Sugar Free Blueberry Chia Breakfast Pudding
Blueberry chia breakfast pudding is an easy way to start your day strong, with lots of great nutrition and fibre to power you through the morning! Best of all, it takes mere minutes to prepare.
I don’t know about you, but there are days when I really crave a sweet start. This probably has something to do with my love for a hot cup of coffee in the morning. It seems to me that nothing pairs better with coffee than sweets.
Knowing that sugary sweets are not healthy, I’m forever on the hunt for something that tastes sweet, without the added sugar. Enter blueberry chia breakfast pudding, sweetened with the natural goodness of dates and coconut yogurt.
To give you an idea how healthy this sweet, sugar free blueberry chia breakfast pudding is, let’s examine just a few of the ingredients.
What is coconut yogurt?
Coconut yogurt is simply coconut milk and probiotics. It congeals just like regular yogurt. However, it’s vegan and is naturally sweet — thanks to the coconut milk.
As I’ve said before on this blog, coconut milk is something we should all be consuming more of. It is incredibly healthy and benefits your body in a myriad of ways, including:
- Improves Heart Health: A full half of the fats in coconuts are lauric acid. This special fatty acid helps to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) while elevating good cholesterol (HDL). It is also naturally antibacterial and antiviral.
- Builds Lean Muscle: You’ve all heard about coconut MCT oil. These are the medium-chain triglycerides in coconut milk which increase energy, enhance athletic performance, and help muscles to recover after workouts. Lean muscle also helps burn fat!
- Helps Regulate Blood Sugar: The natural fats in coconut milk help to control the glycemic load from sugars by regulating the rate at which they are released into the blood. Thus, they help balance insulin levels, naturally.
So, adding a touch of coconut yogurt to your breakfast is not only tasty, it’s also really good for you.
Blueberries, are they a superfood?
They are, indeed. Not only are blueberries super nutritious and low in calories, they also have one of the highest antioxidant levels of all common fruits and vegetables.
Thanks to all the wonderful antioxidants in blueberries, they help protect the body from the effects of ageing and prevent cancer. Moreover, they reduce a predominant risk factor for heart disease by preventing oxidative damage to LDL cholesterol.
As if that is not enough, research indicates the blueberries may also help:
- Lower blood pressure,
- Prevent heart disease,
- Maintain brain function and improve memory,
- Combat diabetes,
- Fight urinary tract infections, and
- Support muscle recovery after strenuous exercise.
With so many health benefits, you know blueberry chia breakfast pudding is a great way to start the day right!
About the Recipe
I have written the recipe for one serving because breakfast is one of those meals where individual preferences tend to reign. However, you can easily adjust the recipe to cater for the number of people you will be serving.
If coconut yogurt is not available in your area and you don’t want to make your own, you can always substitute regular yogurt. The flavour and nutritional profile will be different. However, it will be equally tasty!
This recipe is so simple, it is practically a non-recipe. It’s definitely one of those recipes that can easily be adjusted according to which seasonal fruits are available in the market at a given time. I hope you’ll use this recipe as a template and begin experimenting with flavours, colours and combinations.
Remember, as long as you eat the rainbow you have a balanced diet. This means it’s actually good to use blueberries one day and mangoes or raspberries another. So, I hope you will feel free to play with this pudding and create special flavour combinations of your own! If you do, please share them in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
In the meantime, I hope you like this healthy breakfast every bit as much as I do. Bon appétit!
Sugar Free Blueberry Chia Breakfast Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup blueberries, plus a few extra for garnish
- 2 dates, pitted
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons chia seeds
- 1/4 cup coconut yogurt
Instructions
- Blend the blueberries, dates, and almond milk until smooth.
- Pour this mixture into a small bowl and gently stir through the chia seeds. Leave the bowl on the counter for 15 minutes, giving the mixture a stir every 5 minutes or so. At this stage, the pudding can be covered and kept in the fridge until serving time (up to 24 hours).
- At serving time, spoon the pudding into a dish and top with the yogurt. Garnish with the additional blueberries, and eat immediately.