Tapioca pudding (aka comfort food)

There is something supremely comforting to me about tapioca pudding.  Maybe it is the memories that come with it of my grandmother cooking a large pot of the stuff and us kids running around hardly able to contain ourselves until it was finished.  Or maybe my love of vanilla, and the fact that it is delicious hot or cold makes it irresistible.  In any case, I like it- a lot!  I have been making it quite a bit over the last few weeks.  I'll be honest and tell you that I have been making minute tapioca, not the whole pearl stuff.  I'm not really one for planning way ahead when I want to make a treat like this, so soaking it over night and all the egg separating stuff is not really up my ally.  But minute tapioca- so easy!  And still so delicious.  After making it the sugar and calorie dense way from the recipe on the box, I decided to change things up a bit to fit my low- sugar lifestyle and make it a bit healthier.

The original recipe with my substitutions in italics:

Minute Tapioca Pudding

1/3 c. sugar Substitute 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp agave instead, OR 2 Tbsp agave + 1/4 tsp liquid stevia
3 Tbsp Minute Tapioca
2 3/4 c. whole milk Substitute 1% milk
1 egg, well beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix egg, milk, sugar or agave, and tapioca in medium saucepan; let stand 5 min. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil. (Pudding thickens as it cools.) Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract. Cover saucepan with lid or plastic wrap and cool for 20 min. Serve warm or chilled. Makes 6 half-cup servings.

My Chocolate Variation:

3 Tbsp agave + 1/4 tsp liquid stevia
3 Tbsp Minute Tapioca
3 c. 1% milk
1 egg, well beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 Tbsp each of unsweetened chocolate and unsweetened carob

Mix egg, milk, agave and tapioca in medium saucepan; let stand 5 min. Add chocolate and carob. Bring to a full boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and almond extracts. Cover saucepan with lid or plastic wrap and cool for 20 min. (Pudding thickens as it cools.) Serve warm or chilled. Stir before serving. Makes 6 half-cup servings.

Notes:

• If you use Stevia, use it as part of a sugar blend- not as the only sweetener in the tapioca!  It will taste awful if you use more than 1/4 tsp or so- take my word for it! 
• The original recipe yields six 1/2-cup portion sizes, each with ~145 calories.  Making it my way, with 1% milk and agave/ stevia, there are just over 100 calories.  But the chocolate/ carob version brings it up to 150 calories.  I am not really into counting calories, but I was just interested to see how a few changes would affect the overall nutrient density- so there you have it.
• You can add raisins, dried cranberries, nuts, etc. to the original recipe but in my humble opinion less is more.

 Enjoy!