Super - Blueberry Toasted-Coconut Chia pudding Parfaits. Feel Good

 
vegan, serves 2

6 Tbsp chia seeds
2 cups almond or soy milk, vanilla or plain
2 Tbsp grade B maple syrup, coconut syrup or agave syrup
*reduce sweetener by one tablespoon if your non-dairy milk is on the sweet side.
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup blueberries (fold or blend in)

toasted coconut:
4 Tbsp unsweetened coconut

topping:
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
3 tsp raw pistachios

Directions:

1. About 6+ hours before serving parfaits, prepare the chia pudding. You can simply briskly stir all ingredients together or do my low speed blender method. I add the milk, vanilla, sweetener, salt and cinnamon - turn blender on to lowest speed. Slowly pour in chia seeds so they do not stick to the sides of the blender. Blend on low for about 2-3 minutes to jump start the chia seed plumping process. Blueberries: you can either fold in the 1/2 cup of blueberries or blend them right into the pudding.

2. Transfer your chia mixture to a small bowl or large jar. Cover and place int he fridge for at least six hours. About thirty minutes and one hour after placing in the fridge I like to give my pudding a few stirs to swirl the chia seeds a bit. This prevents them from clumping up at the bottom or top of the glass. This step is options, you can always do a brisk stir right before serving too.

3. When ready to prepare parfaits, finely chop your pistachios and set aside. For the coconut, heat the coconut in a dry skillet over high heat. Heat just until the edges start to brown and "toast." Set aside.

4. Add chia pudding to tall parfait glasses. You can stir some or all of the coconut right into the pudding or just layer it on top of the pudding in the parfait glass. Top with the fresh blueberries, more toasted coconut and pistachios. I love to serve my chia pudding with a giant side bowl of extra blueberries, because you can never have too many blueberries on the table.

Serve!