A delicious and easy-to-make snack, breakfast, or dessert, this pudding is also a skin-loving superfood!
In addition to combining the wholesome goodness of chia and flaxseeds, this pudding incorporates the natural soothing properties of marshmallow root to feed the skin from inside out. Lightly sweetened and layered with a vibrant, tangy raspberry jam, it’s the perfect harmony of flavours and textures.
While technically you can replace the marshmallow root infusion in the recipe with just water or milk, it’s a wonderful way to incorporate this skin and gut supportive herb into your daily life.
Marshmallow root is rich in mucilage, a gel-like substance that helps the body retain moisture, keeping skin plump, soft, and dewy. While slimy and slippery may not sound super pleasant, these are wonderful properties to tap into when dealing with dryness. Think of the similar effect of okra or oatmeal have on the digestive tract with their slightly viscous, silky smooth consistency.
Is marshmallow root the same as marshmallows?
While the fluffy marshmallows we eat today in s’mores were made of the very ingredient they were named after Marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis), today there's a clear distinction between the two.
Marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis) comes from the tall perennial plant that thrives in marshlands (hence the name ‘marsh mallow’) has long been used in traditional medicine. It’s botanical name Althea comes from the Greek ‘althos’ which means ‘to heal’.
Coming from a whole plant, marshmallow root is highly nutritive and can be made into a tea, tincture, capsules to consume internally or infused into oil for topical application.
Marshmallow root swells up when combined with a liquid and forms a protective, thick coating around the tissues. This unique property helps to prevent water loss, keep skin smooth, plump and hydrated. Marshmallow root is also used for soothing a sore throat, dry cough and digestive tract.
While it’s possible to make a cold and hot marshmallow root infusions, most herbalists agree that marshmallow’s mucilage is best extracted by a long, cold infusion. Mucilage excretes particularly well from the roots once they get wet in the lukewarm liquid.
Marshmallows, the gooey campfire treats, are a confectionary made primarily of sugar, corn syrup, and gelatin. Although the original marshmallows were made using marshmallow root, modern marshmallows don’t longer contain marshmallow root. They’re rather a sweet, processed snack with low nutritional value.
That said, you can try making healthful marshmallows using the real marshmallow root, high-quality grass-fed gelatin powder (or agar-agar, a type of seaweed for a vegan version) and some unprocessed sweetener.
While technically you can replace the marshmallow root infusion in the recipe with just water or milk, it’s a wonderful way to incorporate this supportive herb into your daily life.
Ingredients:
marshmallow infusion:
-3/4 cup filtered water
-1 heaping tablespoon of marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis)
raspberry jam:
-1.5 cup raspberries (fresh, or frozen and thawed)
-2 tablespoons maple syrup
pudding:
-3/4 cups coconut milk
-3/4 cup marshmallow infusion
-1/4 cup chia seed
-1/4 cup flaxseed meal
-1/4 cup natural yogurt
1/8 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
Make the marshmallow infusion:
Add the marshmallow root to a small jar, and fill it with water. Cover with a lid and let steep for 4 to 8 hours. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, keeping the resulting thick and viscous liquid for the next step.
Make the raspberry jam:
Simply combine the raspberries and maple syrup in a blender and blend until smooth.
Make the pudding:
-Pour the coconut milk and marshmallow root infusion to a medium sized mixing bowl or 4 cup measuring cup with a spout.
-Add the chia seeds, flaxseed meal, maple syrup, yogurt and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine and continue whisking until the mixture starts to *thicken.
-Layer the mixture and raspberry jam in small sized glasses or containers.
-Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
*If you want to achieve well-defined layers, place the mixture in the fridge for about 30 min. to let it solidify before you start layering. If you don’t wait and start layering, you’ll get a more marbled effect.