As I mentioned on #manimonday, I'm looking forward to having a more standard content schedule. Another segment that I'd like to start up (but, like ManiMonday, might not be every week) is Midwest Kitchen. This space, on my Tuesday or Wednesday non-beauty-or-fashion days, will have real recipes that I actually made.

This week...chocolate chia pudding.

Yeah, I know. 

I've been trying to be more healthy-ish, and really wanted chocolate pudding. Instead of just buying chocolate pudding, I thought, no! Let's make a pudding! A healthy(ish?) pudding.

Recipe

For this pudding, you will need (per serving):

• 3/4 cup milk -- you can use diary or non-dairy milk. I used almond.
• 2 tsp of a sweetner...sugar, honey, maple syrup (or Stevia, but use way less)
• 1 splash vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder
• 4 tbsp chia seeds

Combine these ingredients into a cup or mason jar and stir (or shake) well. It then needs to sit for about three hours. The chia seeds absorb up the liquid and get kind of jelly-like.

Taste Test

For me, this was a solid 7/10. In terms of texture, there's no getting around the fact that chia, when it's all bloated up, has the texture of chunky snot. Slippery, slightly crunchy, weirdly smooth. It also needed, in my opinion, some more sweetening and some more chocolate to have a richer taste. This would help overcome the texture, I think. I would still say that it's worth trying. Chia is high in fiber and protein, so I didn't feel any kind of post-dessert guilt. Eat after a workout and feel no shame!