New Year's Resolutions

For this month's Canadian Food Experience Project, we were asked to share a post on our resolutions. Every year I make resolutions, but I don't usually finish the year having kept them.

After spending a bit of time thinking about it, I think I know what my problem is. I think it's that my resolutions are usually too big and too difficult to keep. Or are something I just don't enjoying doing...

But I know this year will be different because I am only resolving to try one new food each month. That's just 12 new things and I can surely do that! I'll be posting about my new foodie finds each month and I hope that you'll be interested in trying a few of them along with me.

This month I am starting off by trying chia. I bet you once had a chia pet, one of those little terra cotta animals that you would scoop a little pile of seeds onto, water it, and then get to watch the plants grow? Well I had heard that chia seeds were really good for you and tasty too. Now I know that whoever said that was right!

Read on for my recipe for Chia Puddings, inspired by one from Giada's new cookbook, Giada's Feel Good Food.  I used fruit fitting for a Canadian winter and made a few other changes as well.

Chia Puddings - serves 4

1 cup of milk
1 cup of plain yogurt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup chia seeds
2 apples, peeled and diced or 1 cup of grapes, halved
1 banana, sliced
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon brown sugar*
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon*
1 tablespoon butter*
1-2 tablespoons maple syrup*

1. The night before you want to eat your pudding, whisk together the milk, yogurt, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, and salt. Then stir in the chia seeds.

2. Let the mixture sit in the counter for 30 minutes, then stir again and place the fridge overnight.

3. In the morning, sauté the apples with the remaining tablespoon of brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Remove from the heat and toss the banana and walnuts into the apple mixture.

*Alternatively, keep the apples raw or use grapes and substitute the brown sugar, cinnamon, and brown sugar for 1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup.

4. Spoon the chia pudding into bowls, or mason jars if your heading to work, and top with the fruit mixture. Enjoy!

The Canadian Food Experience Project began on June 7 2013. As we (participants) share our collective stories through our regional food experiences,  we hope to bring global clarity to our Canadian culinary identity.