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This maca chia seed pudding recipe is the perfect, healthy dessert!

I was just recently introduced to Maca powder in my plant-based culinary course (which I’ve now graduated! Yay!). We had to use some sort of exotic ingredient in one of our projects. This was a stretch for me because I absolutely HATE buying something for one recipe that calls for a tiny amount of a big package, and then never using it again. It’s the worst!!

A shot of this Clean Eating Maca Chia Seed Pudding in shooter glasses, topped with a pecan half and cocoa nibs on each shooter. Maca powder is sprinkled all around the shooters and a silver spoon sits to the right of the shooters.

So I was out doing my grocery shopping at my favorite store in the world (Trader Joe’s! – And no, I was not paid to mention or promote them. I just love them!), and accidentally happened across a bag of Maca powder. I figured it was the cheapest exotic ingredient I was going to get my hands on (around $3 for the bag), so I tossed it in the cart and worried the whole way home about how I was going to use it.

For my class project, I used it with some cultured cashew cheese and goji berries (the second exotic ingredient I used). It was unusual, but super tasty! And then, of course, I was left with a bag of maca and goji berries on my pantry shelf. But much to my surprise, I really enjoyed both of them and my head started swimming with other uses for these ingredients. While I ended up returning the bag of goji berries (I found a bunch in the middle of the bag that were moldy! Gross!), I still had that darn bag of Maca powder staring at me. Maca tends to be somewhat sweet, so my first thoughts went to dessert.

An overhead shot of these Clean Eating Maca Chia Seed Pudding shooters.

WHAT IS MACA?

Maca has been grown in the high altitudes of the Peruvian Andes Mountains for 3000 years. It’s a vegetable whose root is used often in Peruvian home cooking. It’s as common for them as broccoli is for us here in the states. (Or so my research tells me). The root is often used for medicine and has been attributed with many, many health benefits including helping with chronic fatigue, lowering blood pressure and aiding anemia, to name just a few. (source)

It’s a great source of healthy carbs, protein and even fiber. It has lots of vitamin C and copper as well. However, if you are pregnant, most sources advise against using Maca because there haven’t been any studies done yet on the effects of Maca on pregnancy. Just FYI.

The flavor is slightly sweet and somewhat similar to a nutty butterscotch. Definitely not an exact match, but that’s the best description I can give you. It’s good stuff!

Clean Eating Maca Chia Seed Pudding Recipe

HOW TO USE MACA:

Not sure how to use up your Maca if you buy it to make this recipe? Never fear! I hate that too, so I would never leave you hanging in that department! Here are some things you can add Maca to.

Coffee – Stir about 1 tsp. into your morning cup of coffee. It gives it a nutty, almost butterscotch flavor.
Energy balls – Mix in about 1 to 2 tbsp. into your “dough”.
Smoothies – Sprinkle about 1 tbsp. into your morning smoothie. It’s delicious!
Homemade (egg-free) cookie dough – Just like with the energy balls, you can mix this into edible cookie dough for a delicious treat.
Granola – Add about 1 to 2 tbsp. to your raw granola mix before baking.
Pudding – Umm…. ya. Just like in this recipe here!
Homemade ice cream – Mix in about 2-4 tbsp. of Maca to some homemade vanilla ice cream for total yumminess.
Sprinkled over your morning cereal – About 1 – 2 tsp., or to taste.

A single, clear shooter glass sits filled with this Clean Eating Maca Chia Seed Pudding. It's an up-close view of a single shooter.

HOW TO SERVE THIS PUDDING:

You can put it in shooter glasses like I did here for a fun presentation. Serve with demitasse spoons.
Serve in, or sprinkled over, some homemade ice cream.
Eat this straight from the mixing pot if you’re in a big hurry.
If you have leftovers, simply blend it into your morning smoothie.

A horizontal shot showing four shooter glasses filled with this Clean Eating Maca Chia Seed Pudding.

Since I still have a good portion of the bag left over, you can rest assured I’ll be posting more Maca recipes soon. Give it a try! It’s exotically delicious!

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