Pumpkin Pie Chia Seed Pudding

What's round, orange and good for chucking?

An orange or basketball probably came to mind, but I was referring to pumpkins. Perhaps you might want to avoid chucking them and instead scoop the stringy bits out then make something awesome with the innards.

The word pie immediately comes to mind, whoopie or otherwise. My enthusiasm for pumpkins is quite childlike, I embrace this. There are pumpkins spilling out of my door already. Some are perched on the kitchen counter waiting to be baked, scooped or decorated. Endless possibilities.

Anyway, it’s Fall and with Fall I recognize my Vata symptoms galore (i.e. feeling spazzy, speaking quickly and not sleeping very well) I thought a Vata pacifying recipe (chia seeds are Vata pacifying) that is simple and very much a “pie in a bowl” minus the crust was appropriate for various reasons. Who needs the crust anyway?

I truly like to create meals from scratch. Why? Because it's seriously impressive, nurturing and rewarding. And listen, if you want to get all fancy pants and bake the pie pumpkin, scoop out the guts then blend it all up who am I to stop you, but this recipe takes a mere 20-30 minutes. Win!

I have visions of aprons, baking and flour in my hair. I’m a messy cook, things fling all over the place what can I say.

Ready? Enter a simple pudding with my favorite seed (or pet) that will satisfy a sweet tooth, fill your belly and perk you up with a boatload of nutrition. It might even help you sleep!

Enjoy!

Chia Seed Pumpkin Pie Pudding (Serves: 1 (unless you share...that’s nice of you).

Equipment: Mini food processor or blender

Time: 30 minutes or overnight (If you can stand to wait that long)

Do It:

1. Place dates and a small amount of coconut milk in a blender (because the dates are stubborn and get stuck easily..liquify them and they're nicer to play with) or mini food processor. Blend.

2. Add all other ingredients except for chia seeds and coconut. Blend, whirl, whip until combined. (NOTE: this might get messy)

3. Pour out this goodness into a cute little mason jar, bowl or something you can seal and cover and add chia seeds. Stir.

4. Place in refrigerator and let it expand into this awesome pudding.

5. Sprinkle with a little coconut and holy cow you'll lick the jar.

Make it even more AWESOME! (If you can imagine).

Use other sweeteners such as maple syrup or honey instead of the dates, but it's nice to leave the dates a little chunky and half blended i the pudding.

Make a Parfait. Scoop half the pudding on top of some raw spelt, kamut or oats to make more of a breakfast parfait.

Make a smoothie. Add a few ice cubes and kefir to a blender. Scoop half the pudding in and test out the texture/sweetness/etc. blend! Mmmmm.