Chia Pudding Is Not Dead + Nike's Lynne Bredfeldt Haider!

Plus the best chili crisp, hot pot love, and a transporting shirt!

This week, I’m sharing a new take on chia pudding (the base is not coconut milk!) and a Things That Freaked My Week with Nike’s Director of North America Communications, Lynne Bredfeldt Haider!

---

Oranges from my neighbors (I swear they said I could take as many as I wanted)

Berry Chia Pudding from Whole Food Cooking Everyday

Chia pudding was a *thing* when I first starting eating plant-based a decade ago. Just like avocado toast, it reached a such a saturation point that it began to feel like a tired food trend and many abandoned the dish (or ate it in secret, because it didn’t fit their IG aesthetic). For me, I never said goodbye. Chia pudding is a mainstay in my diet – it never hurts my stomach (huge win), is super easy to make, and always feels like a fun way to start the day (or end it).

In the past, I’ve always made my chia pudding with the standard recipe of coconut milk, chia, some cinnamon, and a little maple syrup. But after getting big harvests of oranges from my neighbor’s tress (I’m talking box-fulls) and being reunited with my copy of Whole Food Cooking Everyday by Amy Chaplin, my chia pudding recipe has made a big shift.

Funny enough, I’ve cooked a ton of from Whole Food Cooking, but breezed by the chia pudding recipe because I thought it wouldn't be any different than my own. But serendipitously, around the same time all the oranges started popping next door…I decided to read Amy’s chia recipe. And I’m so glad I did!

We had oranges everywhere…

Instead of a coconut-milk base, Amy’s recipe is a mixture of fresh orange juice (it usually takes 4-5 of them squeezed with all your might) and berries (I’ve been doing a mix of frozen strawberries and raspberries), with a big handful of nuts to assist in the thickening. She also has the most perfect method to avoid the chia getting all clumpy and lumpy – a method I’ll forever use.

And Amy’s Berry Chia recipe is just one of variations she includes. There’s also a Stonefruit version and a Strawberry and Rose (I cannot wait to make both this summer)! Whole Food Cooking Everyday came out a few years back, but just like chia pudding, it’s forever a classic, and I’m so happy it’s back in my cookbook rotation.

Alright, here’s the recipe!