My skin is not a happy camper lately.
I don’t know what’s up, but I know it’s ticked off. Angry. Inflamed. What’s the problem? That, my friends, is anyone’s guess. When a girl has puffy, itchy eyes and rashes on her face, it’s time to slow down and pay attention. If you’ve ever been the detective for your own strange skin reactions, you know just how daunting this process can be. Everything is questioned.
Not surprisingly, my family doctor suggested an allergy elimination diet and to examine my environment for possible culprits. I’ve switched our detergents, soaps, shampoos, and I’ve retired make-up for the time being. That was the easy part. The elimination diet and food journaling, on the other hand, are proving to be rather difficult as a recipe developer. It’s my worst nightmare actually.
Of course, skin flare ups could be from a billion things, including stress. I’m a big fan of stress-relieving practices, but I’m not so good at carrying them out in my own life. When life gets crazy and deadlines are looming, I often left my own health slide in the process. I know I’ve said it a million and one times, but I need to work on this.
As I’m leaving my doctor’s office she says, “Above all, DO NOT stress about the rashes. Stress is the absolute worst thing for your skin.”
[Is it just me or do you get more stressed out when someone tells you not to stress? ahh]
She’s so right though. I need to take a chill pill.
Of course, breakfast is a natural way to start the day on the right foot. I’m a big fan of breakfasts that can be made in advance, such as Green Monsters (just give them a good stir in the morning), raw buckwheat porridge, vegan overnight oats, and this chia pudding. Even though they take just a few minutes to throw together before bed, I’d fallen out of the habit of prepping them. But man oh man, it makes such a difference to wake up to a nutritious breakfast ready to be enjoyed!
The recipe below makes 2 servings so you can share it with a loved one or wrap up the leftovers for your next craving, which if you are like me won’t be far off.
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Chia Seed Breakfast Bowl
Yield
Serves 2
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
I like mashed banana in this because it thickens the mixture while adding a lot of volume. If you aren’t a banana fan, you can omit it, but you might need to reduce the milk and I also suggest adding in your own sweetener or other fruit in its place. This porridge is especially creamy when made with Homemade Almond Milk. The thickness of the chia pudding will vary based on the kind of almond milk you use, so you can add more if necessary. If your pudding is too thin for you liking you can add more chia seeds and let it sit for 10 more minutes. Finally, if you aren’t a fan of the tapioca-like texture of chia seed pudding, try blending it until smooth.
Ingredients
Chia mixture
- 4 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 – 1.25 cups almond milk (it’s great made with Homemade Almond Milk)
- 2 small bananas, chopped small
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- two pinches of cinnamon
Toppings
- 2 tbsp raw buckwheat groats, soaked
- 2 tbsp raisins, soaked
- 2 tbsp whole raw almonds, chopped and soaked
- couples pinches of cinnamon
- 2 tbsp hemp seed
Directions
- Mash bananas in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in chia seeds. Whisk in the almond milk, vanilla, and cinnamon until combined. Place in fridge overnight to thicken. You can add more almond milk if you want to thin it out in the morning. Or, if it’s too thin, add more chia seeds to thicken it up.
- Add buckwheat groats, raisins, and chopped almonds into another bowl. Cover in water and soak overnight in the fridge or on the counter.
- In the morning, place your desired amount of chia pudding into a bowl. (Note: at this point, you can blend your chia pudding if a smooth texture is desired, but I don’t bother). Drain and rinse the buckwheat/almond/raisin mixture. Sprinkle on top of chia mixture along with a pinch of cinnamon and a tablespoon of hemp seeds. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup, if desired. Store leftovers in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Have you ever dealt with a strange skin reaction or allergy? What did you do?
My husband and I had this for breakfast. Its very very yummy !!
Thank you lots for sharing the recipe! I have been trying to find different kind of breakfast substitutes, which can be very challenging & I am happy that I came across your beautiful blog! I just replaced the banana mash with some organic apple sauce & it was delicious!
That looks delicious! And definitely like something that I’m much more likely to actually enjoy than the chia fresca (no offense, but I really don’t think I’d be able to get over the texture of that one)! I like chia best milled, I think, as a powder to thicken stuff.
Can you “heat up” this recipe? I sometimes want hot cereal in the morning, but am now gluten free….
I would imagine you can! Knock yourself out
Did you try it? Because I am wanting to do the same… I’m a big fan of something hot for breakfast.
It was delicious! I just heated it up in the microwave the next day!
Hi Angela, just wanted to let you know I’ve really been enjoying this recipe! I had been doing a similar recipe on my own but you definitely got all the ratios just right! I hope your skin is feeling better and I’d be interested to hear what’s working/not working for you.
Hey!! So excited to try this…It looks delicious..one question though.. Have you attempted/ would you recommend heating the pudding up? Im a really big fan of hot breakfasts and am curious if this would still be yummy if I heated it in a microwave? Would it remain thick?
haha..nm…I see your previous response to the same question ;)
Hi,
Just found your blog and i love it!
We are 90% vegan and attempt to avoid all processed foods like the plague. So, i found a ton of new stuff to try here.
Question about this Chia Pudding – what can i do to avoid the milk?
