When I first tried chia seeds (in the form of chia pudding), I wasn’t a fan. I wanted to like them: they’re so good for you. But eating something just because it’s good for you?
Ridiculous!
You don’t have to suffer for health.
If you aren’t big on a certain food, there are plenty of ways to get all your nutrients somewhere else. For example, my sister hates bananas. So she gets her potassium from foods she does like, such as yams, spinach, and broccoli. No big deal. Remember that mental health is an important component to overall health, too. If you’re choking down foods you detest, your mental health will suffer.
Going back to the chia… Although I didn’t like the pudding, I was willing to give the seeds a second chance. Perhaps I’d enjoy them in a different form. After all, everyone in the blogworld seems to adore them. So when the Health Warrior Company offered me some samples, I accepted.
And I discovered that I do like chia seeds. They are awesome in oatmeal!
Never-Ending Oatmeal Bowl
(serves 1)
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 1/2 cups milk of choice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup more milk of choice
- sweetener and add-ins of choice
Either cook oats, milk, and salt on the stovetop, or place your oats and salt in a large, microwaveable dish (I use a pyrex 4-cup measurer) with the milk of choice. Microwave 1 and 1/2 minutes, then add your chia and 1/2 cup more liquid. Microwave 2 more minutes. Don’t open the microwave door yet. Instead, leave your mixture for five minutes. Then stir and put in the fridge—uncovered—overnight. Next day, it will magically be thick and ready for your favorite add-ins!
For sweetener, try using The Melted Banana Trick.
Also, I really like to put the cooked oatmeal in my Magic Bullet and blend just a little. This “blended grains” trick really helps all the flavors to meld together.
Do you ever eat foods you don’t really like, just because they’re good for you?
Or do you ever feel pressured to eat a certain food because other bloggers like it? We are all different and our bodies crave different things (and amounts). We should NOT base our food choices on what anyone else is eating. It’d be really weird (not to mention boring) if we were all exactly the same.
This is one of the main reasons I’m not planning on doing another “day in the life” post even though a lot of readers have asked. I don’t feel comfortable knowing others will compare their eating habits to mine or try to mimic what I eat. The way I eat is only perfect for me. You need to listen to your own body, not to what anyone around you is doing.
I want to start baking with chia seeds. I was reading the gluten free girl blog and she bakes with chia seeds to give body to breads. Sounds good to me.
I would hide them in baked goods and feed them to my fiancee
I would put chia in everything… yogurt, smoothies, baked goods, etc!
chia seed pudding, yum!
Hehe, your chia seed disaster story was pretty funny 😀
I know I can’t enter the contest but I felt compelled to tell you about my experience with chia. It’s been almost 10 years since the hype started about the health benefits of chia, and it was hard to find. Also expensive. But I bought a small package for the sole purpose of growing little chia plants for my community garden to sell at a fair! Apparently the fully grown shrubs are quite pretty-about 5 feet high and wide with purple flowers. I didn’t actually try eating chia for another 5 years!
Purple flowers? Oooo that sounds fun lol!
I would make OATMEAL! And pudding. 🙂
I’d love to try your oatmeal with chia seeds!!!! Thanks for the giveaway!
I have never tried chia seeds and I would love to! I would use them to supplement my difficult but essential Gluten free and vegan diet. I definitely need to try them in oatmeal! I would also try them in possibly baking, and smoothies!
I love chia seeds – I am new to using them – but love how they fill you up and you can put them in anything!!
a few of my favorite raw vegan recipes with chia seeds are:
Sweet Shortbread Chia
4-5 tbsps chia seeds
2 cups fresh apple juice
2 tbsp lucuma powder
1/2 cup dried mulberries
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
Soak the chia seeds in the apple juice. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Leave to soak for at least 10 minutes before consuming.
‘Chia Fresca’
2 tsp chia seeds
10oz pure water
juice of one lemon or lime
agave syrup or raw honey to taste
This is still a popular drink in modern-day Mexico. Simply stir the ingredients together and enjoy.
Fruity Chia
3 small or 2 big apples
8 dates, pits removed
4-5 tbsp chia seeds
1/4 cup dried mulberries
Blend the apples and six of the dates together. Transfer that mixture into a bowl and stir in the chia seeds and mulberries. Chop down the remaining 2 dates into pieces and stir those in too. Leave to soak for at least 10 minutes before consuming.
Bana-paya Chia
1 banana
1 cup papaya flesh
6 dried Turkish figs
4-5 tbsp chia, ground
Blend the banana and papaya flesh together. Put the figs in this mixture and leave it to soak overnight. Blend the whole mixture, including the figs, the next day. Stir in the ground chia seed. Serve.
Banana-nut Bread
2 cups vegetable juice pulp (preferably at least half carrot)
8 tbsp ground chia
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
5 bananas
Mix together the veggie juice pulp and bananas in a food processor. Add in the ground chia and let the food processor run until the seeds are completely mixed in.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl with the walnuts and raisins and mix them in thoroughly by hand. Shape into a loaf. For major yumminess, top with ?Cream Cheese? (see below).
Cream Cheese
Flesh of three avocados
9 dates
juice of 1 or 2 lemons
big handful of dulse seaweed
Blend.
These recipes sound awesome! I definitely want to try the bread, especially! (I can’t leave a comment on your blog, because I don’t have a google or worpress open id. But thanks for mentioning me!)
I’d put them in my Sweet Potato Spoon bread!!!!
3 small sweet potatoes, baked and peeled
3 c. almond milk
2 c. yellow cornmeal
1/2 t. salt
3 T raw brown sugar
dash or two of stevia
2 t. baking powder
1 t. melted coconut oil
1/2 t. baking soda
egg replacer to equal 3 eggs
Preheat oven to 375. Combine 2 c. “milk”, cornmeal and salt in a large saucepan. Stir well w/whisk and cook over medium heat 4 mins. Remove and stir in sweet pots and sweeteners of choice. Combine potato mixture, remaining “milk”, powder, coconut oil, soda and egg replacer in large bowl and stir well. Place into sprayed 11 x 7″ baking dish and bake 40 mins. or ’til done in center! Of course…the 1/4 c. chia seeds will make it all the better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy!