Decadant Dessert For Breakfast Homemade Chia Seed Pudding - A Sneaky Mom's Confession

I understand the plight of the mom who has to sneak their kid's nutrition in every single bite. My child is a picky eater. A VERY picky eater. It's not for a lack of trying either! This kid has had the best of the best! As an infant, he ate nothing but my homemade organic baby food and loved every single thing I put into his mouth. Then, at around 3 years of age, he began fighting anything that was remotely vegetable related. I couldn't understand how my baby was turning against my every food whim and the harder I tried, the more he fought me. Not knowing what else to do, I started the stealth life of a mommy ninja chef. 

Sneaking my kiddo's daily nutrition into the mix

It's not as easy as you think, sneaking nutrition into my kiddo's diet. There's a lot of chopping, mincing, covering of flavors, and hiding my excitement when he obliviously eats something that I have hidden at least 1 serving of veggies in. I REALLY love it when I find healthy alternatives to things that my son loves to eat, and was over the moon when I discovered MegaFood's Kids Daily Multi Nutrient Booster Powder. Since I can barely get Syfy to eat a smoothie, I started planning all the other ways that I was going to sneak the booster powders into his diet, and naturally chocolate pudding was my first thought. The kiddo loves his pudding cups, and it's easy to make a super healthy (and tasty!) vegan pudding without all the icky additives! I've also managed to sneak his Kid's Daily Multi Nutrient Booster Powder into applesauce, oatmeal, and even pancakes!

The delivered in whole foods "Fresh from Farm to Tablet" supplements that we are talking about today, came from the good folks at MegaFood (You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). I am a paid ambassador for MegaFood, but my opinions are my own! I will only share with you products that I myself love and use personally!

Mega Food Booster Powders make it easy to sneak in nutrition

Never heard of MegaFood before? You're in for a real treat! When I found MegaFood and their farm fresh whole foods approach, I was stoked to learn more about what this awesome company has to offer. Their line of children's supplements definitely has me excited to find new ways to sneak nutrition into my kiddo's diet. According to MegaFood, their Kids Daily Multi Nutrient Booster Powder:

• Supports healthy growth & development of children 5 years of age and older*
• Maintains already healthy immune function*
• Promotes health of gums, bones, teeth, muscles, and connective tissue*
• FoodState® Turmeric and Farm Fresh Fruits provide a range of protective antioxidants often missing from a child's diet*
• Easy-to-digest and does not cause upset stomach
• No added sweeteners, sugars, preservatives, flavorings, or colorings

Chia seeds are a nutritional powerhouse

Once a staple part of the Mayan and Aztec culture, chia seeds were prized for their ability to provide sustainable energy. Now a popular staple in a healthy diet once again, these tiny black seeds are a nutritional powerhouse rich in antioxidants and full of fiber, magnesium, zinc, iron and calcium. Remember the Chia Pets that were a popular item in the 1990s? Yep, these are the same small seeds you used to grow in your animal-shaped terracotta vases. Nowadays, we are using chia seeds to make things like chia jelly and this amazing chia pudding below, but you could still plant a few of them in your old chia pet and bring it back to life if you like!

To blend or not to blend...that is the question

This question can only be answered by you! Depending on how you like the texture of your pudding, you can either follow the recipe and not blend the pudding, getting a tapioca-like texture, or you can blend it up after it comes out of the fridge, getting a much smoother and fluffier texture! Here in the Hippy household, we like to blend it up!

Chia Seed Pudding

BASE INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (I like to use my homemade coconut milk)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2-4 Tbsp. maple syrup (or another sweetener of choice)
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon powder (optional)
• 1 scoop Mega Food Kid's Daily Multi Nutrient Booster Powder

FLAVOR VARIATIONS

• Vanilla - Follow the directions above, with no additions, for vanilla!
• Chocolate - 2 Tbsp. cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup - 1 Tbsp. cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 Tbsp. peanut butter
• Strawberry - Add 1 handful or 1/4 cup fresh hulled strawberries
• Raspberry Lemonade - 1/4 cup fresh raspberries squeezed through a fine mesh strainer, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• Pumpkin Pie - 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, 1/8 tsp. cinnamon powder (1/4 tsp. total), 1/8 tsp. ginger root powder, the tiniest pinch of nutmeg powder and clove powder (1/16 tsp.)
• Orange Creamsicle - 1/2 orange (this one needs to be blended in the blender, but it gives an Orange Julius flavor!)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl combine chia seeds, cinnamon, vanilla extract, maple syrup, flavor additions, and non-dairy milk of choice. Whisk until well combined.
2. Place the bowl in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours, or overnight, to firm up.
3. Mix in the MegaFood Kid's Daily Multi Powder
4. Either enjoy chia seed pudding as is with a tapioca-like texture or toss chia seed pudding in your blender and blend until smooth.
5. Top with fruit slices/nuts/seeds and enjoy!

* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.