We have a nut allergy and i find other types of milk have too many ingredients for me to care about them. (Rice milk has oils in it… it doesnt freeze..lol. and coconut milks have sugars). can i just use water?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Michelle, Thanks for your lovely words about the blog. I would suggest using light canned coconut milk or perhaps a mix of full fat coconut milk and water. I don’t think using all water would taste that great, but perhaps it is worth a try. goodluck!
I really enjoyed this recipie but I’m not a big fan of bananas, is there anything else that can substitute for this ?
Hello Angela,
do you find that your skin is getting more itchy when you eat sweet things?
It could be a yeast infection/ Candida.
That was the case for me when I developed skin problems. So I had to eliminate sugar as well as the usual culprits… My heart goes out to you, as I know how distressing it is to have irritable skin.
What helped me externally was to dab a diluted apple cider vinegar solution on the itchy patches to stop the itch, as well as coconut oil what others have suggested. A slightly less pleasantly smelling but very effective moisturiser is shea butter with tea tree oil.
Internally coconut oil is very good, olive leaf capsules and oil of oregano. But the latter two are very strong, it’s best to start gently with coconut oil or medication containing coconut (called caprylic acid).
Eating avocados and pumpkin type vegetables and flax oil are very good for healing skin. Fish oil supplements, too, to combat inflammation. Drinking fresh ginger tea is beneficial, too. Hope this helps.
If you suspect you have a yeast imbalance or candida check out my blog candidadietplan.com, where I have documented my journey to recovery including lots of sugar free recipes and a quick symptom test to see whether you are likely to have candida.
Fingers crossed it’s just stress though, and you’ll be absolutely fine very soon.
All my best, chin up!
Take care,
Sandra
What is in the MASH for this recipe?
This was such a great way to start my day — so delicious! I didn’t have any buckwheat groats on hand, but threw in a handful of blueberries instead, yum!
This is the perfect breakfast! It takes seconds to make and lasts for about 3 days. The vanilla made it too sweet for me, so the second time I made it I skipped the vanilla and it was perfect. I added raisins to the mix from the start, and I think that added some natural sweetness to it. Also, I added quinoa for some bulk and flax seeds. Perfect!
Sorry to hear about your rash. I started eating chia seeds/drinks this past week and got a nasty photosensitivity reaction this past weekend. It’s never happened before and I was researching to see if eating too many chia seeds can cause the oils to accumulate/irritate the skin. It’s possible and maybe something you should consider. Everybody’s metabolism and sensitivity differs so it is possible even though chia seeds are very healthy in general.
Hi! I recently discovered your recipes – love them!!! I have had skin problems all my life. Many dermatologists later, there still was no fixing my itchy eczema rash. About a week ago, I stopped by my local Fruitful Yield store and asked one of the wonderful employees what I could do to make my skin healthier. She suggested cleaning from the inside out and lowering the acid level in my body. My routine now includes drinking a few ounces of pure Aloe juice before meals and remembering to take my B complex vitamins. I am also using pure virgin coconut oil on my skin twice a day. It’s a bit greasy, so I use it sparingly. My skin started to clear up within 3 days! No more topical steroid creams for me, which never really helped anyhow. The itches are gone! Eating your healthy recipes will be key also. I am going to make this recipe for breakfast tomorrow. Now I finally know what to do with the chia seeds I bought a few months ago!
Hi Angela!
first of all, let me say I really enjoy looking over all the recipes, and planning which to make :)
unfortunately Vegan awareness is still in it’s diapers in my country (I’m from Israel) so I can’t always get all the ingredients, but I make do!
about this recipe, I was just wondering if it also works if it’s warmed, or does that just ruin the whole point of it?
Hey Neta, I’ve only had it cold, but Im sure you could gently warm it too :) Thanks for reading!
I made this yesterday, replacing the banana with equal amounts of applesauce (because I’m out of bananas until my next shopping day). I also stirred in a spoonful of almond butter at the end. It was amazing! My favorite chia seed pudding recipe so far of all the ones I’ve tried! I think pumpkin purée or crushed pineapple would also work in place of the banana as variations. My brain is already conjuring up a tropical pineapple version.
I love the applesauce idea – thanks for sharing!
I made this yesterday and fell in LOVE with it. I use Chia seeds in my water, also from your FB page and I love Chia seeds so when I came across this I knew I had to try it. Love it!!!! I even made it for my children and surprise!!!! they like it as well. New school breakfast for them and so light for the summer time. They have no idea I’m slowly making more vegan dishes, no more process things in my house, but also more healthy eating. Healthy choices for us!
What you say about the connection between food and skin is so true. I’m 18, had mild acne on my T-zone, chest and back. I decided to try eliminating dairy and it cleared up a lot, I then went completely vegan and my skin is perfectly clear. Also the dark circles under my eyes which I have had since a child are now practically non-existent.
This chia seed breakfast bowl is my go-to brekky!! Yum yum. Thanks so much for the recipe!
This was amazingly delicious…I had to skip the hemp seeds (they were too expensive at the store where I was shopping), used chopped walnuts instead of almonds, and warmed it up a bit by placing the bowl over simmering water for a few minutes. Yum!