Chia Pudding: Good for Combatting Those Trader Joe's Cookie Butter Ice Cream Cravings...

My client Jennifer and I were talking about dessert the other day and she mentioned that she loves making chia pudding. Since I hadn't had a chia pudding I actually liked yet, I asked her how she made hers. I made it. I LOVED it. I'm sharing it with YOU! 

Why, yes, IzzyFit Personal Training Evanston DOES believe in eating dessert!

Ingredients:
1 frozen banana (let a banana ripen a LOT and then stick it in a freezer bag; the sweeter the banana the less sweeter you have to use)
1 can light coconut milk
1/3 cup chia seeds
The insides of 1/2 of a vanilla bean (you can also use a small amount of vanilla extract)
Honey to taste (my banana was ripe enough for me not to use any other sweetener)
Mango

Directions:
Blend the banana and coconut milk. If you want it to have a stronger mango flavor, blend the mango in, too. I liked the idea of adding in other fruit (like berries) if I felt like it so I topped the pudding with the fruit instead.

Stir the seed, vanilla and the coconut banana milk together and refrigerate overnight.

When you're ready to eat it, spoon it into a bowl and top with whatever your heart desires.

The end. COULD IT BE ANY EASIER? If you're looking for a dessert alternative that tastes yummy, that has some health benefits (chia seeds = omega 3s and fiber!) and gets you to eat some fruit, this is the one for you. 

If you're curious as to why I think I loved this version so much, I have two ideas: 1. It could be that I used vanilla bean and not the extract. I think I was getting some weird aftertaste with the extract. 2. It could have been the brand of coconut milk I used that somehow didn't have that tinny taste. 

Try it out, share it on my Facebook page and hashtag #IzzyFit and #IzzyFitFood! You can also leave a comment below :) Enjoy!