Years ago, I’d do anything for a box of Junior Mints or Peppermint Patties. I’d fallen prey, like many of us, into the low calorie, nonfat mindset of the 90’s where Snackwells and Fig Newton’s were all the rage.
As I’ve transitioned into a healthy lifestyle and new way of eating, I’ve found myself looking for healthy sweet treats. I’ve realized that the packaged so-called “health foods” just fed my sugar demons, leaving me with an artificial sense of healthy and a sugar hangover to boot.
Instead of going cold turkey, I started looking for other options to satisfy my sweet tooth, something delicious and decadent that could replace, if not outperform my old guilty pleasures. Below is one of my favorite new recipes. It’s so rich and creamy you’ll hardly believe it’s actually good for you!
Please leave a comment below and share with us your favorite sweet treat that we can make over into a Conscious Cleanse friendly recipe.
With sweet sassy smooches,
Creamy Banana Chia Pudding
Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 TB. hemp seeds
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2-3 dates, pitted
- 2 bananas
- ½ cup chia seeds
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Cinnamon to taste
- Cacao nibs (optional)
Directions:
Mix hemp seeds and water in a high speed blender until completely smooth. Add in dates, bananas, sea salt and vanilla. Pour the mixture into a bowl and stir in chia seeds. Let it sit for 30 min or overnight in the refrigerator for a super thick pudding. Top with a few cacao nibs and a dash of cinnamon. Enjoy!
Hi- I didn’t have chia or hemp seeds so I substituted the hemp seeds with sesame seeds and ground those in a food processor until semi-fine. I also put in one TBSP of flax seed instead of chia seed and cut the water by 1/2 cup and only used 1/4 sea salt. If you are short of dates, I used prunes, a little chunkier, but works in a pinch. Also, for those who may want a little more sweetness I added a teeny bit of pure maple syrup. It’s in the fridge, but at room temp. the mixture tasted great!
Thanks for sharing your modifications Denise! It’s a great reminder that we can improvise when it comes to any of these recipes.
Hi Jo, I’m interested in making this recipe as a sweet alternative during my cleanse (I’m on day 2 and using the book as my guide). I’m assuming I would not use the cacao nibs during my cleanse, but I am a little confused by the recipe directions. Can you clarify how you prepare the dates and bananas? Do you just chop them or do you actually blend the dates, bananas, vanilla, and salt with the hemp seeds and water mixture before adding the chia seeds. I appreciate the clarification and want to thank both you an Jules for such a wonderful program.
Hey Lindsey, You are correct, no cacao during the cleanse. You are going to blend everything so no need to chop. Just toss into the blender. Enjoy!
I love that you put recipes on this page, but I think it’s really confusing when the recipes aren’t Conscious Cleanse friendly, or when it’s a little bit unclear which ingredients are okay and which ones aren’t.
They should be really clearly labeled.
Thanks for the feedback, we will make it more clear in future recipes. Stop by again soon! :)
I just made this up tonight for tomorrow. I did not have hemp seeds on hand, so ground up a handful of walnuts. Smelled like banana nut bread…hope it tastes as good!
That sounds tasty! How did it turn out, Melinda?
True Food Kitchen has a banana coconut chia seed pudding that I dream about :-) I will make this one soon and perhaps sub a little bit of shaved and toasted coconut on top. Yum…who knew this chocoholic would crave fruity desserts!
When you let it sit overnight, I’m assuming you are putting it into the fridge?
Hi Kristina, Thank you for pointing that out. Yes, we recommend storing it in the fridge overnight. Have you tried it? What do you think?
HI, I am on the July ’17 Cleanse. Can you please clarify how many portions this makes and what part of day it would be suitable for (breakfast, lunch, snack, etc)?
Thank you.
Hi Sim, We hope you’re having a great experience on the cleanse! The serving size is about 1/2 to 2/3 cup. If you are hungry, then it’s okay to have more. We don’t focus too much on portion sizes while on the cleanse, just healthy whole foods. If it’s a snack, then you may want to look more towards 1/2 cup so you’ll be hungry for the next meal. But again, if you’re hungry, then eat. Feel free to email as well with your questions. XO, Jo & Jules