Chia Seeds: Understanding What They Are (Plus Chia Recipes)

Most likely you have heard more than once about the so-called superfoods, which are supposedly able to make us healthy and replace other products.

Most likely you have heard more than once about the so-called superfoods, which are supposedly able to make us healthy and replace other products. These include chia seeds. We tell you what chia is, how it is useful and how you can cook it.

 

Chia seeds are the seeds of the "Spanish sage" or "white chia" plant. They have long been known in Mexico, and now this plant is cultivated in almost all of South America and Australia.

Benefits of chia seeds

Seeds of Spanish sage are so valuable that they were used as currency by the Aztecs. It is not known how people then learned the value of the composition of seeds, but current researchers have reported the following facts about them:

Chia contains 8 essential amino acids for the human body, while the amount of protein in seeds can reach 17%. If you use them daily, you can switch to a vegetarian diet without harmful consequences. The seeds contain fiber, which stimulates the intestines, but does not cause flatulence. Chia seeds have the ability to swell when immersed in liquid. Therefore, they are able to relieve hunger for a long time. Omega-3 in them is not less than in red fish. Chia contains a large amount of calcium. Chia seeds are also rich in iron, selenium, magnesium, and potassium.

 

The scope of chia seeds in cooking is not limited. It can be soups, salads, energy drinks, protein shakes, pastries. Most often they are used as a dietary supplement, since chia does not have a pronounced taste or smell, which means that they will not have a strong effect on the dish. However, there is one “but”: the grains contain phytates, which interfere with the absorption of certain nutrients from other foods. To avoid their effects, it is recommended to soak chia seeds for 15 minutes before cooking.

In addition, you should not use this superfood for people with low blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies to sesame or mustard, as well as while taking a course of anticoagulants and aspirin. Personal intolerance to the product is also possible, so for the first time it is better to eat 10-15 g of chia in its pure form to make sure that it is absent.

Coconut milk pudding

 

35 g of chia seeds; 100 ml coconut milk; 15 ml of liquid honey; 1 mango, half a peach, or a handful of berries 30 g almonds, cashews or walnuts.

Mix coconut milk, seeds and honey. Then refrigerate for 8 hours. During this time, the liquid will thicken, and the chia should acquire a jelly-like structure and increase in size by 4 times.

Before serving, put finely chopped fruit and nuts on the pudding.

Berry smoothie

 

50 g raspberries; 50 g blackberries; 50 g blueberries; 50 ml pomegranate juice; 30 g of chia seeds; 20 g of liquid honey; 50 ml filtered or boiled water.

Grind berries with chia with a blender, pour juice and water, add honey and beat with a mixer.

Rice porridge with chia

100 g brown rice; 2 eggs; 70 g of chia seeds; 30 ml soy sauce; 7-8 green onion feathers; 50 g fresh dill; 50 ml warm water or vegetable/meat broth.

Boil rice in salted water until half cooked. Soak chia for 10 minutes in the selected liquid, then send to rice, at the same time add finely chopped herbs and soy sauce to it. Bring the porridge to readiness. Separately, boil hard-boiled eggs, cut into cubes and mix with rice. You can sprinkle with additional chia seeds before serving.

 

Crackers with tomatoes

60 g dried tomatoes; 10 g dried basil; 35 g of chia seeds; 5 g salt; 40 ml of liquid honey; 70 ml of warm water; 5 ml of olive oil; 60 ml of fresh lemon juice (packed will not work, because it contains sugar, it is better to squeeze the juice of 1 lemon).

Soak the seeds overnight in warm water. In the morning, mix them with tomatoes and basil, then grind with a blender. Pour the resulting mixture with honey, lemon juice and olive oil, mix thoroughly and put in the form of a layer on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. The height of future crackers should not exceed 8 mm. After a day, they can be eaten.

Healthy yogurt dessert

 

70 ml of Greek yogurt without additives and sweeteners; 35 g of chia seeds; 30 g of oatmeal; 50 ml of milk; half a banana; 60 g seasonal berries.

Puree the banana with a blender, add all the other ingredients and beat lightly with a mixer. Pour the resulting mixture into a glass, cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

This recipe is great for a nutritious and nutrient-rich quick breakfast. Before serving, this yogurt should be thoroughly mixed.

Spicy pumpkin biscuits

30 g pumpkin; 150 g flour; 70 g of chia seeds; 1 banana; 60 g butter; 60 g sugar; 15 g baking powder; 10 g each of cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger.

Puree the banana and pumpkin, melt the butter and pour into them, then add chia, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, mix. Add flour with baking powder and knead the dough.

Place the resulting mass in a layer 1 cm thick on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. With a wet knife, mark the future cookie squares, introducing it by 0.5 cm. Bake for 20-25 minutes in an oven preheated to 180 degrees.

Banana can be replaced with 2 eggs, and butter with coconut.

Omelet with chia seeds

 

3 eggs; 35 g of chia seeds; 40 ml of milk or sour cream; 1 onion; 1 bell pepper.

Beat eggs with milk / sour cream, soak chia seeds in the resulting mixture for a quarter of an hour.

Onion and Bulgarian pepper cut into half rings, lightly fry in a pan in vegetable oil, add eggs, salt and cover. After 2-5 minutes, turn the omelet on the second side and keep on low heat until fully cooked.

Chicken nuggets

2 chicken fillets; 2 eggs; 80 g of chia seeds; 2 cloves of garlic; dried herbs to taste; breadcrumbs.

Cut the fillet into small pieces. Beat the eggs, soak the seeds in them for 15 minutes. Then add herbs, salt, crushed garlic to them, mix thoroughly.

Dip the meat pieces in the egg mixture and then in the breadcrumbs. Fry for 3-5 minutes in vegetable oil.

Be healthy!