Contains:

Free from: Nuts, Palm Oil, Soya, Gluten

Quick confession – I’ve actually tried to make my own chia pudding before. What did I think? Shit. Chia pudding is a stain on the pudding name, it’s that family member no one talks to at Christmas and sits alone outside in the winter cold because it’s unappreciated. So with that in mind, I thought I’d take it from the chia people (literally) to try and change my mind. At £2.99 for a tennis ball sized pot it’s pretty damn pricey BUT you do get a fancy spoon with it (probably in case you feel like re-enacting 127 Hours part way through).

I went with the banana flavour but there’s a pretty big assortment including mango and vanilla. This was probably mistake number one since the only thing that a soft, quasi-gelatinous, banana flavoured food can be compared to is baby food. All I could think of was mashed banana. The texture is gloopy although it holds together really well and isn’t actually as unpleasant as it sounds. The chia seeds within also do well to add something crunchy and a welcome change of pace from what feels like a spoonful of eyeball jelly. To The Chia Company’s credit, I would say that it’s not too far off of the texture of your typical rice pudding but pairing it with banana was definitely a poor choice.

Texture aside, it’s time to look at taste. The only thing I can liken the taste to is a dying man’s handshake (metaphorically… I’ve never licked old man hands). It’s not unpleasant and the banana taste is definitely present but it’s pretty weak and the only word that sticks in my mind is bland. Bland bland bland. There’s simply something missing and I can’t tell what it is. If they were to make it overly banana-ry it would taste all sorts of wrong, if they were to up the coconut milk it would also taste pretty off.

To make this a fair review, I’ll have to compare it to rice pudding. Saying that, this pot actually does pretty well mostly because rice pudding is also weak and milky and, again, not unlike a dying man’s handshake. Also a pro – it’s crazy healthy for you. However at JFP, doing well in that department doesn’t mean I’m any more likely to eat it.

• My Rating: 3/5
• Omnivore Score: 3/5
• Overall: 3/5

Find this product at: Holland & Barrett.