Pumpkin Chia Pudding + Blog Brûlée

Autumn is in the air, and after an action-packed weekend at the first annual Blog Brûlée healthy blogger retreat at Smugglers’ Notch in Vermont, I created this healthy and delicious, fall-inspired Pumpkin Chia Pudding recipe for you and your family.

(As invited speakers, our travel and lodging was paid for, and we received an honorarium.)

I’ll tell you more about this easy dessert recipe further down in the post. But for now, indulge me a bit as we share highlights from Blog Brûlée.

The theme of the weekend was “Setting Fire to Better Blogs,” and our small gathering of dietitian bloggers achieved that goal with the help of Blog Brûlée’s founders (left to right), Gretchen Brown from Kumquat, Deanna Segrave-Daly from Teaspoon of Spice, Robin Plotkin from RobinsBite, and Regan Jones, founder of Healthy Aperture … as well as a lineup of well seasoned speakers.

Speakers and Topics:

Food Photography Basics, Food Styling, and Post Processing with Gretchen Brown and Regan Jones {The post-processing information presented reminded us to focus more of our editing attention on tweaking exposure}

iPhoneography with Deanna Segrave-Daly {Who knew Snapseed, a smart phone photography app, could do SO much}

The Art of Online Storytelling with Brierley Wright from Eating Well Magazine and Robin Plotkin {A great reminder that an event like Blog Brûlée could lead to multiple stories and blog posts … and a double reminder to maintain an editorial blogging calendar}

Defining and Delivering SEO with Carolyn Ketchum from All Day I Dream About Food {Aunty Em, we’re frightened, but we’re already implementing Carolyn’s tips and reading The Beginners Guide to SEO on Moz.com}

Building Your Virtual Community with EA Stewart, The Spicy RD {We need to (a) get comfy with Google+ and (b) not focus all of our efforts on commenting on others’ blogs, but rather, share others’ content. Show the LOVE}

Branding in the Blogosphere and Beyond with Liz Weiss (that’s me!). I talked about the ingredients needed for a successful brand: Authentic, Reliable, Responsive, Engaging, Evolving.

Show Me the Money: Monetizing Your Brand with Anne Mauney from fannetasticfood {I’m working on my Media Kit as we speak, and I’m using Power Point per Anne’s suggestion!}

The retreat was held at Smugglers’ Notch Resort in Vermont where the service was topnotch. Groups of three were assigned to cozy condos complete with fireplaces, well-stocked refrigerators (more on Liz’s foray into microwaved eggs with roommates Meme and Min in a future post), and gorgeous views. Returning back to reality in MA got me thinking more about my editorial calendar—formerly somewhat loosey goosey but presently more definitive!—as well as the first story I wanted to “tell” post Blog Brûlée.

Coming up with my first story was actually quite easy thanks to our Saturday afternoon field trip to the picturesque Boyden Valley Winery. I was drawn to these just-picked pumpkins perched on an antique wagon, while at the same time, jarred by the realization that our warm and sunny New England summer was over and autumn was in full swing. So a recipe featuring pumpkin became the obvious topic for this first post.

This week I got cooking with a pudding makeover made with canned pumpkin, organic soymilk, maple syrup, and chia seeds as well a few other goodies from my Swag Bag …

… Lake Champlain Chocolate, Vermont maple syrup, and Fat Toad Farm caramel.

Pumpkin Chia Pudding + Blog Brûlée

 

Author: Liz

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 2

• Serving size: ½ cup
• Calories: 190

• Fat: 9g
• Saturated fat: 1g
• Carbohydrates: 24g
• Sodium: 180mg
• Fiber: 11g
• Protein: 8g

Recipe type: Dessert

Save Print

This recipe was easy to make and packed with kid appeal AND great nutrition. Your kids can make it with you in minutes by placing the ingredients in a Mason jar and giving it a shake, shake, shake!

Ingredients

• 1 cup vanilla soymilk
• ⅓ cup canned 100% pure pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• Pinch salt

Instructions

1. Place the soy milk, pumpkin, chia seeds, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a 16-ounce wide-mouth pint-size Mason jar (or any other jar you have in your kitchen), shake vigorously, and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours to overnight.
2. Serve with any number of optional toppers including: caramel, shaved chocolate, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, or your favorite fruit.

Notes

120% vitamin A, 30% calcium, 10% iron per serving

3.5.3226

Every blogger at the retreat brought something to the table. We learned from one another, became instant pals, and left the weekend with a commitment to nurture and support one another. Pictured here are a few of our new friends; we’ll tell you more about the group in our follow-up posts.

{Bottom row from left to right: Julie Harrington, RD from RDelicious Kitchen, Anne Mauney, RD from fannetasticfood, Rachael Hartley, RD from An Avocado a Day, and Kara Lydon, RD from The Foodie Dietitian}

{Top row from left to right: Holly Larson, RD, Grass Roots Nutrition, Meme Inge, RD from Living Well Kitchen, Min Kwon, RD from The Adventures of MJ and Hungry Man, Marisa Moore, RD from Marisa Moore Nutrition, Ashley Galloway, RD from The Fresh Beet, Jen Haugen, RD from Down to Earth Dietitian, and Ann Dunaway Teh, RD from Dunaway Dietetics.

Writer’s cramp has set in, so we’ll have to sign off soon. But stay tuned for a few more Blog Brûlée posts including foraging for Concord Grapes with Casey Lewis, the dietitian from Welch’s (an event sponsor), one of Janice’s favorite activities from the weekend—a wine and cheese tasting with Cabot cheese at Boyden Valley Winery—and Liz’s first experience cooking eggs in the microwave (microwaves hadn’t been invented when she was in college).

For more information on the conference sponsors, visit the Blog Brûlée website.

Here are the Blog Brûlée blog posts from fellow speakers and nutrition bloggers.

Blog Brûlée Recap by Anne at Fannetastic Food

Blog Brûlée + Clean Eating Recipe RoundUp by Danielle Omar at Food Confidence

Blog Brûlée: What I Learned & What I Ate by Kara at the Foodie Dietitian

Mindful Eating: What’s Chocolate Got to Do with it? by Diane Boyd at Cape Fear Nutrition

Best Blogging Conference: Why Families Belong in the Kitchen Together by Jen Haugen, Down to Earth Dietitian

Blog Brûlée: Soaking it All In by Julie Harrington at RDelicious Kitchen

Blog Brûlée Recap (AKA The Most Epic Blogger Sleepover Ever) by Kylie at Immaeatthat

Blog Brûlée Recap & Grilled Cheese Recipe Round Up by Min Kwon of MJ & Hungryman

Blog Brûlée: Quick Recap by Marisa Moore at Marisa Moore Nutrition

Autumn Chopped Salad with Apples, Fennel, Cheddar Cheese, Macadamia Nuts and Apple Maple Vinaigrette by EA Stewart at The Spicy RD

Blog Brulee + Weekly Eats by Kristina Larue at Love & Zest

Making Your Dreams Come True: One Simple Lesson from Blog Brulee by Regan Jones at Healthy Aperture