Elyn Pow's Pastel Chia Pudding Recipe Takes The Guilt Out Of Desserts

In this foodie-centric Fitness Kickstart episode, fitness evangelist Elyn Pow demonstrates a gorgeous (and secretly healthy) chia pudding recipe at her Rawsome cafés, and how the formula allows a smidgen of Nutella, Milo or Oreos, for a satisfyingly balanced treat.

Above Elyn Pow reveals a perennial favourite chia pudding recipe offered at her cafés.

Let’s get real – how many of us have attempted a juice cleanse and fell off the bandwagon with comical catastrophe? Elyn Pow, the founder of Rawsome isn’t shy to own up. In fact, that episode in 2015 led her to formulate a range of chia seed puddings to supersede the lack of substance and satiety in a juice cleanse.

The marriage of her favourite mango and the nutrient-dense seed saw the start of a chia pudding specialty. “I wanted to do something that’s easy to eat, that won’t make you feel like it’s a chore to lose weight or fulfill your hunger pangs,” shared the entrepreneur-mum, who looks 10 years younger than her 41 years.

We popped over to her airy HQ in Sungai Buloh to chat about the enterprise merging a love for food, fitness, that's flavouring the burgeoning, local healthy F&B scene.

Above Rawsome's Elyn Pow created a range of attractive chia puddings to replace the lack of satiety from juice cleansing.

How do your chia puddings help people get the nutrition to fuel their fitness goals?

It’s a superfood, high in antioxidants, and also anti-aging. It fills you up, is high in fibre, and packed with a lot of super nutrients. Just by taking a spoonful each day helps your digestive system.”

How did these puddings turn into a business?

“I tried it on myself for 2 weeks and discovered its benefits. I was into yoga at that time and I gave some to a few yoga instructors in KL who posted it on their Instagram. Requests began pouring in, so I started doing the puddings in small batches. To my surprise, everyone was like, ‘Wow, what is this!’ It tasted good and fills you up. Some lost weight by replacing their meals with this little chia pudding. So, here we are today!”

Above The plant-based menu at Rawsome contains every shade from the rainbow. Photo: Courtesy of @_rawsome/ Instagram

Why was it important to get kids excited about chia puddings?

“One of the reasons behind the chia seed pudding was to educate the younger generation and their sweet tooth cravings – Instead of ice cream, waffles, and chocolate, why not try something healthy? That’s where our bestseller, the Mutella, comes in. I use a little bit of Milo, milk, Oreos and Nutella to create different layers and tried it on my kids. It was a success!”

What prompted the healthier versions of nasi lemak, rendang tempeh and pan mee?

“My customers can’t be buying chia seed pudding from me everyday, and like everyone, I love local food so what I did was tweak local favourites into healthier versions. For example the sambal in nasi lemak is very rich and has the highest calories in the whole dish, so we did sambal without oil, curry chicken with soy meat, removed the santan, added boiled egg and didn’t fry the vegetables. Everything was low in calories but familiar; it was a hit.”

What’s your fitness routine like?

"Because I’m a mum to a teenage daughter and a 6-year-old son, I try and do everything before they come home. I’ll wake up at 6am, get ready and leave the house by 7am. I work out from 7.30am-11am and come back to my HQ to follow up with my work and meetings. After lunch, I’ll visit a few of my outlets and try to be back by 3pm so I can sit down and wait for my kids to arrive."

Above Elyn Pow has grown Rawsome into a business with 4 stores, adding on a fitness studio and vegetarian main meals to her dynamic brand.

Please share: A fun chia pudding recipe to do with the kids.

"’l'll share my recipe for a mango beetroot chia seed pudding. It’s colourful, very fruity, and is a pretty tinge of pink and yellow. The beetroot content helps lower blood pressure, too."

Rawsome’s Mango Beetroot Chia Seed Pudding recipe

Makes a 250ml glass

1. Blend 3 pieces of digestives biscuits into a sandy texture, then layer it at the bottom

2. Make the pink chia pudding: Combine 10ml beetroot juice with Greek yogurt (4 Tbsp) and chia seeds (1 Tbsp)

3. Layer it above the digestive biscuits

4. Make some jelly without sugar. Once cool, slice thinly and place above the chia pudding layer

5. Make mango purée: Blend half a fresh mango in a blender until smooth

6. Layer the purée above the jelly strips

7. Garnish: Top it with cacao nibs or chopped nuts

Topics

Fitness Kickstart chia seeds Recipe Healthy Food Balanced diet Dessert Rawsome

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