Beet Strawberry Chia Pudding

I finished emptying the pantry and freezer as best I could before leaving the house for the summer. I had a jar of poppy seed cake and pastry filling, but no hamantaschen recipe that called for it, so I made a poppy seed cake instead. And if, like me, you’ve been making breakfast pizzas and still have some hash browns in the freezer, you might appreciate this bacon, potato, egg, and cheese breakfast casserole, even for dinner! I used up all my orange vegetable purée in muffins and winter squash pancakes with crispy sage and brown butter. A can of red kidney beans and half a bag of elbow macaroni became a delicious, retro dish of chili mac, with evaporated soy milk and extra-sharp cheddar to make it lactose-free. (I also threw in some halved cherry tomatoes from the back of the fridge, and only added the beans at the end of cooking.) But I still had some beet purée in the freezer, and since the Engineer said I couldn’t make chocolate beet cakes anymore, I decided to go with beet strawberry chia pudding for breakfast.

It has a *gorgeous* color and was surprisingly good! I think it would work well with raspberries or blueberries, too. I didn’t have a lot of toppings around, so I threw in some pepitas for color, but I ended up not really liking the addition. I think coconut flakes would be a much better choice.

½ cup chia seeds
2 ¼ cups non-dairy milk (I used lactose-free cow’s milk)
½ cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
½ cup beets, cubed and steamed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. maple syrup (or a bit more or less, to taste)
optional toppings: berries, nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, granola

Put the chia seeds in a medium bowl.

In a blender or food processor, pour non-dairy milk, strawberries, beets, vanilla, and maple syrup. Blend until completely smooth.

Slowly pour the liquid mixture into the bowl with the chia seeds while stirring. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Place in the fridge and let it sit overnight, or at least 4-5 hours.

When ready to eat, stir in maple syrup; top with desired toppings such as strawberries, flaxseeds, coconut, or granola.