Chocolate chia seed dirt pudding

It's almost Earth Day, and I'm making pudding cups featuring one of the most sustainable plant foods you can consume: chia seeds!

What makes chia seeds so sustainable? The plant grows well in arid regions, and they have a low water footprint; they don’t require pesticides or chemicals to grow; and they have a low carbon footprint--in fact, they make the air we breathe cleaner. 

Back to the dirt pudding cups—there are 3 parts: chocolate chia seed pudding, chocolate granola, and worms made out of dates.

I made the pudding with chia seeds, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, milk (plant or cow), a little maple syrup for sweetener, and vanilla extract. The trick to make it silky smooth and not have a weird texture is to blend it after the chia seeds soak.

For the chocolate granola I used "Clay’s Chocolate Buzz” Warrior Snack Mix from Bee Free. It's a local, woman-owned company that uses non-processed ingredients and does a lot of good for the community.

Chocolate chia seed dirt pudding

Yield: Makes about 4 (8-ounce) pudding cups

Time: 20 minutes prep, 4 hours wait time

Ingredients

For the chocolate chia pudding

• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 6 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups milk (plant-based milk or cow milk)
• 1 cup chocolate granola crumbles (I use Clay’s Chocolate Buzz Warrior Mix by Bee Free)

For the worms

• 4 dates, pitted
• 3 Tablespoons almond flour
• 2 teaspoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Directions

For the chocolate chia pudding

1. Mix chia seeds, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt in medium-sized bowl.
2. Slowly pour in milk, whisking as you pour. Incorporate any clumps sticking to sides.
3. Cover pudding and refrigerate at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
4. Pour chia seed pudding into blender and blend until smooth.

For the worms

1. Blend everything in food processor. Dough should be sticky but manageable. If dough is too sticky, add another tablespoon of almond flour.
2. Pinch off pieces of dough and shape into worms.

For assembly

1. Place 2 teaspoons chocolate granola crumbles in bottom of jar.
2. Add layer of pudding to about halfway up. Layer 2 more teaspoons of granola on top of pudding.
3. Top off with another layer of pudding and 2 teaspoons granola.
4. Place worms on top and serve.