So far as wholesome breakfast choices go, chia pudding is a reasonably protected wager: 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 not less than for a couple of hours) to realize that pudding-like consistency.

Should you’re speeding to make it out the door (hiya, 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 strive it out myself. It’s been considered 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 (just like beans) they comprise a stability of the essential macronutrients, together with protein, fats, and carbohydrates (and particularly, fiber), Emily Van Eck, MS, RDN, an Austin-based dietitian nutritionist, tells SELF. Fiber’s essential for an entire lot of causes—for one, it promotes good digestion—and most people don’t get almost sufficient of it. What’s extra, Van Eck says, chia seeds are filled with antioxidants, substances that may shield in opposition to every little thing from coronary heart illness to most cancers.

Chia seeds even have “loopy gel properties”—the power to soak up water, milk, or no matter liquid you need to use, and remodel right into a paste, Van Eck says. All you need to do is mix them with some liquid and let the combo sit for some time to thicken up. You’ll be able to eat chia gel plain, but it surely additionally mixes nicely into a wide range 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 might be a deal-breaker. That’s the place the TikTok’s hack is available in: Per the video, utilizing scorching water (as a substitute of cool or chilly) causes the seeds to kind a gel immediately. Then merely add Greek yogurt, a sweetener of some kind, and toppings like recent fruit to make it a balanced (and fast) meal.

I attempted it myself. First, I mixed two tablespoons of chia seeds with scorching 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 somewhat bit.

In complete, 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 verify I wasn’t lacking something. If I glided by reminiscence, or used grab-and-go fruit like all blueberries, I positively would have hit that five-minute mark.) And no, the recent 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 approach, not a gross approach, I promise).