Healthy food creator and photographer, Lauren Kirchmaier (aka Flora & Vino) lives in Virginia with her husband and golden retriever puppy, Harper.
A lover of sweet potatoes, nut butter, and red wine, Lauren promotes healthy and balanced living through a whole foods diet. All of her recipes are plant-based and made with real ingredients, and many of them are also refined sugar-free, gluten-free, and oil free.
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Blog: floraandvino
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Heat almond or coconut milk on the stove top.
Once warm, turn off the heat and add the culinary lavender to the pot. Cover and allow to steep for 15 minutes.
Pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer to collect lavender flowers.
Add the nut milk, maple syrup, lucuma, lemon juice, lemon zest, and chia seeds to a jar. Allow to sit for 20 minutes, whisking every 5 minutes. Place the pudding in the refrigerator and store for several hours or overnight.
To serve, layer the chia pudding with your favorite yogurt and granola and top with more lemon zest.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to one week.
Prepare the peanut butter layer by adding the almond or coconut milk to a blender with maple syrup, and peanut butter. Blend until well combined. Add chia seeds and pulse a few times to incorporate. Transfer to a jar and set in the fridge to begin chilling.
Prepare the strawberry layer by adding the strawberries and almond or coconut milk to blender. Blend until well combined. Add the TBS of chia seeds and pulse a few times. Transfer to a jar and set in the fridge to begin chilling.
All the chia mixtures to chill 1-2 hours (preferably overnight), until cold and thick.
To serve, layer the peanut butter and strawberry layers and alternate with fresh berries and peanut butter, if desired.
Store leftover chia puddings in the fridge for up to one week.
With the seal of approval from recent royal bride, Meghan Markle
The wedding of the year took place just few weeks ago, as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walked down the aisle on Saturday 19th May.
Fit for a princess, it has been widely reported that homemade chia pudding is one of Meghan’s favourite snacks. Bursting with a wealth of nutritional benefits, it is not hard to see why they are the perfect store cupboard essential for any bride.
Here to share the secrets of the little seeds that feature on Ms. Markle’s shopping list, we’ve enlisted the help of leading London Nutritionist Lily Soutter, who explains why chia seeds continue to reign, plus why they are perfect for any busy bride focusing on wedding prep and the big day itself:
“Not only do they make a great addition to tasty smoothies, energy bars, soups and salads, their versatile nature means that they can be incorporated into almost any meal of the day,” says Lily.
“Chia provides a rich source of plant-based omega 3 fats, these fats line every cell membrane within the body are important for soft and supple skin. Just one tablespoon of chia seeds also provides a whopping 6g of fibre, which can help to keep appetite in check, balance blood sugar and support healthy digestion.
Lastly, they pack in a decent amount of calcium, magnesium, B vitamins and zinc which are involved with energy production and immune function.”
How to eat it
Chia seeds have a very mild taste and will not affect the flavour of what you are eating. They are easy to include in your everyday diet:
- Sprinkle raw on your food
- Make a gel as a base for smoothies or as an egg replacer.
- Add to breakfast cereals, salads and soups
Chia pudding recipes fit for a royal wedding
To celebrate the royal wedding, we’ve teamed up with leading American health foodie Flora & Vino to create two new Chia Pudding recipes. Based on traditional English puddings, but with an American twist, the delicious pots are sure to leave your friends and family with insta-envy!
Founder of Flora & Vino Lauren is a plant-based recipe creator, food photographer, and writer. You can find her in the kitchen, at the yoga studio, or visiting local wineries and she lives in the United States with her husband and golden retriever puppy, Harper. The all-new Chia Puddings are a must-try.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Chia Pudding
Lemon Lavender Lucuma ‘Cheesecake’ Chia Pudding
On Sunday 13th May more than 100,000 Australians came together to continue the fight against breast cancer at the 21st Women in Super Mother’s Day Classic breast cancer walk and run. This incredible national fundraising event has raised more than $33.2 million for breast cancer research over the past 21 years, with more than 1 million participants walking or running a combined 6.5 million kilometres.
We were very proud to be onsite at both the Sydney and Brisbane arms of this event to show our support for this hugely important issue. We were also excited to share our latest product collaboration with participants and spectators alike: Be Natural Crunchy Granola Bars featuring our own Aussie-grown chia seeds.
These tasty treats are high in wholegrains and are a source of fibre, making them the perfect snack or treat. Eat them on their own, or dip them into yoghurt, tea or coffee!
We love working with Be Natural because, like us, they’re all about making the quality nutrition from plant-based food ingredients easy to access, every day. They are champions of healthier lifestyles and are determined to make healthier foods the easier choice – and we couldn’t agree with their vision more. You can read more about their philosophy on their website.
Want to try the new Be Natural Crunchy Granola Bar Choc Chip Chia for yourself? Look for them in the muesli bar aisle in your local Woolworths, Coles or IGA stores.
Whisk all ingredients in a bowl, once combined well pour into microwave proof mug.
Place mug in microwave and cook on medium-high power for 2 ½ minutes.
Optional once cooked pour over 1 tbsp. of maple/ golden syrup or grated chocolate.
Combine chia seeds with milk in a bowl and stir until well mixed.
Leave to rest for approximately 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, place walnuts in a bowl and add enough water to cover and soak, also approx. 20-30 minutes.
Drain walnuts, and place in blender with a little water, approximately ¼ cup water, maple syrup and the matcha powder. Add more water if you prefer the cream to be more liquid. Blend until smooth.
Take a jar and layer the chia pudding and the walnut cream, and top with blueberries.
Serve immediately, or can be refrigerated overnight and consumed the following day for breakfast.
Recipe Author: Chloe McLeod – Dietitian, Co-Owner of Health & Performance Collective, Director of The FODMAP Challenge.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Line a pizza tray with baking paper.
To make the base, pour all the dry base ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir. Add the water and continue mixing until a thick dough forms.
Spread the dough evenly over the baking paper on the pizza tray until a round base is formed. Aim for the base to be about 1cm deep.
Place the dough in the oven to bake for roughly 30-40 minutes or until it begins to firm up and brown.
Pull the base out of the oven and spread with the tomato paste.
Add all the vegetables then top with dried herbs plus salt and pepper to taste.
Place back into the oven to bake for roughly 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Optional additions to serve the pizza with include: nutritional yeast, vegan cheese or standard cheese if you prefer.