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
- Mix chia seeds, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt in medium-sized bowl.
- Slowly pour in milk, whisking as you pour. Incorporate any clumps sticking to sides.
- Cover pudding and refrigerate at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
- Pour chia seed pudding into blender and blend until smooth.
For the worms
- Blend everything in food processor. Dough should be sticky but manageable. If dough is too sticky, add another tablespoon of almond flour.
- Pinch off pieces of dough and shape into worms.
For assembly
- Place 2 teaspoons chocolate granola crumbles in bottom of jar.
- Add layer of pudding to about halfway up. Layer 2 more teaspoons of granola on top of pudding.
- Top off with another layer of pudding and 2 teaspoons granola.
- Place worms on top and serve.