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Sep 25, 2011

Chia Seeds

I am thrilled that I found these tiny little seeds.  I have been adding Chia seeds to my protein shakes and sprinkle them on my salad every day.

Chia seeds (also called Salvia) are fantastic for weight loss apparently as well as many other health benefits, including being very high in Omega 3.  They are known as natures complete super food.


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Chia Seeds have...
8 times more omega-3s than salmon
5 times more calcium than whole milk
15 times more magnesium than broccoli
3 times more antioxidants than blueberries
3 times more iron than spinach
7 times more vitamin C than an orange
2 times more potassium than bananas
more fibre than flax seed
more protein than soy
good source of B vitamins and the bone building mineral combination of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, boron, and copper rich source of the antioxidants chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and flavonol glycosides.


They are a complete source of proteinproviding all the essential amino acids in an easily digestible form. They are also a fabulous source of soluble fibreLike flax, chia is highly 'hydrophilic' - the seeds absorb water and create a type of gel. They can hold 9 to 12 times their weight in water and they absorb it very rapidly,  in less than 10 minutes. They are a fantastic thickening agent, so can be added to soups or sauces to thicken, they can also be sprinkled over salads.  They can be added to smoothies or any drinks or liquids.

I add some chia seeds to my son's cereal in the morning so he gets all of the health benefits and doesn't even know they're there.  Chia seed's don't have any taste, so they can easily be added to things, particularly for children and they won't even know they are there.  I don't know if any particular brand is better than another.  We have an organic brand of Chia Seeds, but there are many out there.

There are so many health benefits of these seeds, just to many to list.  So I have included a couple of videos below that have great information and many of the health benefits of Chia seeds.  You can also read more about them here.





4 comments:

  1. Hi Monnie,

    I liked this blog post. I don't know much about Chia seeds. Is there a particular taste to them? What exactly can you put them in? Do you feel it taste nasty? I was just curious because it sounds like it could be something I could try to aide in my weight loss efforts as long as it doesn't have a nasty after taste.

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  2. They actually don't have a taste at all, totally tasteless, so whatever you put them in, you won't taste them.

    I had a salad for dinner tonight and just sprinkled some on. Many people add them to their water bottle and you can taste that the water isn't smoothe as normal but you can't taste them. My son has them in his water bottle for school, my brother sits at the office with a water bottle on his desk with Chia Seeds in it. You just need to shake it before each drink.

    You can add them to cereal, I add them to a smoothie and I can't even tell they are in it. As they swell up, I add them to some water before adding them to my smoothie. You can also add them to a little water then add the thickened gel to thicken sauces. You can add them to bread, there are Chia Seed breads around now.

    They are great. I have about a tablespoon of them in total, a day, in my smoothies.

    The videos I added in the post show how to soak them and if you look for chia seeds on youtube there are lots of other videos too.

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  3. Your knowledge with chia seeds is quite impressive. I also have great sources about the many benefits of chia seeds. This post reassures me that many people are learning the wonders of chia seeds each day.

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  4. Great post.Thanks for sharing such a useful information with us.

    ReplyDelete

 
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