24 Feb Chia Seeds
Chia seeds
where a toy ‘pet’ when I was growing up, I would never have thought that they held so many health benefits and were so versatile to use. Chia seeds are either black or white and there is no significant nutritional difference between the colours, I like to use the white ones because in smoothies and puddings they look better.
Chia seeds are another one of those foods that you say “what doesn’t it do” and is gluten free 😉
* Omega 3Chia seed has 8 times more omega 3 than salmon, more importantly, chia doesn’t contain cholesterol and toxic heavy metal components as fish and other marine or animal products.
* Calcium
Chia seed contains 5 times more calcium than milk.
* Protein
Chia seed possesses 23 percent protein, this is higher than other traditional cereals such as wheat (13.7 %), corn (9.4 %), rice(6.5 %), oats(16.9 percent) and barley(12.5 %).
* Fibre
Comparing the fibre content of chia, it has 1.6, 2.3, 2.6, 8.3 and 9.8 times more fibre per 100 grams of an edible portion than barley, wheat, oats, corn and rice, respectively.
* Iron
Comparing iron content of chia seed with other traditional iron-rich sources products, chia seed has 6, 1.8, and 2.4 times more iron per 100 grams of edible portion than spinach, lentils, and beef liver.
* Antioxidants and vitamins and minerals
Chia contains high portion of antioxidants, and that makes it a very stable source of omega 3, and enables us to store chia seed and flour for extended periods of time without becoming rancid. Chia seed is also a good source of B vitamins.
Nutritional source http://www.chiaseeds.net.au
Chia seeds can be sprouted and when added to liquid swell up and become gel like. They are a great additional to; cereals, muslie bars, trail mix, smoothies (add last just before blending), make yummy puddings, are great as egg substitute, thickener for soups/jams to name a few things.
They are really easy to get now but price varies significantly from supermarket to produce market so if you get into them as much as I do then check out the markets for bulk prices.
Recipe: Chia Pudding
base consists of putting into a jar 1 cup Milk (coconut, soy, almond) and 4 tablespoons chia seeds with 1 tablespoons of sweetener (Agave, maple syrup, rice syrup); then add whatever you like, fruit, seeds, vanilla or cacao and giving it a good shake then leaving for several hours or overnight for the chia seeds to plump up.
What are you favourite inclusions to chia puddings?
