recipe Archives - Rocking Your Path with Kat Sturtz

Organic vanilla bean powder is expensive even on Amazon. A small one ounce package of Sigmeau brand runs about $12.50. If you use it frequently in recipes , you’re better off buying a larger package from your brand of choice.

But frankly, I wasn’t even familiar with vanilla bean powder until I saw it in a chia seed pudding recipe I wanted to try. You can check out my favorite version Chocolate Chia Seed Instant Pudding recipe here.

With no powder on hand but two old empty vanilla bean pods in my fridge I decided to try making my own. Quick search on the Internet brought up several how-tos. I picked the easiest, tweaked a bit, and soon had approximately 3 ounces of homemade vanilla powder ready to use.

Instructions

Start with empty vanilla bean pods.

Our two were already empty because we had scooped out and used the vanilla bean paste. It’d been at least two months prior.

Then we set out the pods on clean paper towel, covered them with another, and set them aside to thoroughly dry out. Took about a week for ours. Yours may take longer to dry if they are fresher than the ones we started with, or if you use a dehydrator.

Once dried, I broke the pods into a few pieces and ground them up in our little electric coffee bean grinder. Then I transferred the powder into a small glass jar.

The powder has stored well for many months in fridge.

YOUR TURN

Do you have your own method for making vanilla bean powder? Or a favorite recipe you use it in? I’d love to hear about it. Please comment below.

Please note: Some of the products I recommend include affiliate links. It doesn’t affect the price you may pay if you buy from that link. It just means that I might get a small commission if you do, which I use to help pay for the cost of maintaining my websites and running my business.

Love puddings. This one is so quick and easy to make. No cooking and easy to tweak to fit your taste buds. Plus, it’s terrific as an anytime energy boost.

It’s my tweak to a Chia Seed Pudding recipe I discovered on Katrina Mayer’s site. I admit to serving this with homemade whipped cream. Now that does up the calories (for those counting) but all the nutritional value of chia seeds, and the other great ingredients, remains.

Don’t be afraid to adjust quantities and experiment with additional ingredients. As my chef hubby Dennis says, “Remember to savor the food you eat.”

Ingredients

4 tbsp chia seeds

1 1/2 cups unsweetened nut milk (I like almond best, but have used coconut, too)

1 tbsp raw cacao powder

2 grams powdered stevia* (I used Pure Via Stevia packets. Each packet is 1 gram.)

1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder (homemade, see my instructions here.)

Directions

Place ingredients in jar or bowl and mix well. Let stand at least 10 minutes or overnight to allow chia seeds to “gel” and thicken the pudding.

This holds well for up to a week or so. Great for breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Can serve with fresh fruit, chopped nuts, and other goodies. It’s up to you.

** Adjust stevia to taste.

— Can substitute another sweetener, like maple syrup, brown sugar, or even table sugar.

More tweaks

Make Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding

— Omit cacao and start with 1 gram stevia

— Increase to 1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder

You can find Katrina’s original recipe here.

Products I used

The vanilla bean powder I made myself (recipe here). I use a lot of chia seeds so usually buy it in bulk from Amazon. Also bought the raw cacao on Amazon, as well. The stevia I can easily find locally. I don’t go through much so tend to buy smaller boxes of packets which I find more convenient. Last time I bought it at my little local IGA store on sale. But it’s easily found on Amazon, too.

Please note: Some of the products I recommend include affiliate links. It doesn’t affect the price you may pay if you buy from that link. It just means that I might get a small commission if you do, which I use to help pay for the cost of maintaining my websites and running my business.