Since coming back from Canada in February, I’ve had a 2-kilogram bag of black chia seeds lying around with no real clue how to eat them (besides sprinkle them sparingly on my yogurt and muesli bowls).

I’m sure everyone knows this by now, but the benefits of having a tablespoon (15 ml) of chia seeds a day are many: they’re a great source of omega-3s (for reducing inflammation and high cholesterol), fibre (for smooth bowel movements), antioxidants (anti-ageing), protein and minerals — plus they’re great for filling you up as they expand up to 9x their original size when they turn into gel.

The only thing was, I didn’t want to spend y-e-a-r-s making my way through my 2-kg bag of chia just sprinkling it sparingly here and there. That’s when I discovered chia pudding!

Mmm…yummy…

Chia pudding’s super easy to make and healthy too. You can make it with basically any liquid you like and it’s good for breakfast, a snack or a guilt-free dessert.

My version involves mixing the chia seeds with some chocolate flavoured almond milk and topping it with sliced banana and some organic coconut shreds. Here’s how:

1. Find a container.
2. Mix 1/4 cups of chia seeds with 1 and 1/4 cups of chocolate almond milk (or any nut milk) in the container and stir.
3. Let sit for 5 minutes and stir again. Repeat until the chia seeds are distributed evenly both horizontally and vertically. The mixture will start to thicken naturally.
4. After about 10 minutes, place the container into the fridge and let it thicken even more overnight.
5. Voila! Take out of the fridge, top with desired toppings and chow down.

The chia pudding consistency is light and airy, and the chia seeds all have this clear jacket around them that makes it very similar to tapioca (or sago, for the Chinese peeps out there). Depending on the type of nut milk that you used, the chia seeds will take on that flavour. Another combination I’m going to try is coconut milk with mango and/or berries next time… mmm!

Note: 1/4 cup of chia seeds has 160 calories and 11 grams of fibre (that’s a good thing) and it’s suitable for vegans and gluten-free diets (and meat eaters too!).