chia seeds
- Thread starter Sissy1983
- Start date
pink_fortitude
Banned
I order them online since I have yet to find them in any stores around here. Some other things I do with them: I will take 2 TBSP chia seeds and 2 TBSP of rice milk with a drop or two of vanilla, put them in a small container and shake it up before placing it in the refridgerator (I like it cold). After the seeds absorb the liquid, I will take a spoon and scoop some onto a banana - I love the consistency of the chia seeds when I eat them like this! I have also have mixed it equal parts with peach (or strawberry, whatever you like) preserves to eat on toast alone or with a peanut butter sandwich. I always consume it after it's absorbed liquid or with a lot of water: because of its high absorbancy *I have read* that it can dehydrate you. I haven't checked up to see how true or not that was, though. The first time I tried it, I thought I would make a smoothie with it - BIG MISTAKE! LOL... it ended up causing the smoothie to thicken to the consistency of yogurt or oatmeal, ew! If you do a google search, you will find plenty of websites full of suggestions for chia seeds. Some are good, some look less than appetizing but it's fun trying stuff out!
Melissa
Melissa
kathryn
Cathlete
I add chia gel (made by putting about 1 T. chia seeds in 1 cup water) to smoothies.
My regular before-workout drink is 1 frozen banana, 8-10 oz of coconut water, 2 Tbsp chia gel and a handful of goji berries. (sometimes I'll be mid-walk and reallize that the sloshing sound I'm hearing isn't my water bottle, but the fluids being retained in my intestines by the chia gel! LOL!).
I also have made chia pudding by adding the seeds to coconut milk with spices. They can also be used to thicken sauces or dressings or dips (they don't have much of a flavor on their own, and once they have absorbed liquids, you usually can't taste them at all.) If you make gel using the whole seeds, it makes kind of a tapioca texture.
You can also use chia gel to replace some fats in some recipes. To replace 1 cup of oil, use 2 T chia seeds soaked in 3/4 cup water.
As Melissa stated, you have to either make the chia gel, or make sure to take plenty of water with chia seeds. They absorb up to 9 times their own weight, and if they don't have fluids to absorb (or have already been saturated by making a gel), they can absorb liquids in your intestinal tract and dehydrate you.
They have many of the benefits of flax seed, but are even better. Two advantages to them over flax is that they digest whole whereas flax needs to be ground to be able to be digested, and they have a very high antioxidant content, which means they don't go rancid the way flax does (you don't have to refrigerate or freeze them like you do flax).
Because of their mucilagenous caracteristics, they can help keep you full longer, and they slow down the absorbtion of sugars so can help keep blood sugar levels more stable. They supposedly were used by people as an energy food, taken before long journeys to keep energy up.
I buy mine online, from www.sunorganicfarm.com , www.livingtreecommunity.com or www.rawfoodworld.com or www.naturalzing.com (depending on who has the best price at the time and what else I'm ordering). I have seen them in a couple of stores I go to, but they are MUCH more expensive than the online sources.
Here are some recipes to get you started:
holiday chia pudding : http://kristensraw.blogspot.com/2009/04/holiday-chia-pudding-recipe-raw-vegan.html
a few recipes: http://www.chiaforhealth.com/chiarecipes.html
a few more: http://www.integratedhealth.com/recipes.asp
You can find a lot more by just searching "chia recipes".
A final thought : don't try to eat the seeds that come with the (ch-ch-ch-) chia pets, as they are treated with pesticides and aren't meant to be eaten (I confess I picked up a chia cat that I intend to use as a surface to sprout some other chia seeds on: they are otherwise kind of a PITA to sprout, it seems, but he chia pet is the perfect surface!)
HTH!
My regular before-workout drink is 1 frozen banana, 8-10 oz of coconut water, 2 Tbsp chia gel and a handful of goji berries. (sometimes I'll be mid-walk and reallize that the sloshing sound I'm hearing isn't my water bottle, but the fluids being retained in my intestines by the chia gel! LOL!).
I also have made chia pudding by adding the seeds to coconut milk with spices. They can also be used to thicken sauces or dressings or dips (they don't have much of a flavor on their own, and once they have absorbed liquids, you usually can't taste them at all.) If you make gel using the whole seeds, it makes kind of a tapioca texture.
You can also use chia gel to replace some fats in some recipes. To replace 1 cup of oil, use 2 T chia seeds soaked in 3/4 cup water.
As Melissa stated, you have to either make the chia gel, or make sure to take plenty of water with chia seeds. They absorb up to 9 times their own weight, and if they don't have fluids to absorb (or have already been saturated by making a gel), they can absorb liquids in your intestinal tract and dehydrate you.
They have many of the benefits of flax seed, but are even better. Two advantages to them over flax is that they digest whole whereas flax needs to be ground to be able to be digested, and they have a very high antioxidant content, which means they don't go rancid the way flax does (you don't have to refrigerate or freeze them like you do flax).
Because of their mucilagenous caracteristics, they can help keep you full longer, and they slow down the absorbtion of sugars so can help keep blood sugar levels more stable. They supposedly were used by people as an energy food, taken before long journeys to keep energy up.
I buy mine online, from www.sunorganicfarm.com , www.livingtreecommunity.com or www.rawfoodworld.com or www.naturalzing.com (depending on who has the best price at the time and what else I'm ordering). I have seen them in a couple of stores I go to, but they are MUCH more expensive than the online sources.
Here are some recipes to get you started:
holiday chia pudding : http://kristensraw.blogspot.com/2009/04/holiday-chia-pudding-recipe-raw-vegan.html
a few recipes: http://www.chiaforhealth.com/chiarecipes.html
a few more: http://www.integratedhealth.com/recipes.asp
You can find a lot more by just searching "chia recipes".
A final thought : don't try to eat the seeds that come with the (ch-ch-ch-) chia pets, as they are treated with pesticides and aren't meant to be eaten (I confess I picked up a chia cat that I intend to use as a surface to sprout some other chia seeds on: they are otherwise kind of a PITA to sprout, it seems, but he chia pet is the perfect surface!)
HTH!
Last edited:
lauramangano
Cathlete
I eat these! I love the taste and consistency. For breakfast, I add two scoops to some seltzer and about a teaspoon of agave nectar, let it sit to absorb some liquid, and drink. It is very tasty, and the seeds keep me full for my workout.
I usually get them in the health food store, but I have heard that buying them online is cheaper.
I usually get them in the health food store, but I have heard that buying them online is cheaper.
pink_fortitude
Banned
Kathryn, thank you so much for your advice!!! I am excited to make some pudding now. 
Melissa
Melissa