Chia

Hey there, back again with another post! The topic for today will be chia. Whenever people see me eating or drinking chia, they always ask what it is, and when I tell them it's chia the most common response is: "like Ch-ch-ch-chia?" And the answer is yes, it's that same chia! Commonly known as chia pet, a plant that would grow around the shape of an animal! It makes me laugh thinking about the seeds of those plants being a part of my diet now. I eat chia pretty much every day because it has countless health benefits, and I think it really adds to some of the foods already in my meals! So in this post I'll be telling you why chia is so good for you, as well as some different ways you can incorporate chia into your diet as well.

Chia is widely known for being a super-food today, and is said to have been the Ancient food of Aztec warriors! So if chia can give enough power and endurance for an Aztec warrior, I'm sure it can handle giving bodies plenty of energy to go about our day!

Chia is a super-food because it has a ton of omega-3s, antioxidants, and fiber and functions to give you energy all day long, keep you full, cleanse your colon, prevent inflammation, and balance your blood sugar.

So now that you know the health benefits of chia seeds, let's talk about how to prepare them for some meals!

Chia seeds can be bought from your local grocery store, and they'll look like this: (My seeds are black, but chia seeds can also be white; the color doesn't affect the taste at all)

So the interesting thing about chia is that they don't taste like anything, they just add a tapioca-like texture to a drink or they could make for a good pudding, topping for your oatmeal/yogurt, an ingredient for a homemade granola bar, addition to your salad, and even a crust for your chicken or fish!

The way that I like to have my chia is for breakfast mixed in with some naked juice. I'll soak three tablespoons of chia seeds with a cup of water in the refrigerator overnight and then spoon some into my juice the next morning, then save the remaining for the rest of the week, I love it! I have it pretty much every morning, and I never get tired of it. Especially because there are so many great juices out there that you can try, or you could add chia seeds to a smoothie as well.

I know that a lot of people like to drink their chia with just their water, so here's a picture of what it'll look like when the chia seeds have absorbed water (9-10 times their weight in water!) and then are immersed in additional water:

 

Another way that I like to eat chia is, as I mentioned earlier, in the form of a pudding. Chia pudding is very similar to tapioca pudding, but much healthier. This is definitely an awesome dessert option, as it's super light and refreshing, but you could really eat this anytime! Here's the recipe:

Chia Pudding

3 tbsp. chia seeds
3/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp honey

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a container (except for the honey if you want your pudding to be sweeter, and add the honey in right before you eat the pudding, but if you want the sweetness to be more subtle, go ahead and mix in the honey at the same time as all the other ingredients).

2. Refrigerate the mixture for as short as ten minutes if you want the texture of the seeds, but refrigerate for a few hours or overnight if you want the seeds to be completely smooth.

3. Serve! If you didn't add in the honey yet, mix it in now, and you can also top the pudding with some fruit or nuts. Now your chia pudding is ready to eat, enjoy!