Chocolatelove: Banana Cacao Chia Pudding

I feel as though it’s been quite some time since I last made a chia pudding, I had almost forgotten about how yummy these simple dishes can be! It’s especially easy to wake up to a delicious pudding for breakfast after taking mere minutes to put it together the night before.

These types of dishes are so easily customizable, they’re a lot like having oatmeal for breakfast; you can make it with any ingredients that you like. For this one in particular, I choose to use a perfectly ripe banana for a little natural sweetness, some tart goji berries, and raw cacao powder to accompany the gooey chia seeds.

Completely nutritious and full of vitamins, this raw recipe could easily be eaten as breakfast, a snack or a healthy dessert.

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

• 1 Banana, Sliced Thinly
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. Chia Seeds
• 2 Tbsp. Goji Berries
• 2 Tbsp. Raw Cacao Powder
• 1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
• 3/4 Cup Water

Directions:

1. Place the banana, chia seeds, and goji berries into a small bowl. In a cup, stir the cacao powder and maple syrup together to create a paste, then introduce the water to the mixture and stir until it is of an even consistency.
2. Pour the wet mixture into the bowl and make sure that everything is submerged. Leave in the refrigerator overnight or for 2-3 hours, then eat cold.

Or, for a nearly raw treat, replace the goji berries with a tablespoon of melted peanut butter (as pictured below). Peanut butter, chocolate and banana? One of my favorite flavor combinations for sure. If you’re trying to get into eating more chia seeds, this is a great way to do it!

 The bloghop, this month, is filled with so many amazing blogs! I love that I’m able to be a part of it, and continue to share the foodie love. Here’s a list of all of the bloggers that are participating!

A Little Bit of Everything ~ Roxana ~ @RoxanaGreenGirl

ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~ @astigvegan

Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl

Baker Street ~ Anuradha ~ @bakerstreet29

Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins

Baking Extravaganza ~ Samantha

BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker

Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth

CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog

Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess

Cakeballs, Cookies and More ~ Sue

Cooking with Books ~ Marnely ~ @nella22

Creative Cooking Corner ~ Karriann ~ @KarriannGraf

Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies

Elephant Eats ~ Amy

Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes

Hobby And More ~ Richa ~ @betit19

Java Cupcake ~ Betsy ~ @JavaCupcake

Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica

Mike’s Baking ~ Mike ~ @mikesbaking

Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk

No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley

Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose

Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar

Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla

Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem

Smart Food and Fit ~ Lisa ~ @LisaNutrition

Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood

Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable

Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil

That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick

The Dusty Baker ~ Jacqueline ~ @dustybakergal

The More Than Occasional Baker ~ Ros ~ @bakingaddict

The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd

The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian

Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack

Vegetarian Mamma ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma

You Made That? ~ Suzanne ~ @YouMadeThatblog

Please join in on the #chocolatelove fun by linking up any chocolate recipe from the month of February 2012. Don’t forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #chocolatelove event! The twitter hashtag is #chocolatelove.