Brown Sugar Vanilla Pudding

While my babes and I gobbled up some Sunday afternoon pudding, I started off on a mini-rant of curiosity about why more people don't make their own pudding from scratch. I understand the reasoning of convenience behind a lot of processed food items, but I'm sorry - instant pudding and pudding cups are not included. 

Pudding is SO EASY to make from scratch, friends! 

It takes less than 20 minutes, and involves little more than a bit of measuring and some stirring. You got this, believe me! 

Brown Sugar Vanilla Pudding 

adapted from Mark Bittman's Vanilla Pudding 

2 1/2 cups whole milk 

2/3 cups lightly packed brown sugar 

pinch salt 

1 vanilla bean, scraped or 1 tsp vanilla extract 

3 Tbsp cornstarch 

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, but into cubes 

• Combine 2 cups of the milk, sugar, salt, and scraped vanilla bean in a medium saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat until the milk starts to steam. 
• While the pudding is heating, stir cornstarch into the remaining 1/2 cup milk until no clumps remain. 
• Once the pudding is steaming, add the cornstarch mixture and stir to combine. 
• Continue cooking the pudding, stirring constantly, until it has thickened. About 10 minutes. 
• Place pudding in a tightly sealing container, and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. If you don't like a skin on your pudding, place some plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent the skin from forming. 
• Pudding will keep for about a week in the fridge, but it will seep a little liquid after a few days. Just stir it back together before serving! 

Hazelnut Chia Pudding - two ways!

Today I'm excited to share a few of the magical secrets (sort of) of chia seeds! Of all the "superfood" "health craze" foods out there, chia seeds are by far the one I can get behind in the biggest way. They are SO much fun to create dishes with, and packed with omega 3's, which just about everyone could use more of. 

While I love to toss chia seeds into all sorts of dishes, their ability to make this crazy easy pudding is what truly classifies them as magic in my world. I'll include some more notes about how many things you can do with this basic recipe, but for the sake of simplicity today I'm sharing a straight up hazelnut chia pudding as well as one packed with some dark chocolate powder for a nutella-esque yet totally healthy treat. 

Chia seeds' magic comes in the way they interact with liquid when soaked. The outer shell absorbs some of the liquid to create a gel-like texture. So when you mix together enough chia seeds with any liquid, you end up with a pudding-like texture of delicious. All it requires is a minute or two of whisking, and a few hours in the fridge. MAGIC! 

I'll be honest, the first time I stumbled across a reference to chia pudding, I didn't waste much time at all whipping up my first batch... and I was immediately hooked. If chia seeds weren't so darn expensive, I'd probably still be eating chia pudding every morning of the week for breakfast. It's not only totally delicious, but it's so packed with nutrients that it's a great start to the day and keeps you full for hours! 

The best part? This pudding is incredibly flexible, and easy to experiment with. The constant you need to keep an eye on is your balance of chia seeds to liquid, but as long as you maintain that balance - the options are endless! Use any type of dairy/nut-milk you want, or coconut milk! Mix in some pureed fruit to make a fruity version, change up the sweetener or sweetness level, add whatever flavor you like! Or... pack that pudding full of chocolate for a totally healthy dessert : ) 

For the sake of these photos, I kept things simple... but this pudding can also be topped with anything you like. I love having it for breakfast with a little granola and fruit sprinkled on top! 

This chia pudding will be on the thick side, and can easily be made thinner by decreasing the amount of chia seeds added to the mixture! 

Hazelnut Chia Pudding

2 cups hazelnut milk 

2/3 cup chia seeds 

4 tsp vanilla 

1/4 cup maple syrup 

1/4 cup cocoa powder (optional, for chocolate version) 

• Combine all ingredients in bowl or jar, and whisk together for about a minute until the chia seeds remain suspended in the liquid. 
• Refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight, until a pudding texture has formed. 
• Enjoy! 

