Vegan Banana Cream Chia Seed Pudding

Makes 2 servings 

I LOVE this recipe and eat it for breakfast, as a snack, or dessert. It’s so easy you can’t mess it up. Plus, it’s gluten-free, vegan, lowfodmap, and SIBO-friendly. The riper the banana, the more oligo-fructans; these are fodmap bacteria that irritate folks with SIBO and IBS. So, I try to use my bananas as soon as possible. If you don’t have gut issues, then feel free to use up your ripe bananas in this recipe.

Ingredients

FOR THE PUDDING BASE:

• 3 tablespoons of chia seeds
• 1 cup of low-fodmap dairy-free milk
• 1 large banana (not ripe) 

FOR THE TOPPING

• ½ tablespoon of coconut oil 
• 1 banana, peeled and sliced in rounds

 Instructions

1. In a jar, mix the chia seeds and milk. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. 
2. Mash up the banana and stir it into the chia seed pudding; if your pudding is too thick, add a little vegan milk to thin it down. 
3. Heat the oil in the cast-iron pan or non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the banana slices. Cook for about a minute before flipping with a fork; they will release from the pan when they are done. Add the warm bananas to the top of the chia pudding, and enjoy. You can also make a parfait instead. Just layer half of the cooked bananas on the bottom of a glass jar and then layer with the pudding and top with the rest of the cooked bananas. 
4. The Vegan Whipped Cream recipe can be found in My Pinewood Kitchen Book.