Coconut Chia Pudding with Pomegrante – A super creamy and light vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free dessert. Naturally sweetened and ready in minutes. A guilt free dessert, packed full of hidden nutrients. You know what one of my favorite parts of traveling is? Learning about local cuisine and discovering the uses of local regional ingredients.

Now I knew my all time favorite quinoa hailed from South America – specifically Peru and Bolivia, but I had no idea this was home to chia seeds as well. What seems to have become a bit of a fancy, food craze style ingredient, most often found in expensive health focused grocery stores in the US is sold by little old ladies right on the side of the street in tons of villages and cities in both Peru and Bolivia.

Not just chia either. Think maca, flax, you name it, there are women sitting by the road side with entire sacks full of these magical healthy ingredients. This was simply fascinating for me.

And so I obviously had to buy a bag of chia seeds, knowing that eventually I would rent an apartment with a blender so I could whip up an awesome coconut chia pudding recipe.

Chia pudding, love it or hate it? I love it, but with a line of fine print.

That fine print is that the chia seeds need to be completely blended into a smooth consistency. I’m not a huge fan of the gelatinous goo that chia seeds + liquid becomes. Something about that texture doesn’t work for me.

But, rich and smooth, perfectly blended chia pudding makes for one of my new favorite desserts. I wanted to make a coconut chia pudding and used both coconut milk (light, or regular diluted with water) along with shredded coconut.

I wanted a proper coconutty taste. To avoid adding refined sugar, for sweetening I used both dried apricots and bananas. Bananas can sometimes be too sweet and bananay in a dessert for me so I wanted to balance that out with the gentle sweetness of apricots.

It works perfectly (though if you need your dessert super super sweet, I won’t judge if you add in a couple tablespoons of maple syrup).

For serving pomegrante aerials and shredded coconut are simply magical. The sweet and tart pomegranate pops in your mouth and blends with the creamy chia pudding.

And since I’m feeling chipper about this dessert and Mother’s Day is coming up I’m happy to announce my latest giveaway!

Enter to win a Vitamix 5200 blender (retail price $449). This would make for the perfect Mother’s Day gift or check out this Vitamix Mother’s Day guide for more ideas. The Vitamix is my dream blender, and while I do not own one yet, I will certainly be investing in one if the future.

This pomegranate and coconut chia pudding would come together marvelously in that super powerful Vitamin, don’t ya think?

This giveaway is a group project by the following lovely bloggers. Please be sure to pay them a visit as well:

greenhealthycooking.com | leelalicious.com | simplyfreshdinners.com | bbritnell.com

theblenderist.com | mycaliforniaroots.com | rhubarbarians.com | seductionmeals.com foodfashionandfun.com | wholesomelicious.com | platingsandpairings.com veggiebalance.com |

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Looking for other pudding-like desserts? Check out these:

How to Make Coconut Chia Pudding

5 from 5 votes Print Pomegrante and Coconut Chia Pudding {Vegan, GF} + Vitamix Giveaway! Prep Time 10 mins Total Time 10 mins A super creamy and ligth vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free dessert - pomegranate and coconut chia pudding. Naturally sweetened and ready in minutes. A guilt free dessert, packed full of hidden nutrients. Course: Dessert Cuisine: American, Healthy, Vegan Servings : 4 Calories : 330 kcal Author : Vicky Berman Ingredients 1 tablespoon almond butter

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup dried apricots soaked in hot water for a few mins and drained

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 cup coconut milk

1 banana

optional: 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup

For serving:

1/2 cup pomegranate aerials

2 tablespoons shredded coconut Instructions In a blender combine almond butter, shredded coconut, dried apricots, chia seeds, coconut milk and banana. Blend for a couple minutes until mixture is completely smooth. Split the mixture between 4 ramekins and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. Serve garnished with shredded coconut and pomegranate aerials. Nutrition Facts Pomegrante and Coconut Chia Pudding {Vegan, GF} + Vitamix Giveaway! Amount Per Serving Calories 330 Calories from Fat 189 % Daily Value* Fat 21g 32% Saturated Fat 14g 88% Sodium 36mg 2% Potassium 583mg 17% Carbohydrates 35g 12% Fiber 7g 29% Sugar 22g 24% Protein 5g 10% Vitamin A 605IU 12% Vitamin C 5.2mg 6% Calcium 106mg 11% Iron 3.6mg 20% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

*This giveaway has been sponsored by Vitamix

This giveaway is open to residents of the continental United States and Canada (void in Quebec) who have reached the age of majority at the time of the contest in the state, province or territory in which they reside. No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway will run from Sunday, April 24, 2016 at 12:01am to end on Sunday, May 07, 2016 at 11:59pm. Winner is chosen at random via Rafflecopter. Winner will be contacted via email and given 48 hours to respond. If not, a new winner will be chosen. Winner’s name will be displayed on Rafflecopter widget. Email address will never be given out to any third party or anyone for that matter.