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IN THIS ISSUE:

1. How to Eat Chia Seeds
2. Our Top 16 Ways to Eat Chia Seeds
3. Soaking Your Chia Seeds

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How to Eat Chia Seeds

They are an unusual type of seed compared to other varieties and one that might seem a bit intimidating to use for the newbie.

Because they are a tiny hard seed, you wouldn't want to eat them by the handful like other nuts and seeds. Ideally, they need to be raw, but also soaked and blended to obtain the highest amount of benefits.

We have been using chia for many years because of their numerous health enhancing properties and wanted to pass along a few ways we like to use them here in this ezine issue.

We have noticed stores selling bottled juices or kombucha drinks using whole chia seeds. This, in our opinion, is not the most tasty way to eat them. We much prefer the seeds soaked and blended and most always consume them this way for optimal digestion.

Because they naturally absorb lots of water, if you eat them powdered or unsoaked they will tend to be harder to digest and might cause some upset.

One pound of seeds is about $16, but a little bit goes a long way. A pound of chia seeds will last you months, even if you eat a good amount everyday. One of the reasons for this is that they will grow between 7-12 times their volume in water. So, 1/4 a cup of seeds will last you several days after soaking.

(See our page on chia seeds for more on their history and health benefits.)

Our Top 16 Ways to Eat Chia Seeds

1. Smoothies - blend about 1-2T of soaked chia into your favorite smoothie.
2. Salad dressings - processed into any salad dressing they provide a nice texture and additional creaminess when you want an alternative to oil or fat.
3. Sauces and dips - adds an extra thickness to a raw tomato sauce or nut dip.
4. Nut milks - very delicious and nutritious ingredient to a nut milk recipe. We use between 2-3T of soaked chia per quart of nut milk.
5. Chia seed cubes - blend them up with any fruit juice and freeze into ice cubes for a refreshing addition to a summer time drink.
6. Dehydrated raw breads or crackers - add chia seed flour to any raw bread or cracker recipe. See our chia onion bread recipe.
7. Breakfast porridge - soaked chia can be blended with other superfoods for a hardy breakfast meal.
8. Kefir Lassie - Make a “lassie” by blending chia seeds, coconut kefir and fruit juice.
9. Protein shakes - any shake recipe is not complete without one or two spoonfuls of soaked chia, high in protein and great fuel for workouts.
10. Raw Cookies - add them to a raw cookie recipe, soaked or powdered for a cookie dough texture that you can eat straight or dehydrate.
11. Raw pies - excellent soaked and blended into a creamy raw cheesecake or pie recipe, providing a nice texture you can slice. See our raw coconut cream pie recipe.
12. Raw soups - are a great way to thicken a low fat raw soup instead of raw plant fat or oils.
13. Chia Sprouts - they can be sprouted just like alfalpha seeds.
14. Chia Fresca - in Mexico, they mix the whole chia seeds with water or fruit juice to make something they call "chia fresca."
15. Protein bars - add chia seed powder to a protein bar recipe, it will naturally soak up any oil or water content and provide a nice chewy texture.
16. Nut burgers - a delicious addition to our vegan dehydrated nut burger recipe to help give it a meaty consistency.

Chia should be eaten raw for maximum nutritional value but you can also use them in cooking recipes if that suits your lifestyle.

• substitute soaked chia for eggs in baked cookie recipes
• use chia seed powder in soups as a thickener
• use soaked and blended in gravy recipes

Soaking Your Chia Seeds

It is helpful to keep a jar of soaked chia in the fridge, ready for use when you need them.

The measurement ratio we like to use is:

1/4C seeds - 1 1/2C water

or

2T seeds - 3/4C water

They will absorb all of the water in less than 20-30 minutes. This means that they will become a thick gelatin mass you can spoon out and use.

Store them refrigerated, in a jar with a lid, for 2-3 weeks and have them on hand whenever a recipe calls.

Order Chia Seeds Here

Until our next issue...

May you thrive, prosper and evolve in the best of ways!

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All information in this ezine is the personal view of the author and is for educational purposes only and not intended as medical advice, diagnosis or prescription. This information has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to cure or prevent any disease.