Tag Archives: digestive aid

Recipe: Banana Chia Pudding

This summer my good friend K offered me a chia pudding cup. I never got around to eating it, so I asked her what it was made with and she said banana. The next time I came across some ripe bananas, I figured I would make my own banana chia pudding. I had full fat coconut milk on hand, so I mashed the banana, added coconut milk and Coconut Dream to make my chia pudding. I swirled in some strawberry jam as sweetener and found a tasty snack, or breakfast or alternative to yogurt. Chia seeds also have the added benefit of aiding digestion by moving through the intestines. I prefer whole chia seeds. However, this week, I showed a client how to make this pudding and found she had only ground chia seeds, so we made pudding with just banana and added coconut water as liquid with a touch of cinnamon plus maple syrup to sweeten. Quite pleasant tasting…

I am not going to include a photo of either forms of pudding as they actually look a bit like barf. Think of chia pudding as an alternative to yogurt or a tasty medicinal digestive aid, so give it a try. This is so easy to make that I will suggest you create your own recipe to suit your tastes:

3 tablespoons whole white chia seeds

1/2-1 whole mashed ripe banana

1/4-1/2 cup coconut milk (from a can)-optional

1/4-1/2 cup non dairy milk of your choice or juice or coconut water

Mash banana in a medium bowl, stir in chia seeds, add liquid to create a pudding like consistency. Refrigerate for an hour or overnight, When ready to serve, stir again and add more liquid for desired consistency. Sweeten with jam, maple syrup or honey. Top with granola, nuts or fruit and enjoy,

Papaya: A fruit to try

I have never liked papaya, until I tried one in Hawaii. The papaya tastes entirely different there, fresh and sweet with minimal musky flavour. Perhaps it is also the freshness from the crop being grown on the islands. Papaya contains papain, an enzyme that aids in digestion, which helps the body obtain optimal levels of nutrients. Papain is is used as an ingredient in digestive aid/enzyme supplements. Papaya also contains lycopene, lutein, calcium, potassium and arginine.  I would suggest consuming fresh papaya for the taste, nutrients and digestive enzymes.

Apparently, much of the papaya crop is genetically modified. Natural, unmodified food seems ideal to me. However, this can become a complex issue, that is beyond my scope of practice. I can say that it is a best practice for us all to learn where our food comes from and pay attention to how we feel after we consume various foods. Some foods have more of a positive effect than others. I feel great after I eat fresh papaya from Hawaii and Jamaica-I enjoy the taste of these papayas best. See what types of papaya you enjoy and how you feel…

Jamaican Papaya

Jamaican Papaya