AIIMS-trained gastroenterologist Dr Saurabh Sethi shares gut-friendly date chia pudding recipe

Dr Saurabh Sethi shares a healthy date-chia pudding recipe that satisfies sweet cravings without compromising your healthy diet.

Everyone loves dessert, especially those with a sweet tooth. However, indulging in them while maintaining a healthy diet is a difficult line to walk, especially for people with diabetes or those who are trying to watch their weight.

To help us in this situation, Dr Saurabh Sethi, a California-based gastroenterologist trained at AIIMS, Harvard, and Stanford Universities, took to Instagram on July 19 and shared his recipe for date chia pudding. The detailed steps to make the dish are presented as follows.

Ingredients for date and chia pudding

• 4 large dates
• 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
• ⅔ cup of Greek yoghurt or dahi
• 2 tablespoons of chia seed
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
• ⅓ cup of milk (dairy or plant-based)
• Handful of fresh blueberries

Method of preparation

1. Soak the dates in water for a while. Take out their seeds and add them to a blender.
2. To it, add peanut butter, yoghurt (Greek or plain, whichever is at hand), chia seeds, cinnamon powder and milk.
3. Blend it all until smooth and pour it into a container.
4. Refrigerate the mixture overnight.
5. Add fresh blueberries on top while serving.

Why is the date and chia pudding healthier than regular desserts?

The date and chia seed pudding recipe shared by Dr Saurabh Sethi uses no added sugar and gets its sweetness from the dates.

It is rich in fibre from the dates and the chia seeds, and has protein from the yoghurt (Greek yoghurt is what remains after the liquid portion, whey, has been separated from regular yoghurt). This makes the dessert friendly for the gut and ensures that there is no spike in blood sugar levels after consumption.

Finally, the fresh blueberries added at the end load the pudding with antioxidants and provide micronutrients such as vitamin C, manganese, and vitamin K. Thus, the dessert is far from empty calories, unlike store-bought desserts.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.

This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.

Dr Saurabh Sethi is a California-based gastroenterologist with training from AIIMS, Harvard, and Stanford and more than two decades of clinical experience. He became a social media content creator sharing insight on his area of expertise during the Covid-19 pandemic.