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.
you should try adding flaxmeal to oatmeal. it makes everything SO juicy and big and voluminous and everything else i think you’d like. plus it tastes great 🙂
Thanks, Joanne! I have a bag of flaxmeal in my fridge, and I haven’t done much with it at all because I never know what to do with it. Now I’ll try that!
I dunno if I can say I let pressure to eat certain foods affect me, but I definitely am open to food suggestion! I will almost invariably try a food if it is available to me or made known to me.
I agree with you on the avocado thing though. I don’t find that avocado added to sandwiches/salads/on their own do much for me. BUT, and this is a big BUT, avocado *smoothies* are pure awesome. Sweetened like I dessert, I love ’em. Add sweetener, maybe some coconut extract/oil, a pinch of salt, a bit of ice and blend away. It’s really good and refreshing in the summer.
As for foods I genuinely dislike…. grapefruit. I can’t get over the bitter element. Also most fake fruit flavors. (Artificial banana = suck, real banana = win)
I can’t think of any food I dislike to the point of flat-out refusing to consume it save for alcohol. I HATE alcohol.
Oh, but alcohol’s not really “healthy” (red wine studies aside), so I guess it doesn’t count in the first place!
I’m not big on alcohol either… I told my friend that maybe it’s because alcohol is sweet and fruity, not rich and creamy and chocolatey (well, the vegan ones, anyway). But even in chocolate drinks, it just has such a STRONG flavor. I probably just don’t like it because I don’t like when one flavor trumps all others and makes it impossible for you to enjoy all the distinct tastes. Like cilantro. Yuck!
Well said. Everyone’s different and what works for one person might not work for another. Each body is different and the important thing is learning what you like and what your body needs. If I don’t like something I won’t eat it, healthy or not, you have to make sure your physically and mentally happy.
Yummm! I like your voluminous oat trick Katie! It makes me excited to get up in the morning and see them! Also a healthy food I cant bring myself to like even when i mix it in muffins or something is banana. I dont know why there is something about them I really dislike, its a good thing I like oats though cos theres alot of oat recipes on here 🙂
hahahha also I ate raw kale the other day to be healthy but i bit down so hard a small corner of my tooth chipped off! think i need to eat it some other way thats a littly yummier and less dangerous…lOL!
LOL I guess it’s not very “healthy” when it’s harming your teeth, huh? 😕
I try to eat foods I like but sometimes I make something which doesn’t taste so good. Then I’m in dilemma wheter to eat it or to waste it. Usually I do eat it because it’s better than to stay hungry. When there’s nothing tasty around I’d eat untasty foods just because I need to eat something.
I hate wasting food too! Usually, I try to save something that isn’t good, by adding new flavors or a sauce. But sometimes I’ll also try to pawn it off on a friend. Some of my guy friends will eat ANYthing!
I totally agree with what you said! “Healthy foods” don’t mean “foods-you-have-to-eat-otherwise-you-are-a-bad-person”..!
By the way, what do you think about “superfoods” like chlorella, spirulina, lucuma, maca, etc.? I sometimes wonder if is actually worth to buy them, because they are so expensive (and a lot of people live well without them)(not to mention that these foods travel a lot to get to your plate)… On the other hand, they seem so good-for-you, fun, etc… but I wonder how far the sellers influence our judgment.
Anyway, I digress.
Don’t you have “two kinds” of “healthy food” that you don’t like?
For me, it’s as if there are the “foods I don’t like and I don’t want to like” (like natto, combination of mint+chocolate or orange+chocolate, vegetables juice, etc.), and “foods that I don’t like but wish I’d like them” (like olives, umeboshi, dulse, etc.)…
Yeah, I don’t really think it’s worth the high cost… you’re so right that people are healthy without them! Now, if it were a proven fact that someone who eats acai powder or maca or whatever lives 10 years longer, then I’d definitely get on that bandwagon! 🙂
Teehee, I wish I’d known you didn’t like chia earlier, because I would’ve told you to do precisely this with them! I’ve never been able to make chia seeds into raw pudding (they just never thicken up for me the way they do in the blog world!!) but I love how thick and solid they make cooked oatmeal when you add them at the beginning. Solid chia oats may or may not be my standard work lunch 😉
Hey Katie! I love my chia, so it’s nice to see them on your blog, only they’re about 10 times the price of flaxseeds so I usually don’t buy them! Tip: I suggest not microwaving your chia, because heat destroys the omega-3s. If you stir them in at the end you’ll get the same result + omega-3s!
Thanks! I’ll try it!
Awesome awesome post! And I have a bag of chia seeds that would be perfect for this breakfast. I’m going to try it out tomorrow :)!