The story for how I came up with this Leftover Smoothie Chia Pudding idea is actually based on the fact that deep down, I’m cheap and hate to see food go to waste…
Last week, when I was finalizing my newest smoothie recipe (Sweet Potato Sunrise Smoothie) I had a ton of smoothie left, and I just wasn’t in the mood to drink it right then and there. And if you know me at all, you know one of my biggest pet peeves is seeing food go to waste. Like, I can’t do it. I’ll eat leftovers for 5 days straight simply to say I didn’t have to throw food away. And when I have to throw produce out because it’s gone bad, I cry tears of sadness over lost food… but I digress…
So, I had all this smoothie left and thought, “why not try it in a chia seed pudding??” I knew I could use it all up, and they’d be good in the refrigerator for several days. So I mixed up my Chosen Foods organic chia seeds (use code ‘milknhoney20’ for 20% off at chosenfoods.com) and the leftover smoothie in a 1:2 ratio. (Example: the little jars you see in the pictures, have 2 Tbsp chia seeds and 4 Tbsp leftover smoothie.) Stirred them up real good, and then let them sit for a few hours… and voila! They were even better than traditional chia pudding. So much thicker and so much more filling. The resulting texture was almost like a thick chocolate mousse… come to think of it… Next time, I’m going to make my Avocado Superfood Frozen Hot Chocolate just so I can make leftover chia pudding with it!
Check out these other great chia seed recipes…
No Added Sugar Orange Creamsicles
Green Matcha Ombre Chia Pudding
Peaches & Cream with Coconut Chia Oat Crumble
Strawberry Beet Superfood Smoothie
Blueberry Pecan Overnight Chia Oats