Dairy-Free Vanilla Pudding Recipe

Quantities listed make approximately 3 small servings of dairy-free vanilla pudding.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chia seeds
1.5 cups water
1 cup cashews, roasted or not, salted or not
10 small pitted dates
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
If cashews are unsalted, just a pinch of sea salt

Directions:

1. Add chia seeds to water and allow seeds to soak for about 25 minutes. Once in a while, give any floating seeds a nudge below the surface of the water to encourage even soaking of all seeds. Within 20 to 25 minutes, the mixture will turn somewhat gelatinous in texture.

2. While chia seeds are soaking, add warm or hot water to dates in a bowl to soften them. Drain well before combining with rest of ingredients.

3. In a strong blender, combine all ingredients - chia seed/water mixture, softened and drained dates, cashews, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and sea salt if desired. Blend for about a minute or until relatively smooth.

You can enjoy this dairy-free vanilla chia pudding right away or you can leave it to set in the refrigerator for an hour before serving. Feel free to top with fresh fruit, nuts, nut butter, or anything else you fancy. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an air-tight jar for a day or two, though this likely won't be necessary! Enjoy. :)

Additional notes: Before blending, you can add a tablespoon of any other nut butter you enjoy for an extra layer of flavour - almond butter happens to go beautifully with this recipe. Alternatively, for extra richness and flavour, you can add a tablespoon of coconut oil before blending. If you add a tablespoon of either almond butter or coconut oil, you can cut the cashews back to 3/4 of a cup.