Cherry season has begun!! And I love these types of cherries. They are both tart and sweet and provide exceptional flavor to desserts, baked goods, salads, and smoothies. Cherries are also really healthy for you..surprise, surprise! They have lots of nutritional benefits and are one of the few foods that contain melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone that is released in our body around 9-10 PM and makes us sleepy. It’s basically our body’s alarm clock to tell us to go to bed. According to a study, people who drank cherry juice in the morning and at night slept better at night than those who did not. But as always, that is only one study, so the true benefits of cherries as a sleep enhancer is yet to be determined but could be beneficial to those looking to get a better night’s sleep!
Despite the nutritional benefits, I just love the taste of cherries. Whenever I see them start to pop up in the grocery store, I grab a whole bag or two and take them to work for snacks or munch on them when I get home. So freakin’ good.
One thing I discovered last summer was the beauty of roasted fruit. Roasting the fruit changes the entire ballgame. It makes the fruit warm, soft, and straight up delicious. I wanted to try this with cherries. I had a feeling roasted cherries would be good…and my feeling proved to be correct. Roasted cherries are ahhhhmazing!
Roasting the cherries is super simple. All you have to do is preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, slice some cherries in half and depit them, place them on the parchment paper and drizzle some maple syrup over them and then roast for 14-15 minutes. Voilaaaa! There you have beautifully delicious roasted cherries.
I thought about what cherries would go well with and I instantly thought of a chocolate chip chia seed pudding. Cherries go really well with dark chocolate, so I made sure to incorporate some dark chocolate chips and cacao nibs into my pudding.
This pudding can serve as an incredibly tasty healthy breakfast or dessert! It also is great to make for on-the-go. I made two at the beginning of the week and put them in the fridge and have had them for a quick ready-made breakfast the past two mornings. It’s definitely gotten me moving out of the house faster which was desperately needed since I had been borderline late to work the past few days. Whoops! So thank you, Chia Seed Pudding, for helping me get there earlier!
My favorite chia seeds to use for this recipe are by the company, Nutiva. You can buy them on Amazon, here. I like this company the best because they are organic and non-gmo verified. They also seem to come in more bang for your buck than other companies I’ve tried. You can buy it on Amazon for only $0.31 per ounce. And if you eat a lot of chia seeds like me, they also have an option to buy the seeds in bulk in 3 pound bags.
Check out the recipe below and try it out! Let me know any thoughts you have in the comment section!
Chocolate Chip Chia Pudding with Roasted Cherries
Ingredients
Chia Seed Pudding
- 1 cup Coconut Milk or Almond Milk unsweetened
- 2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
- 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Dark Chocolate Chips or Cacao Nibs
Roasted Cherries
- 2 Cups Cherries pitted and sliced in half
- 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
Instructions
- To make the chia seed pudding, place the coconut milk, chia seeds, and maple syrup in a cup
- Stir the ingredients so it is evenly mixed throughout, cover, and place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight
- While the chia seed pudding is setting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit
- Take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper
- Cut the cherries in half and remove the pit and measure about 2 cups
- Spread the halves of cherries on the parchment paper
- Drizzle about a tablespoon of maple syrup on top of the cherries
- Bake for about 14-15 minutes
- When finished baking, remove the cherries and let cool
- Remove the chia seed pudding from the fridge when it is finished setting
- Sprinkle the dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs on top and mix into the pudding
- Spoon in some of the roasted cherries to top the pudding
- Keep the leftover roasted cherries in the fridge to eat on top of other desserts or breakfasts or just eat on their own
- Serve and enjoy!
Products I used for this recipe:
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