Diabetics, Don't Say Bye Bye to Coconut Pie!

If you're like me, than you love some pie! Apple pie, cherry pie, pumpkin pie! Oooo, some hot peach pie with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! I just love the taste of all that melty, creamy vanilla snuggling up to the sweet, freshness of the peach filling. Nothing makes my mouth water like the thought of a nice slice of pie. Of course, now that I'm a diabetic, me and pie have had to take a step back from each other and rethink our relationship. At first, in the beginning months after my diagnosis, I thought that pie and really all desserts were off the table for me. For good. But as I learned more about my condition, how my personal body reacted to different carbs, and learned more about the vibrant and often tasty world of low carb eating, I learned that desserts in moderation, maybe weren't so bad. In fact, maybe even my beloved pie could make a come back in my life. One of the many pies that worked hard and won it's way back into my heart was coconut pie. But not the old, sugar heavy, no-friend-of-mine coconut pie. This pie had changed its old, bad ways and come back to be a tasty, lighter version of its old self. So if you're missing some coconut pie, and think you can never be friends again, let me introduce you to Coconut Chia Seed Pudding!

What is Chia Seed Pudding?

Chia seeds have been eaten across Mexico for centuries.The tiny seed is related to the mint plant, are high in magnesium, iron, and Omaga 3 fatty acids. That's one of the good fats!, and they were once believed in some cultures to be the food of warriors! These tiny power houses of nutrition are currently health foodies darling and considered a Super Food. But what do they taste like? Chia seeds aren't really eaten in their dried state.The seeds are tiny, about the side of a poppy seed, and like a poppy seed, they have a charcoal black color. When added to a liquid, the seeds expand and make a jelly like food, that tastes very, very mildly like banana. They are not sweet and their flavor is so mild almost anything can smother it. A very common way to use chia seeds in modern cooking is to add them to milk to make a kind of pudding. The texture of this pudding is very similar to rice or tapioca pudding, creamy with little chewy bits..

Coconut Chia Seed Pudding

If you are missing coconut cream pie and wish there was something that was diabetic safe to take it's place, this just might be the dessert you were looking for! This creamy pudding with little bits of chia seeds and coconut is delicious served by itself in bowls, but you could absolutely pour it into a low carb pie crust too. I tend it prefer this pudding just as is, but topping the pudding with a little zero sugar whip cream is also very tasty. It's hard to say exact numbers for how many carbs is in each serving, the total carbs will very wildly by which milk you use. If you use dairy milk it will have more carbs, if you use almond milk or coconut milk it will have much less. Chia seeds have about 6g of carbs per tablespoon. I use almond milk with 2g of carbs per cup, so it's less than a gram of carbs per pudding serving. The unsweetened coconut flakes I use are 1.5g of carbs per tablespoon. So for me, each serving is about 8g of carbs! Considering that regular pudding has a whopping 24g of carbs per serving, that's a pretty good carb cut.

1 cup your favorite milk (coconut milk would be extra tasty in this!)

1/4 cup chia seeds

2 tablespoons Truvia Stevia granulated sugar replacement (or your favorite sugar replacement)

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1 teaspoon Coconut extra

1/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

This recipe is super easy, you don't even need to turn on your stove for this! This is a great recipe for kids. It not only is something they can make themselves safely, but it also helps them learn how to eat more healthy tasty food. To make the pudding just pour the milk into a microwave safe bowl. Add in chia seeds, vanilla, coconut extract, sugar replacement, and unsweetened coconut flakes. Alternate heating in the microwave and stirring until the mixture is hot, not boiling, just slightly above warm. The warmth is just to help the chia seeds to re-hydrate evenly. Pour mixture into four small bowls and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving. Serves Four.