is you don't even have to refrigerate to let it set up before eating as the texture is pudding-like as soon as you're done making it! Even though it does taste better after its chilled and the flavors mingle together.
After a bite of this, I'm like "sugar? Who needs sugar anymore when I've got this Almond Date Chia Pudding!
BAM!
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Almond Date Chia Pudding
Makes 17.6 ounces (500 grams)
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Ingredients
- 2 cups Almond milk. unsweetened
- 6 Tablespoons Chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Almond extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons coconut butter
- 1 cup whole, raw almonds
- 12 dates, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons agave nectar
Directions
- Add almonds, chopped dates, and chia seeds into a high speed blender and turn on High setting. Blend until almonds, dates, and chia seeds are a fine powder, about 5 minutes or less.
- Add in remaining ingredients until all ingredients are mixed and ingredients resemble a thick pudding-like mixture, about 3-5 minutes.
- Place into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate or you can serve immediately.
Serve topped with chopped dates, chopped almonds, or both as pictured above.
Store in refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.
*Helpful Hints*
- When cutting your almonds, make sure you use a clean cutting board and not one that's used for meats. Here's a helpful link brought to you by CustomMade that tells you how to care for your cutting board and what makes the best type of cutting board, one that is easily cleaned and doesn't harbor bacteria from foods
- Also make sure you use a sharp knife that's made to chop the almonds. Here's a helpful link brought to you by Fix that tells you what type of knives work best with what you're cutting, how to care for your knives, plus how to properly store knives so they will last a lifetime in your kitchen.
*Disclaimer - This post contains affiliate links.*
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Shared with: Savoring Saturdays, Munching Mondays #84
