I've traded chai for chia. While the two aren't really interchangeable, Chai lattes once made a common appearance in my diet and now Chia seeds are common little lunch time buddies.
Chia is a species of flowing plant in the mint family. It was originally grown in South America and used as food from as early as 3500BC. Chia seeds are high in fibre, protein, Omega 3 and Antioxidants. They come as tiny little black or white seeds. I first picked mine up at the health food store, but have noticed them starting to make an appearance at regular supermarkets.
Chia seeds can assist in weight loss due to their tendency to expand with water, thus making you feel fuller for longer. They can balance blood sugar thus providing more constant energy. AND because Chia seeds are a great antioxidant (which fight free radicals in your body) they work as a brilliant "age-defier" (do a I hear a whoop whoop in da house?).
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I sprinkle a tablespoon or so of white chia seeds on my salad each day. (I'm told at my local health food store, nutritionally there isn't really much difference between the black and white seeds, so it's personal preference. The little buggers do have a tendency to get stuck in your teeth like sesame seeds, so I find white a little more inconspicuous). There are stacks of recipes available for muffins, slices, dips, soups etc etc etc. They don't have a lot of flavour, so you can put them in just about anything. In fact, I'm going to sneak a tablespoon of two into the coating of our fish tonight.
Look out world: high omega 3 fish and high omega 3 chia seeds - people might start mistaking me for my daughter!
I sneak them into all of my baked goods! You can replace the fat in recipes if you put 1Tbsp of chia in 9oz of liquid and let it "gel" !
ReplyDeleteGreat thanks!! I've only had them "dry" so far, have not yet experimented with "gelling" them... might have to give it a whirl :)
ReplyDeleteYumm love these little seeds of goodness! You should try making Quinoa muffins with Chia seeds (recipe: http://tresordejour.com/2011/09/26/what-to-do-with-quinoa/ ) they may not look so good but they are deelish!
ReplyDeleteahh thanks Court. Quinoa is one of those things that I always buy at the health food shop and then never do anything with. (or do something with and its horrible...) My friend made me aware recently that there is a very big difference in taste and versatility between quinoa and quinoa flakes. It's the latter than I've always bought... oh well another trip to the health food store for me!
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