Red, White, and Blue Warrior Pudding for La Fête Nationale

Quatorze Juillet! July 14th is often thought of as France's Independence Day. More accurately, though, it's French National Day — called La Fête Nationale in French — and commemorates the day, in 1789, when crowds stormed the Bastille, a fortress used as a prison in Paris. The event marks the beginning of the French Revolution. 

So, to the mantra of Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité! reverberating in my head, I decided to make a red, white, and blue version of the warrior puddings we've been enjoying this week. These are fairly easy to make and feel like a healthy dessert option.

Warrior pudding is easy to make. The proportion is 1/4 cup chia to every 1 cup of liquid; you can get creative from there.

Why is it called 'warrior pudding'? Because, as my bag of organic whole chia seeds - tagline "Aztec Superfood" - explains: "The chia seed was eaten by Aztec for strength and was a main staple food along with corn and beans."

Ingredients

Red Chia Pudding

• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup red juice (I used an organic beet-strawberry juice from Trader Joe's)
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• Also needed: lidded mason jar that holds at least 2 cups

White Chia Pudding

• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup milk (I used an organic oat milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• Also needed: lidded mason jar that holds at least 2 cups

Blue Chia Pudding

• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup blue/purple juice (I used a blueberry juice from Trader Joe's)
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• Also needed: lidded mason jar that holds at least 2 cups

For Serving

• fresh organic blueberries
• fresh organic raspberries

Procedure

For each chia pudding. Place maple syrup in the bottom of a mason jar. Pour in the liquid. Add in the chia seeds, stirring so that they do not stick together in clumps. Place the lid of the jar on and shake vigorously. Place in the refrigerator overnight. You'll want to stir or shake the jar at least a few times.

To serve, spoon 1 to 2 Tablespoons of the blue in the bottom of a serving glass. Add in a few blueberries. Spoon in the white, then the red. Top with fresh berries and serve immediately.