Autumn is in the air, and after an action-packed weekend at the first annual Blog Brûlée healthy blogger retreat at Smugglers’ Notch in Vermont, I created this healthy and delicious, fall-inspired Pumpkin Chia Pudding recipe for you and your family.
(As invited speakers, our travel and lodging was paid for, and we received an honorarium.)
I’ll tell you more about this easy dessert recipe further down in the post. But for now, indulge me a bit as we share highlights from Blog Brûlée.
The theme of the weekend was “Setting Fire to Better Blogs,” and our small gathering of dietitian bloggers achieved that goal with the help of Blog Brûlée’s founders (left to right), Gretchen Brown from Kumquat, Deanna Segrave-Daly from Teaspoon of Spice, Robin Plotkin from RobinsBite, and Regan Jones, founder of Healthy Aperture … as well as a lineup of well seasoned speakers.
Speakers and Topics:
Food Photography Basics, Food Styling, and Post Processing with Gretchen Brown and Regan Jones {The post-processing information presented reminded us to focus more of our editing attention on tweaking exposure}
iPhoneography with Deanna Segrave-Daly {Who knew Snapseed, a smart phone photography app, could do SO much}
The Art of Online Storytelling with Brierley Wright from Eating Well Magazine and Robin Plotkin {A great reminder that an event like Blog Brûlée could lead to multiple stories and blog posts … and a double reminder to maintain an editorial blogging calendar}
Defining and Delivering SEO with Carolyn Ketchum from All Day I Dream About Food {Aunty Em, we’re frightened, but we’re already implementing Carolyn’s tips and reading The Beginners Guide to SEO on Moz.com}
Building Your Virtual Community with EA Stewart, The Spicy RD {We need to (a) get comfy with Google+ and (b) not focus all of our efforts on commenting on others’ blogs, but rather, share others’ content. Show the LOVE}
Branding in the Blogosphere and Beyond with Liz Weiss (that’s me!). I talked about the ingredients needed for a successful brand: Authentic, Reliable, Responsive, Engaging, Evolving.
Show Me the Money: Monetizing Your Brand with Anne Mauney from fannetasticfood {I’m working on my Media Kit as we speak, and I’m using Power Point per Anne’s suggestion!}
The retreat was held at Smugglers’ Notch Resort in Vermont where the service was topnotch. Groups of three were assigned to cozy condos complete with fireplaces, well-stocked refrigerators (more on Liz’s foray into microwaved eggs with roommates Meme and Min in a future post), and gorgeous views. Returning back to reality in MA got me thinking more about my editorial calendar—formerly somewhat loosey goosey but presently more definitive!—as well as the first story I wanted to “tell” post Blog Brûlée.
Coming up with my first story was actually quite easy thanks to our Saturday afternoon field trip to the picturesque Boyden Valley Winery. I was drawn to these just-picked pumpkins perched on an antique wagon, while at the same time, jarred by the realization that our warm and sunny New England summer was over and autumn was in full swing. So a recipe featuring pumpkin became the obvious topic for this first post.
This week I got cooking with a pudding makeover made with canned pumpkin, organic soymilk, maple syrup, and chia seeds as well a few other goodies from my Swag Bag …
… Lake Champlain Chocolate, Vermont maple syrup, and Fat Toad Farm caramel.
- Serves: 2
- Serving size: ½ cup
- Calories: 190
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 24g
- Sodium: 180mg
- Fiber: 11g
- Protein: 8g

- 1 cup vanilla soymilk
- ⅓ cup canned 100% pure pumpkin
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch salt
- Place the soy milk, pumpkin, chia seeds, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a 16-ounce wide-mouth pint-size Mason jar (or any other jar you have in your kitchen), shake vigorously, and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours to overnight.
- Serve with any number of optional toppers including: caramel, shaved chocolate, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, or your favorite fruit.
Every blogger at the retreat brought something to the table. We learned from one another, became instant pals, and left the weekend with a commitment to nurture and support one another. Pictured here are a few of our new friends; we’ll tell you more about the group in our follow-up posts.
