So far as wholesome breakfast choices go, chia pudding is a reasonably secure guess: It’s tasty, nutritious, and filling. There’s just one draw back: Prepping it certain is usually a time slog. Most recipes advise refrigerating it in a single day (or a minimum of for just a few hours) to realize that pudding-like consistency.

For those who’re dashing to make it out the door (whats up, it’s me), ready round is clearly out of the query. So once I got here throughout a TikTok by @clairehodginss sharing a hack that supposedly slashes the prep time to lower than 5 minutes, I used to be intrigued sufficient to attempt it out myself. It’s been seen over 400,000 instances, so there should be one thing to it, I figured.

In any case, chia seeds are just about a dietary powerhouse. They’re an ideal base ingredient as a result of (much like beans) they include a steadiness of the necessary macronutrients, together with protein, fats, and carbohydrates (and particularly, fiber), Emily Van Eck, MS, RDN, an Austin-based dietitian nutritionist, tells SELF. Fiber’s necessary for an entire lot of causes—for one, it promotes good digestion—and most folk don’t get practically sufficient of it. What’s extra, Van Eck says, chia seeds are full of antioxidants, substances that may defend in opposition to all the pieces from coronary heart illness to most cancers.

Chia seeds even have “loopy gel properties”—the flexibility to soak up water, milk, or no matter liquid you wish to use, and rework right into a paste, Van Eck says. All it’s a must to do is mix them with some liquid and let the combo sit for some time to thicken up. You possibly can eat chia gel plain, but it surely additionally mixes properly into quite a lot of different dishes, like soups and smoothies.

For folk who fortunately meal-prep, that lag isn’t a giant deal, however for the remainder of us scrambling to feed ourselves within the morning, it could possibly be a deal-breaker. That’s the place the TikTok’s hack is available in: Per the video, utilizing sizzling water (as an alternative of cool or chilly) causes the seeds to kind a gel straight away. Then merely add Greek yogurt, a sweetener of some kind, and toppings like contemporary fruit to make it a balanced (and fast) meal.

I attempted it myself. First, I mixed two tablespoons of chia seeds with sizzling water in a bowl and seen that they virtually instantly started to congeal. Subsequent, I scooped in three-quarters of a cup of plain Greek yogurt and added my toppings. Going by the unique TikTok, I layered strawberry slices and blueberries over the pudding and drizzled some honey throughout to reinforce the sweetness a bit bit.

In whole, the method took me about 10 minutes from begin to end; slicing up the strawberries was essentially the most labor-intensive step. (I used to be going sluggish and stored referring again to the video to ensure I wasn’t lacking something. If I glided by reminiscence, or used grab-and-go fruit like all blueberries, I undoubtedly would have hit that five-minute mark.) And no, the new water didn’t make the entire thing unappetizingly heat—I discovered that the addition of the Greek yogurt cooled it off. By the point I took the primary chunk, the dish was room temp to chilly (however in a refreshing manner, not a gross manner, I promise).

So far as wholesome breakfast choices go, chia pudding is a reasonably secure guess: It’s tasty, nutritious, and filling. There’s just one draw back: Prepping it certain is usually a time slog. Most recipes advise refrigerating it in a single day (or a minimum of for just a few hours) to realize that pudding-like consistency.

For those who’re dashing to make it out the door (whats up, it’s me), ready round is clearly out of the query. So once I got here throughout a TikTok by @clairehodginss sharing a hack that supposedly slashes the prep time to lower than 5 minutes, I used to be intrigued sufficient to attempt it out myself. It’s been seen over 400,000 instances, so there should be one thing to it, I figured.

In any case, chia seeds are just about a dietary powerhouse. They’re an ideal base ingredient as a result of (much like beans) they include a steadiness of the necessary macronutrients, together with protein, fats, and carbohydrates (and particularly, fiber), Emily Van Eck, MS, RDN, an Austin-based dietitian nutritionist, tells SELF. Fiber’s necessary for an entire lot of causes—for one, it promotes good digestion—and most folk don’t get practically sufficient of it. What’s extra, Van Eck says, chia seeds are full of antioxidants, substances that may defend in opposition to all the pieces from coronary heart illness to most cancers.

Chia seeds even have “loopy gel properties”—the flexibility to soak up water, milk, or no matter liquid you wish to use, and rework right into a paste, Van Eck says. All it’s a must to do is mix them with some liquid and let the combo sit for some time to thicken up. You possibly can eat chia gel plain, but it surely additionally mixes properly into quite a lot of different dishes, like soups and smoothies.

For folk who fortunately meal-prep, that lag isn’t a giant deal, however for the remainder of us scrambling to feed ourselves within the morning, it could possibly be a deal-breaker. That’s the place the TikTok’s hack is available in: Per the video, utilizing sizzling water (as an alternative of cool or chilly) causes the seeds to kind a gel straight away. Then merely add Greek yogurt, a sweetener of some kind, and toppings like contemporary fruit to make it a balanced (and fast) meal.

I attempted it myself. First, I mixed two tablespoons of chia seeds with sizzling water in a bowl and seen that they virtually instantly started to congeal. Subsequent, I scooped in three-quarters of a cup of plain Greek yogurt and added my toppings. Going by the unique TikTok, I layered strawberry slices and blueberries over the pudding and drizzled some honey throughout to reinforce the sweetness a bit bit.

In whole, the method took me about 10 minutes from begin to end; slicing up the strawberries was essentially the most labor-intensive step. (I used to be going sluggish and stored referring again to the video to ensure I wasn’t lacking something. If I glided by reminiscence, or used grab-and-go fruit like all blueberries, I undoubtedly would have hit that five-minute mark.) And no, the new water didn’t make the entire thing unappetizingly heat—I discovered that the addition of the Greek yogurt cooled it off. By the point I took the primary chunk, the dish was room temp to chilly (however in a refreshing manner, not a gross manner, I promise).