Hazelnut Milk 

1 cup hazelnuts 

2 cups water 

• Optionally soak hazelnuts over night or for a few hours in water. This allows for a better extraction of all that hazelnutty goodness, but the milk can be made just as easily without this step! 
• In a blender, blend the nuts and water together (use the soaking water if you soaked the nuts!) on high power for about a minute. You want the nuts to be very broken down and the liquid to look super milky! 
• Using a nut milk bag, cheese cloth, or a fine mesh sieve, strain the milk into a container. Be sure to squeeze all the liquid you can out of the nuts! 
• Store any extra nut milk in the fridge for later use! 

Chocolate Quinoa Bars with ginger

Have we talked about my sweet tooth? With nothing more than a quick glance over my posts, coming to the conclusion that I have a serious sweet tooth wouldn't be a challenge. My love for sugar is a serious part of who I am, and what I love to do in the kitchen. While cooking never fails to excite me, I'd be hard pressed to find something that brings me more joy than whipping up something sweet - no matter how simple or complex the recipe might be. A little piece of how Toot Sweet got it's name! 

I am a full on sugar-fiend and I'm not afraid to admit it. I even wrote a jingle about it, and it's sung frequently around our house - often while snacking on something sweet, of course! 

These bars, of course, still fit into that category - but there is something different here. There is also a hearty dose of health in these babies! I've been thinking a lot about how I can please that sugar tooth of mine, while also doing some work to better my diet this year. How can I (and you!) manage to eat less processed sugar and more whole grains without feeling like my cravings are satisfied? So when I saw the inspiration for this recipe, I knew I had found something magical! 

(of course, this tall glass of Monday afternoon iced coffee helped launch me quickly into the kitchen)

Caramelized honey binds together a whole slew of nuts and seeds packed with protein, nutrition, and healthy omega 3's - quinoa, hemp seeds, chia seeds, almonds, and walnuts. Then it's all topped with a nice layer of dark chocolate, chunks of crystalized ginger, cacao nibs, and vanilla flake salt. It makes for a perfect crunchy, chocolatey, just sweet enough treat that could pass just as well as a dessert or as a mid afternoon snack. 

Now, it wouldn't be right to take any sort of credit for these beauties. The real genius is Tieghan over at Half Baked Harvest, and this recipe differs only slightly from her Superfood Chocolate Quinoa Bark. 

Chocolate Quinoa Bars 

1 cup quinoa

1/2 cup honey 

2 Tbsp coconut oil 

2 tsp vanilla  

1/2 cup almonds, chopped 

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped 

1/4 cup hemp seeds 

1/4 cup chia seeds 

12 ounces dark chocolate 

1/4 cup crystalized ginger, finely chopped 

flake salt & cacao nibs to sprinkle on top (optional) 

• Rinse quinoa under cold water. Place a few paper towels on a sheet pan or cutting board, then spread the quinoa over the top and let dry for about 5 minutes. 
• Combine honey and coconut oil in a medium saucepan placed over medium heat. Stir as the mixture warms, until the two combine easily. Remove from heat. 
• Add vanilla, quinoa, nuts, and seeds to the honey mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated. 
• Cover 1-2 baking pans with parchment paper, and spread the mixture in a thin layer over the parchment. You'll want to use one large sized pan, or two if your pans are smaller. This is also a preference thing! Spread the mixture in a thinner layer, and you'll have a thinner, crisper bar. Spread it thicker and they'll be more like mine - and a little softer. 
• Bake at 350 for 20-40 minutes (depending how thin it is). You want it to be a dark golden brown, and for the quinoa to look caramelized. 
• While the base start to cool, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave (stirring ever 30 seconds at the least). When it's smoothly melted, spread the chocolate over the base in an even layer, getting it as close to the edges as you can. Sprinkle with crystalized ginger, cacao nibs, and flake salt. 
• Place the pan into the fridge and let the chocolate set for about 30 minutes.
• Carefully transfer it onto a cutting board, and cut into squares. Layer into an airtight container with parchment, and store in the refrigerator.