Chocolate Orange Chia Pudding

I have always loved chocolate, and when I was younger, I used to scoff it at every opportunity. Mainly milk chocolate, but I snuck in white chocolate when I could, and I remember Milkybars being a big favourite of mine when I was very small. I also remember the advent of the Chocolate Orange bar. Having always been reserved for special occasions, the Chocolate Orange was a truly unique chocolate treat, in that it wasn’t highbrow, unlike several other chocolate purveyors I can think of, yet it held such delight for both adults and children in the opening of the lid, removing the ball of chocolate from its plastic nest, and solidly tapping the stickered end of the ball on a hard surface to release the segments from one another so as to easily be able to pick out one or two (or three or four!) The Chocolate Orange bar, when it was released, was an instant success, and it enabled people to be able to enjoy the meltingly delicious taste of Terry’s Chocolate Orange (good old Terry) in a far more accessible way.

The other week, on the last day of half term, I was suddenly inspired, as if from nowhere, to create a breakfast using the flavours of chocolate and orange, and since I hadn’t enjoyed a chia pudding for quiet some time, I decided to make this the base for my ingredients and go from there. What follows is my recipe for a healthy, nourishing breakfast which delivers great nutritional balance with a massive punch of flavour and texture. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Ingredients

• 1 medium orange
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 150ml soya milk
• Dessertspoon raw cacao
• Dessertspoon agave nectar
• Puffed quinoa
• 1 tbsp jumbo rolled oats
• Handful of cacao nibs or a few cacao beans
• Dark chocolate-covered sunflower seeds

Equipment

• Blender or Nutri-bullet

Method

Zest the orange, then halve and juice one half.

Pour the juice into a blender with the soya milk, agave nectar and raw cacao, and blitz until combined. Pour in the chia seeds and stir in with a spoon, then pour the mixture into a bowl and put in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Put a dry frying pan on the hob on a medium-high heat and toast the oats until coloured. Remove, then add the puffed quinoa for about one minute. It will colour and crisp pretty quickly so be careful not to burn it.

Slice the remaining orange half, then arrange all your toppings on the chia pudding and enjoy!

If you are a Chocolate Orange fan then I can guarantee you will love this recipe. Oh, and please don’t feel that it’s only for breakfast time; this yummy bowl would be a fantastic mid-afternoon boost, or even a sweet, satisfying, but healthy pudding when entertaining. You could reduce the portion size if it’s for after a heavier meal, or have a full portion if your meal is lighter. However you eat it, enjoy!

Thank you for reading, as always.

xxx Sam