Chocolate Chia Pudding

There are a lot of different ways to make chia pudding. In this post I present 2 similar chocolate versions.  In this pudding, the chia seeds expand to create a lovely bubbly texture.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• Variation #1: 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 
• Variation #2: 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder AND 2 heaping tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (use 1/2 tsp for a stronger cinnamon flavour)
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 2 large medjool dates, pitted and finely diced (use 3 or 4 dates if you want a sweeter pudding)

Directions:

1) In a small bowl*, combine chia seeds, cocoa (and coconut if Variation #2), and cinnamon.  Stir to combine.

2) Add almond milk**. Stir until well incorporated.

3) Add diced medjool dates, a few at a time, stirring as you go. Stir until ingredients are well mixed. (If your container has a lid, you can shake it to combine!)

5) Place in fridge overnight.

6) Before serving, stir well.  (The first time I made this, I didn't realize that the diced dates mostly sank to the bottom!)

*I used a "cup-like" tupperware container with a lid that holds about 500mL liquid
**Feel free to substitute some of the almond milk with coconut milk (especially if you want a stronger coconut flavour in Variation #2)

chia seeds, cocoa powder, cinnamon, coconut

diced medjool dates

almond milk and dates added to dry ingredients

stir well and put in fridge!

ready to serve, garnished with raspberries!

Raw Almond Butter Cups

I was looking for a quick treat to make and thought this recipe looked yummy on Oh She Glows. This dessert was very easy to make. But I did find it a tad sweet for my taste so the next time I make it, I will probably try reducing the amount of maple syrup (probably by 1 tbsp each on both the crust and topping).

As you can see from my picture, I used a larger muffin tin than the author so my cups are much flatter.  I used just a standard 12 muffin pan, lined with paper cups.

Flourless Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blondies with Sea Salt

This dessert made with chickpeas looked interesting so I thought I'd try it out. This recipe is from Ambitious Kitchen.

My aunt is staying with me for a few days so we enjoyed these with a cup of tea. These squares were a nice treat!

A few notes:

• I used slightly less maple syrup (about 1/3 cup)
• I used mini chocolate chips (total 1/3 cup, I took the 2 tbsp "sprinkle" from this amount)
• Either natural almond or peanut butter can be used in this recipe - I used PB!
• I baked for 35 min (instead of 20-25)

Sweet Potato Brownies

A brownie made out of sweet potatoes?  This recipe from Gluten-Free-Vegan-Girl looked delicious so I decided to try it!  Glad I did.  This brownie had a lovely, chewy, moist texture. It wasn't overly sweet like "regular" brownies can be.

A few notes:

• I didn't have sugar-free dark chocolate so I just used dark chocolate chips instead (and slightly reduced the quantity to 1/2 cup).
• I skipped out on the walnuts

The next time I make these, I will probably try making the coconut whipped cream to go with it (shown to accompany these brownies on the author's site).