{Bottom row from left to right: Julie Harrington, RD from RDelicious Kitchen, Anne Mauney, RD from fannetasticfood, Rachael Hartley, RD from An Avocado a Day, and Kara Lydon, RD from The Foodie Dietitian}
{Top row from left to right: Holly Larson, RD, Grass Roots Nutrition, Meme Inge, RD from Living Well Kitchen, Min Kwon, RD from The Adventures of MJ and Hungry Man, Marisa Moore, RD from Marisa Moore Nutrition, Ashley Galloway, RD from The Fresh Beet, Jen Haugen, RD from Down to Earth Dietitian, and Ann Dunaway Teh, RD from Dunaway Dietetics.
Writer’s cramp has set in, so we’ll have to sign off soon. But stay tuned for a few more Blog Brûlée posts including foraging for Concord Grapes with Casey Lewis, the dietitian from Welch’s (an event sponsor), one of Janice’s favorite activities from the weekend—a wine and cheese tasting with Cabot cheese at Boyden Valley Winery—and Liz’s first experience cooking eggs in the microwave (microwaves hadn’t been invented when she was in college).
For more information on the conference sponsors, visit the Blog Brûlée website.
Here are the Blog Brûlée blog posts from fellow speakers and nutrition bloggers.
Blog Brûlée Recap by Anne at Fannetastic Food
Blog Brûlée + Clean Eating Recipe RoundUp by Danielle Omar at Food Confidence
Blog Brûlée: What I Learned & What I Ate by Kara at the Foodie Dietitian
Mindful Eating: What’s Chocolate Got to Do with it? by Diane Boyd at Cape Fear Nutrition
Best Blogging Conference: Why Families Belong in the Kitchen Together by Jen Haugen, Down to Earth Dietitian
Blog Brûlée: Soaking it All In by Julie Harrington at RDelicious Kitchen
Blog Brûlée Recap (AKA The Most Epic Blogger Sleepover Ever) by Kylie at Immaeatthat
Blog Brûlée Recap & Grilled Cheese Recipe Round Up by Min Kwon of MJ & Hungryman
Blog Brûlée: Quick Recap by Marisa Moore at Marisa Moore Nutrition
Autumn Chopped Salad with Apples, Fennel, Cheddar Cheese, Macadamia Nuts and Apple Maple Vinaigrette by EA Stewart at The Spicy RD
Blog Brulee + Weekly Eats by Kristina Larue at Love & Zest
Making Your Dreams Come True: One Simple Lesson from Blog Brulee by Regan Jones at Healthy Aperture
Love everything about this post (yeah, I’m biased) – cracking up over your comment “I’m frightened Auntie Em” over SEO – feel your pain there. Thrilled to have you be a part of the first Blog Brulee and BTW, this Pumpkin Brulee sounds heavenly!
It was so wonderful spending time with you ladies! I laughed so hard during y’all’s session my stomach hurt. Hilarious! And yes, SEO..scary but so necessary. And yes, microwaved eggs = brilliant! So is this pumpkin chia pudding!
Janice and Liz,
What a brilliant post! I have to say I’m a little jealous that you are cooking from your swag bag already (mine should be arriving soon)! This trip was a gathering of brilliant minds – including yours. Thanks for teaching me so much!
Jen
Jen, let us know what you make from your swag bag? Personally, I can’t stop eating the Lake Champlain Chocolate!
I’m so intrigued about these microwaved eggs! Can’t wait to hear more :). Love this pumpkin chia pudding recipe. I just started getting into chia pudding for breakfast so this pumpkin version will definitely be making an appearance on my breakfast table this season!
My 15-year old son devoured it. I actually told him to stick to the portion since each has 14 grams of fiber! He’s a chia freak 🙂
This looks great! I love chia puddings, always looking for new takes on it 🙂
I can’t wait to make this!
Bravo! This pumpkin chia pudding is FAR OUT and I’m making it this weekend. Great tip from the swag bag!!
Blog Brulee sounds like an awesome time! What a fun weekend filled with awesome bloggers!
I am a CHIA freak too 🙂 I just love chia pudding and could eat it all day long. Can’t wait to try this pumpkin version!! So creative!
We are new to chia seeds and continue to wonder, “What took us so long to try them?” They’re awesome!
This pumpkin chia pudding looks fabulous! So fun to see you both at Blog Brulee and hear your story – especially looking back when you and Janice were feature on skillets along with your great content :). Dinner soon in Boston!
I love this recipe and can’t wait to try it. Always looking for ways to get chia into our diet, and we love pumpkin. Thank you!