Chocolate Chia Pudding Cups
Chocolate Chia Pudding Cups

I’m a big believer that an important part of a healthy diet is treating yourself. I think if you cut out all treats, you’re just setting yourself up for failure. So many times, I would start a healthy lifestyle (normally on January 1st, because I’m a sucker for the clean slate that a new year brings), and I would be so super dooper committed. I would throw all the treats in my house in the trash. I would stop putting honey in my tea. I wouldn’t even walk past the dessert section of the grocery store. I would be so “good”.

And that would last about three days. Then I’d have a bad day at work, and I’d find myself in the corner of the kitchen, shoveling handfuls of chocolate chips in my mouth while crying over how I was being so “bad.” I’d feel guilty and like I’d ruined everything and could never be healthy. It was a nasty cycle of restriction and self-hate.

Chocolate Chia Pudding Cups

It took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to figure out that the key to me sticking to a healthy lifestyle was to incorporate the foods I loved, just in different ways. Either by eating them in smaller portions,  having them less often, or by adjusting them to make them into a healthier version. A healthy lifestyle isn’t all-or-nothing. The healthiest of diets live somewhere in between the extremes of eating nothing but kale and nothing but fast food. As with most things, the extremes are, at best, not sustainable, and at worst, dangerous.

Forbidding yourself from eating foods you like and enjoy is not going to be a successful strategy for longterm health. No matter how “good” you promise yourself you’ll be. And that’s what we all want, isn’t it? Long term health?

Chocolate Chia Pudding Cups

Like I said, one of my favorite ways to treat myself without guilt is to tweak more decadent foods to have a healthier twist. It’s entirely possible to have a super delicious, super healthy dessert. I swear the phrase “healthy dessert” isn’t an oxymoron! And these chia pudding cups are one of my favorite healthier ways to treat myself. It’s little treats like these cups that help keep my healthy diet sustainable.

 

Chocolate Chia Pudding Cups

I know for some folks, the gel-like qualities of chia seeds are a major turn-off, and if that’s the case, these pudding cups aren’t for you. But I personally love, love, love how chia seeds get all thick and jelly. These chia pudding cups remind me of tapioca puddingโ€”but a much healthier version. They’re so healthy that they could even just be a snack or a side dish instead of a dessert.

I used to make up a whole batch of these on the weekend, and then pack one in my lunch for work. I’d pull it out right around the 2:30pm crash, and it would be such a nice little treat to help me get through the rest of the day.

Enjoy!

 
Chocolate Chia Pudding Cups

Chocolate Chia Pudding Cups

Yield: 12 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

These chocolate chia pudding cups are a great way to treat yourself healthfully. Make up a bunch on the weekend for treats all week long!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups milk (cow's, goat's, soy, or nut all work)
  • 1/2 cup chia seeds
  • 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Whisk together all ingredients until well-combined. Refrigerate pudding until thick, about three hours.
  2. Stir the mixture well, then spoon the pudding into individual serving cups. Cover and chill in fridge until ready to eat.

Notes

Use whatever storage cups you have available, my favorites are these four-ounce jelly jars.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 110Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 45mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 3gSugar: 9gProtein: 4g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

 

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21 Comments

    1. Hi, Kathy! We haven’t tried it ourselves, but we think it should work out fine. If you give it a go, please let us know how it turns out for you!

  1. Made these with almond milk and they didn’t really set. Still tasted delicious though! Being Aussie, we had access to honey with chopped macadamia nuts through it, so we used this. It made it extra special. Will try with traditional milk though, because I’d like to try them a bit firmer set!

  2. I have made two half batches of these since you posted the recipe. SO GOOD! I may try to blend them next time, because my husband isn’t as crazy about the texture!

  3. I absolutely love making chia seed pudding. I once did a sugar cleanse where I eliminated all types of sugar (including fructose) and vegetables high in sugar (sweet potatoes and carrots) for TWO weeks. Ahh typing that even makes me mad! I felt like a drug addict and all I wanted was anything sweet. I made it, but the last time I did a sugar cleanse I ate all the fruits and vegetables I wanted. Learned my lesson.

  4. Oh yummmmm these look delicious and the perfect swap for regular chocolate pudding. ๐Ÿ™‚ We’re definitely going to try this. Not until recently had I ever even made morning oats, although I read about them constantly, and to be honest I was a little freaked by the whole jelly chia seed idea; however, I’ve come to learn I don’t mind it at all! Now we’ll see if the husband doesn’t mind the chia in the mix, and if he does, then I’ll do as the one gal suggested and give them a ride in a blender.