Chocolate chia seed pudding

I went to a big "harvest dinner" this week and ate all kinds of things that I have not been eating lately. Like wine, potatoes, and sugar - in several forms, including flourless chocolate cake. My Charming Companion asked, "Did you get romantic with that cake?" (referring to a line from It Starts with Food where they recommend eating dessert type treats with some romance. They want you to take your cookie on a date and really get cozy with it - or some such similar sentiment.) Mine was a hurried love - I was overly excited and perhaps rushed things a bit. I was wired afterwards and the next several days keep feeling hungry, hungry, hungry. Is that the sugar? I don't know for sure, but seems likely.

Other discoveries post my Whole30 - I guess I do react to dairy. My nose seems to have a tendency to be a bit wet whether I eat dairy or not, but there is significant dripping when I do. So. I don't know what I'll do with that information. Maybe not have so much dairy. We'll see.

In the wake of my sugar crash, I did decide to make this minimally sweetened chocolate pudding. It has only 5 ingredients: dark chocolate (I used my fave 80% Equal Exchange), chocolate powder, chia seeds, coconut milk, and vanilla. At first bite, I thought it was not so sweet (it was the day after the flourless chocolate cake, afterall), but a couple of days later when I had ramekin number 2, I was totally sold. My Charming Companion found these pudding cups quite delicious and was totally prepared to eat them all if I was not into them.

With a drizzle of coconut milk!

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding (4 servings)
1 14oz can coconut milk
2 oz dark chocolate, 70% or higher, chopped
1 T high quality cocoa powder
5 T chia seeds
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat coconut milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir/whisk in chopped chocolate and cocoa powder.
2. When chocolate is all melted and the saucepan looks like delicious hot chocolate, turn off the heat and stir in the chia seeds and vanilla. *Do this while stirring continuously so that the seeds do not clump up at the bottom. Keep stirring as mixture starts to thicken.
3. Pour into individual serving cups or ramekins, and refrigerate for at least an hour until "pudding" is firm. Serve! (I ate mine plain, but it would probably be delicious with some whipped coconut cream and cinnamon sprinkled on top.)