Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

On the list of foods that I never thought I'd try: Chia Seed Pudding. I'd seen it mentioned several times in FASTer Way Meal Plans, but I'd never had even had chia seeds before, so I was pretty sure Chia Seed Pudding would be out of my wheelhouse. Then we did a smoothie reset last summer in FASTer Way VIP, and a few of the smoothies had chia seeds as an ingredient. They're a good source of fat and protein, and only have 4 carbs (0 net carbs on low carb days), so I decided to give Chia Pudding a try. I scoured the internet and looked at a lot of different recipes, and finally settled on a combination of what I'd found. I started out making Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding, but then I ran out of my vanilla protein powder, so I switched to chocolate and have been making it that way ever since. Chia Seeds have no flavor, so the pudding will taste like whatever you add in (I have a snickerdoodle protein powder that I might try next).

Ingredients:

4 T Chia Seeds

3/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder (I like the I Heart Macros Chocolate Milkshake Protein Isolate)

1/2 T Pure Organic Maple Syrup

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together and let it sit for five minutes. Whisk again and refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight. I've heard several people say that they struggle with the chia seeds clumping together, but double whisking seems to eliminate this problem. Top with fruit and nut butter (I used 1/4 mashed raspberries and 1.5-2 tsp peanut butter) and enjoy!