Strawberry Coconut Chia Pudding

jennifer.ho.1987 — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Have More Yogurt for Dessert

If you are like me, then you sometimes struggle to maintain your weight. Your love for food is over-powering. And it is so hard to say no to anything. Especially sweets and desserts. Enter the strawberry coconut chia seed pudding. Delicious, nutritious, and sweet without breaking your sugar calorie bank!

Even though we see lots of dessert posts on social media and food magazines, it is misleading because we really shouldn’t be having dessert every day.

Eating to nourish the body is just as important as feeding the soul.
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. It’s just reality, y’all. Many of my nursing home patients have diabetes and continue to eat dessert almost every meal. This habit is pretty hard to escape in the US. And there are some pretty dire health consequences.

If there’s something I learned from studying public health policy, it’s that food companies are often not our friends. I get it: they need to sell their products. Unfortunately for you and me, that means they lure us in with luscious looking ice cream, cakes, and pies. Which means more money in the corporations’ pockets and more inches on our waistline.

Don’t swear off chocolate cake forever, but find ways to satisfy your sweet tooth without over-indulging all the time.

So what can you have instead?

Fruit!

Fresh berries are nature’s candy

Yogurt! And lots of it! Especially if you flavor it yourself and give yourself better control over how much sugar is in it.

Did you know that 1 serving of commercially prepared fruit-flavored yogurt can have as much sugar as your daily recommended sugar intake? For my full rant on that, please see my post on pina colada yogurt parfait.

Yeah…not good.

How Much Sugar To Add?

Try to add just enough sugar so that you start to taste some sweetness and feel satisfied. Any sugar added after that is not necessary. Plus it will be harmful to your health. Try 1 tsp at a time to see if it is sweet enough for you.

This recipe for strawberry coconut chia pudding has less than 5g of added sugar per serving. That’s a whole lot better than commercially made fruit-flavored yogurts that have anywhere between 12g – 29g of sugar per container.

What brand of yogurt should I use?

PLAIN FULL FAT

Do it. Your life will be changed! Go for 5% or full fat.

How long do I soak chia seeds?

At least 30 minutes, in my experience. Under-soaked chia seeds are very crunchy and unpleasant to eat.

What is oat milk?

A “milk” made by soaking oatmeal in water. It’s magical!

In my option, oat milk tastes better than any nut milk I’ve ever had. It is an amazing substitute for milk.

If you have sensitivities to milk, then oat milk is a must!

What kinds of fruit should I use?

fresh strawberries are at their peak in the beginning of summer

I chose strawberries and coconut, but you can use whatever fruit you’d like. Fresh mangoes, cherries, raspberries, blueberries. You do you!

Price Comparison

If you order a yogurt parfait at a restaurant it will cost you $7-8 in the Los Angeles area. What did I spend to make 2 servings of this yogurt parfait? Yogurt ($1), strawberries ($.50), dried coconut ($.25), coconut milk ($.10), honey ($.10), oat milk ($.10)

Restaurant ($7-8) vs. Home-made ($1.03)

If you buy a yogurt parfait at a restaurant, you are paying 7x-8x the price! For the sake of your wallet and your health, try making it on your own. The best part is you can choose the freshest, tastiest fruit. You can also control the sugar, which is essential for a healthy life.