Vegan MOFO day 14: Chia seed pudding

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Another dish I learned from the Veg world fest a few weeks ago was this chia seed pudding. Of course I still don't have all the amazing ingredients on hand- like maca powder {that stuff is pretty pricey!}I made do with what we had in our pantry for breakfast this morning along with a green smoothie. The husband loved it, its got a nice tapioca like texture with just enough sweetness. I was also out of agave and had to make do with a bit of honey, perhaps next time I may even add a teeny tiny bit of cocoa powder too just for kicks. This does take a little bit of planning ahead since you have to soak the seeds over night but folks, its totally worth it.

Chia Seed pudding

1/4 Cup chia seeds 

1 Cup rice milk {or other milk substitute}

Soak the seeds over night in an air tight container. Every once and a while I would give it a little shake to get them really coated. In the morning you will have a little bit of a gelatinous like goo but just give it a good stir and you are good to go. For add ins I used green apple, pear, banana and ground flax seeds- which I also used in our green smoothie for the morning. I also added a couple of squeezes of honey for a bit of sweetness. You could really add in anything you want, plumped up raisins, dried fruit, nuts really anything goes!

*update* after writing this I had a little left to taste test with cocoa powder. And oh yes, do try it! It really gave it a great taste with a bit of bitter meets sweet. Can't wait to give this a try again with even more add in flavors.

Vegan MOFO: day 2 Hearty pancakes

Before I came up with this recipe for pancakes it was like pulling teeth to convince my husband to accept pancakes as a good enough breakfast, something about just being a glorified cake, yada yada yada. But now that I add a few extra bits and pieces they not only still taste like cake {score one for me!} they also provide us with a bit of nutrition like vitamin E, folic acid, protein and fiber. I love to top my pancakes with fresh fruit like bananas, strawberries or blueberries and a splash of agave nectar. So delish!

Hearty Pancakes

1 Cup unbleached flour

3/4 Cup chickpea flour

1 Tbsp. flax seed

2 Tbsp. wheat germ

2 Tbsp. baking powder

1 Tbsp. {vegan} sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/4 Cup rice milk

1/4 oil {I used canola}

1 Tbsp. vanilla

Earth balance for pan

*In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients till blended well.

*Add in wet ingredients and stir just until blended. Try not to over stir or it will get a little elastic like.

*In a large pan place a little bit of butter over low/medium heat until melted. Pour batter and turn once they begin to bubble. 

Makes 6-7 medium sized pancakes.

These babies will keep you full for hours and taste oh so good. Just writing this makes me want to whip up a batch. And the best part, from start to finish is under 30 minutes!

**side note** I used a small and medium sized stainless steel pan to make these and found that the small pan made the pancakes nice and even. The medium pan seemed to make a rim around the edge of the pancake and the middles got a bit fluffy. Both taste great but if you are not used to a thicker batter and use a big pan you might be surprised by the look. Just sayin.

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