Banana Chia Pudding Made with Coconut Milk & the Importance of Fat!

By: Joy McCarthy — Holistic Nutritionist

I teach a course at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition and on the last day of class, the students present a food demo workshop. All the recipes are incredibly delicious and always nutritious because they are made by holistic nutrition students. One of my students, Stephanie Tucci, made this amazing pudding that I’m going to share with you today!

It was naturally sweet from the organic vanilla, bananas and dates. It was fulfilling from the good fat and protein in the chia seeds and coconut milk. Don’t skimp on fat in this recipe, this is NOT the time to use low fat coco milk as the taste and texture won’t be as luxurious.

Many people are still fat-phobic these days (particularly saturated-fat phobic) and may have the perception that the only purpose fat has is to add jiggle-jiggle on our belly, hips and thighs, but this couldn’t be further from the truth!! Before I share this recipe with you, let me tell you all the reasons you NEED to eat fat:

• Fat (especially saturated, that contains cholesterol) is a precursor to your steroid hormones – estrogen, testosterone etc.This is why cholesterol lowering medications cause LOW sex drive.
• Your brain matter is made of 60% fat. Your cellular membranes are literally made of essential fats.
• Most fat sources also come along with fat soluble vitamins including A, D, E and K and further, fat transports these vitamins!
• The air spaces in your lungs are coated entirely with saturated fat. The low fat consumption in children could likely be a cause of so many asthma problems (in addition to over-consumption of allergens such as dairy and gluten).
• Fat helps the liver flush out fat accumulation in the liver and prevent a fatty liver. One of your liver’s 561 functions is fat metabolism! Drink too much alcohol or consume too much fructose and this affects this promotes a fatty liver.
• Keeps your skin supple and your hair shiny — along with adequate protein intake.

Okay I will stop there because I think you get the idea. I could go on and on! Let’s get to this amazing recipe:

Banana Chia Pudding Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 3 dates soaked in 1/4 cup water for about 1 hour to make them plump (don’t discard the water!)
• 2 bananas
• 2 tsp organic vanilla
• 1/4 cup water (add more if you want it less pudding-like)

Method:

Place the bananas, soaked dates (pits removed), soaking water, coconut milk, vanilla and the extra 1/4 cup water into your blender. Blend all the ingredients until smooth. Pour your mixture into a large bowl and mix in the chia seeds. Cover and place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Serve it with sliced banana or these AMAZING coconut coated cacao nibs.

EnJOY!

Joy McCarthy is the owner of JoyousHealth.ca.

Check out these recent joyous posts including delicious & nutritious recipes:

• If you want to be loved, be loving.
• Easy black bean dip. Rich in protein, fibre and TASTE!
• Banana Walnut Breakfast Bake
• Kale Pesto in a Snap!

Ps. I’m teaching a workshop called Feel Good Food on Saturday May 12th at 889. Register today by calling 416.925.7206!