Recently, it was quite hot by Bay Area standards.  Instead of my usual toast for breakfast, I was craving something cool and refreshing for dessert.  My mind went to chia seed pudding, which neither requires heating and pairs quite nicely with fresh fruit.

I usually make chia seed pudding with full-fat coconut milk (since that is what we keep in our pantry) but it felt too heavy for my mood. A brief internet search suggested thinning out coconut milk at 2 parts coconut milk to 1 part coconut water.  Lacking coconut water at home, I scanned around the kitchen for an alternative.  I found an orange, really a Minneola tangelo, in my fruit bowl that we had bought from the Grand Lake Farmer’s Market and I decided to improvise.

In a small Pyrex container (I always try to minimize the dishes I use), I mixed together coconut milk, orange juice, a splash of vanilla (inspired by an orange creamsicle latte I had the day prior), some maple syrup and chia seeds. I popped it into the fridge and 90 minutes later, I layered it with strawberries and ate it with cut fresh strawberries.  It scratched my itch perfectly.

This fruity chia seed pudding is perfect for a warm summer morning.  Minneolas, which are a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit have a tart-sweet flavor with a floral quality.  The citrus added a welcome juicy twist to the pudding which complemented the fresh strawberries.  As someone who really enjoys juicy, citrusy flavors in my food, it was a perfect fit.

Chia Seed Pudding Ratios and Rules of Thumb

One of the things that helped me build confidence in improvising with chia seed puddings is knowing the ratios between core ingredients.  I tend to make less sweet puddings, especially since I like topping chia pudding with fresh fruit but err towards the higher side of the sweetener amount if you like your pudding sweeter.

Here are the ratios of a less generous and more generous portion of chia pudding.

Waste Less, Make More Tasty Food

Apart from chia pudding, here are some other ways I prevent wasting the ingredients I used in this recipe.

Coconut Milk

If you opened up a can of coconut milk to make a single serving of chia seed pudding, you definitely have leftovers.  I like to freeze extra coconut milk in ½ cup portions which I can take out when I am making something else with coconut milk.

Strawberries

Apart from eating strawberries out of hand, you could serve them with whipped cream. If you’re feeling fancy, you could also make strawberry rhubarb crostata.  For the kids, we also boil up strawberries mashing lightly to make “strawberry sauce” to stir into oatmeal or cream of wheat. Or, if you can’t think of anything else, wash them, cut the ends off and freeze them for another day.

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Coconut Orange Chia Seed Pudding

Recipe by Preeyanka

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Here is a refreshing juicy twist on the classic chia seed pudding designed for a single person when you have the foresight of knowing you want chia seed pudding in a little while.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbs chia seeds

• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk

• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange, tangerine or tangelo juice

• 1.5 tsp maple syrup (or another sweetener of your choice)

• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

• 2-3 strawberries, chopped (optional)

Directions

• Mix the chia seeds, coconut milk (make sure to fully shake before measuring), juice, maple syrup and vanilla extract in a small container with a lid. To ensure proper mixing and to avoid clumps of seeds, you may want to let the mixture sit for 3-5 minutes and then do a second stir.
• Refrigerate pudding for a minimum of 1.5 hours until the seeds have absorbed the liquid and mixture has thickened into a pudding-like consistency
• Layer chia seed pudding and chopped strawberries in a small glass container (I like the look of the Le Fermiere glass containers although they’re a little too small). For an alternate presentation, serve pudding in a bowl with strawberries (and perhaps some orange segments) on top.