Mexican Chocolate “Rice” Pudding

Over the past 5 weeks I have been slowly getting settled into my new town and getting to know the culture.  Where I am living now is very heavily Mexican dominant.  To elaborate on that a bit more, I am here because I am in the HealthCorps (a branch of AmeriCorps) working in an elementary school teaching a few nutrition classes for kids who specifically are in danger of becoming obese.  I am also teaching a nutrition class to the women/moms of the community.  So far its been great! The kids are eager to learn and the women/moms are all really receptive to the information I’m providing.

Onto the food!  I have never been one to normally crave Mexican food, but lately I definitely have been, not a huge surprise given my surroundings.  I even had tacos (healthified version mind you) for lunch for two weeks straight!

So last night I wanted something sweet for after dinner, but healthy of course, so I whipped up a Chia seed pudding, but it turned out kind of like a Mexican rice pudding!!

What makes this pudding Mexican, is the cinnamon!  Their chocolate and puddings for that matter generally have a warm spice in them, whether its a hot chili spice or cinnamon, it always has a kick to it.

Cinnamon has so many amazing qualities to it, a few main ones would be;

- It helps to control your blood sugar, which in turn also helps boost your brain function!

- Its an anti-microbial, which means it inhibits the growth of bacteria like fungi or yeast.

- A natural Anti-Inflammatory

And with that here is the recipe!

Mexican Chocolate “Rice” Pudding

Makes 4 small servings, (80 Calories each!!) or 2 large servings

1 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

2 Tbsp Carob Powder

1 tsp Cinnamon

1-2 Packets Stevia (I use the Truvia brand)

3 Scoops Chia Seeds (or 3 Tbsp?)

Splash Vanilla Extract

- Pour Almond milk into a bowl

- Add Carob and Cinnamon and whisk until well blended

- Add Chia seeds and Stevia, mix well, then mix in the vanilla extract

- Chill overnight, or for about 30 minutes until the chia seeds plump up and the consistency is like pudding!!

Please forgive the tupperware, I'm minimalist living these days, so I work with what I got!

Ingredients, simple!

Happy Friday everyone!!