Dessert- Detox Style! Baked Cinnamon Pear with Coconut Chai Chia "Faux Caviar" Pudding

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

I am back from a long birthday weekend in New Orleans where I ate and drank everything and anything I wanted!  By the last day my stomach and liver were screaming "Why?  Why do you hate us?"

So now that the vacation is over, I am looking to detox my diet and bring in some fresh healthy food that is low in refined sugars, sodium and chemicals.  

But I still get dessert, right? Right?

I love dessert so any healthy eating plan has to include room for some dessert!

When my little sister was in college, I would send her gift boxes of Harry and David's pears.  So this year for my birthday, my sister sent me a Harry and David's gift basket.  Ohhh those juicy pears!  So delicious but so many pears for one person.  I decided to bake a pear sprinkled in cinnamon for dessert.  No sugar, no fatty crumble topping, no whipped cream, no ice cream ... sigh this healthy dessert is sounding kind of boring.

But no ... wait ... I definitely could jazz up this dessert without feeling too unhealthy.  One of my friends has been adding chia seeds - a seed in the mint family - to her food to promote better digestive health (due to its fiber content) and Omega-3 benefits.  

I have read articles online claiming chia seeds are also an appetite suppressant and can help you lose weight, but a 12 week study did not show that either claim is true.

However I'm always in for trying new food fads, so I thought I would try making "chia pudding" which next to Chia Pets seems to be the top use of chia seeds.

I love chai flavors so I wanted to give "chai chia" a try.  I whipped up a batch of chia seeds, chai spices and coconut milk and let it sit in the refrigerator for about 6 hours.  The result?  A creamy, rich, coconut and chai spice flavored topping that really went well with my baked pears.    

It was a very satisfying dessert without loads of guilt.  Plus it is SUPER EASY to make.  Try it yourself and let me know what you think!

Not the world's best food stylist but it tastes super yummy!

LilyOnTheLam's Baked Cinnamon Pears with Coconut Chai Chia "Faux Caviar" Pudding
(Four servings)

1/2 of a 14.5 ounce can of light coconut milk 
2 Tbsp. Chia seeds (I buy mine from Whole Foods)
1 dropperful of liquid Stevia (or 1-2 Tbsp. maple syrup, honey or agave nectar)
cardamom
nutmeg
cinnamon

2 pears (I used Comice Pears)
1/2 c. water


First: prepare the "Faux Caviar" Coconut Chai Chia Pudding.  Take 1 c. of light coconut milk (or approximately 1/2 of a 14.5 oz. can) and pour into a mixing bowl.  

Note:  You can substitute 1 c. of Blue Diamond Unsweetened Almond Breeze Almond & Coconut Milk Blend for the coconut milk- it will not be as rich tasting but will be lower in calories.  You may want to add 1/2 tsp. vanilla if using Almond Breeze.  

To the coconut milk, add 2 Tbsp. of chia seeds and whisk well.  The chia seeds will instantly begin to soak in the coconut milk and clump together.  Add 1 dropperful of liquid stevia, a dash of cardamom and a dash of nutmeg.  Add 2-3 dashes of cinnamon.  Whisk again well.  Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in refrigerator for at least two hours or even overnight.  You may wish to whisk the chia pudding every couple of hours to help the thickening process.  However this is not absolutely necessary.  Whisk the chia pudding again before serving.

After sitting in the refrigerator, the chia seeds will plump up and the coconut milk mixture will thicken.  The chai scent is intoxicating!  To me, the pudding looks like it is studded with tapioca pearls or caviar.  It may look somewhat odd, but it tastes ultra rich, creamy and delicious.

Second: Prepare the pears!

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice each pear into 8 slices length-wise.  (I keep the skin on, but you can peel them if you would like.)  In a glass baking pan, add 1/2 cup water and lay the sliced pears in a single layer.  Sprinkle cinnamon on top and bake for 20-35 minutes, until tender but not falling apart.

Place 4 slices of baked pear on four individual serving dishes and top with several spoonfuls of coconut chai chia pudding.  Serve, eat and enjoy!      

The warm pear will heat up the pudding, so if you'd rather preserve the cold and hot temperatures you could also serve the pudding in its own bowl next to the warm pear.

This dessert is like summer and autumn in a bowl - rich, creamy, thick coconut and chai flavors with the warm, luscious baked pear.  It's delicious!

The Sign of a Good Night is The Number of Bodily Injuries

Hello Faithful Blog Readers:

I've been out of the loop as I have been entertaining English house guests for the past 2 weeks.  We have hit every beach, bar and nightclub in a 25 mile radius and the Lads have left a string of broken-hearted cocktail waitresses a mile long!  Screw Hurricane Irene - Hurricane Brits left more devastation in Florida!  We have imbibed more alcohol than is medically advised.  We have woken up in scandalous places.  And as the headline indicates- I have war wounds. 

The most prominent war wound was caused by Lily vs. stationary cement bench - it wasn't moving and yet I fell off of it as if it were a mechanical bull ride.  (Stop the world, I want to get off!)  I have this big cement burn on my right ankle.  It basically looks like someone tried to sandpaper my ankle off.  (Sandpaper off the sin!)  When I look at it really quickly it looks like I have a very ugly blurry tattoo.  

In real life, I am tattoo-free - not because I am anti-ink (in fact my favorite tattoo artist is Chris Garver. My adoration stems from my love of his exquisite art, not because I'd like to mount him like a prize grouper on a wall.  I'm a prized groper, if you must know.).  I am tattoo-free because I am flaky.  I can't think of one design I'd want on my body for the rest of my life.  Including this cement burn.  

I should probably have it slathered in Neosporin and wrapped a Hello Kitty bandage around it.  But I can't be bothered.  I am nursing a 2 week hangover/sleep deprivation/food coma intoxication and am quite convinced I have killed so many brain cells that I no longer hold the ability to function on a day-to-day basis.

If I manage to get back to a facsimile of normal, I'd like to head out and check out a pop up bar that will be happening this weekend at the site of Ciro's Speakeasy.  Ciro's is closed for 2 weeks, so NYLON pop up bar will be happening at its location this weekend in Tampa, Florida.  

I love the idea of a pop up bar - it's like a flash mob, but with liquor.  Check out bartender extraordinaire Andres Aleman's website for more information on NYLON.  

Andres' cocktails are like kisses from Jesus ... with alcohol.  One of my favorite drinks from Andres is called a sangrita - it is this warm potion with sriracha and cilantro and a shot of tequila on the side (check out my non-food stylist photo below).  I hate cilantro and I'm not crazy about warm drinks (unless it's an Irish Coffee), but this sangrita made me want to slap my best friend, kiss a busboy hard on the mouth and then dance some Renaissance-era twirly gig jig thing.  It was utterly delicious.  I told the cocktail waitress that it was like a warm alcohol hug from the inside.  Alcohol is not a substitute for love, but if you're lacking some red hot lovin' look up Andres Aleman and give his delicious cocktails a try.  It will get you over the hump and then some!

Tequila to the left, Sangrita to the right - and here I am, stuck in the middle with you!

I hope you all have some intense Labor Day weekend plans lined up.  Mine includes laying on my couch groaning "Why God, Why?" and swearing never to drink again!  I have a zillion blog posts that I am woefully behind on.  Will you stick around and see if they get posted?  Do you still love me with my cement burned ankle? 

Happy Labor Day Weekend to all!