a Perfectly Portable Homemade Chia “pod”

After a nearly two-week technology vacation, it’s Jeanne here.

I’m going to admit that it’s weird to be back after almost 14 days mostly unplugged. The littles and I were on a 3,000+ mile road trip to visit the Cowboy, my mom and stepdad, my sisters, a new baby cousin, and some very dear friends.

The real reason we made the trip: it was take the kids to work day (not really) … but they loved sitting at Dad’s very fastidious desk (his desk at home is a little less neat

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To describe it as “whirlwind” is sort of putting it mildly. We trekked from Montana to Utah to Los Angeles to Palm Springs to San Diego to San Diego to LA to Palm Springs to Utah to Montana … and we did it in just under 2 weeks.

I am so thankful our littles like to travel … this was taken on the very last leg of our trip in a hotel room in Salt Lake City. It was a very happy dance.

And honestly, it wasn’t a totally conscious decision to be offline.

We were just in the car so much … and after reading about Werner Herzog’s new 35 minute “short film” From One Second to the Next about the dangers of texting and driving I had made a commitment not to text or talk while driving. Mind you, I have NOT seen the film. I just read about it and it changed my life. I don’t think I have the courage to actually watch it. But I agree with the message … whatever it is you have to say? It can wait. But I digress.

I won’t bore you with the ins and outs of our trip because not everyone wants to be invited over to watch a home-movie (but if you invite me over to watch yours, I will do so happily

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Plus … there’s a good chance the real reason you’re here today is this:

My San Diego sister introduced me to these little nuggets of goodness.

It has four organic ingredients: Coconut Milk, Banana, Blueberries, Chia Seeds.

I love how good for you they are [Chia seeds have been shown to stabilize blood sugar, increase brain power. They are 20 percent protein. Jam-packed with digestible fiber, calcium and antioxidants. They have strontium (which helps assimilate protein) and can help with weightloss by boosting metabolism and promoting lean muscle. There’s evidence that these tiny little nutty-tasting seeds can help reduce blood pressure and encourage heart health. They’ve also been shown to aid in detoxification and elimination. And I haven't even mentioned how good for you Coconut Milk is]

I love the portability (although I wish it weren’t in plastic with two plastic covers and a plastic spoon). It’s a great texture (it’s kind of yogurty … not slimy like I thought it could be because sometimes that happens when you add chia seeds to liquid). And it doesn’t have the “it will go bad by lunch if it’s not refrigerated” that threatens dairy products.

I tried the blueberry.

I was uber ready for it to be delicious.

It was okay.

Actually, it was sort of bland. Like the bananas weren’t ripe enough. Or maybe it was missing just a hint of sweet.

But I love the idea of a Chia Pod.

So I have been obsessed with making my own version of this since Saturday … waiting (not so patiently) to get home, get to the store and whip out the Vita-Mix. (Plus, it gives me an excuse to use all those dang jelly jars that have been cluttering our cupboards.)

I started simply, with four ingredients …

I used peaches instead of blueberries because when we were in SoCal we stopped at a local farmers’ market and bought way too many to eat on a drive home and I didn’t want them to go bad and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. (How’s that for a run-on sentence?)

But my first attempt had the same problem as the original Chia Pod.

Tasteless.

So here’s what I did:

INGREDIENTS:

3 very ripe peaches (pitted and cut into large chunks … it was about a cup and a half to two cups of chopped peaches, but it could have been strawberries or blueberries or mango or a blend of any berries or fruit that trips your trigger)
2 ripe bananas (I will likely reduce this to one banana next time because the taste is pretty heavy on the banana)
2 cups coconut milk
2/3 cup of chia seeds (the Chia Pod uses white chia. I only had black chia on hand and while it doesn’t look as “pretty” as the store bought version, it still tastes pretty much the same and packs the same amount of awesomeness)
1 tablespoon raw honey (or use grade B maple syrup or raw sugar or agave if you want to make this a vegan treat)
1/3 cup shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender and pulse until well-combined. Divide into individual serving cups and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to “set.”

And …

I know they’re not as cute as the one’s my Sis got at Sprout’s (or it might have been Trader Joe’s). I’ll have to work on the packaging when I make a strawberry version next.

I love them.

I had one for dessert last night.

Our little guy had one for a snack … and his big sister ate half of it.

And there are still six in the fridge to pack and go anywhere anytime (breakfast, lunch, snack, dessert).

So life is good.

Except for maybe what I found in the freezer after being gone for two weeks.