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chia pet! by JulieFinestone, on Flickr
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia! If you lived through the 1980′s you probably have that little jingle stuck in your brain. Before there were chia Homer Simpsons, Scooby Doos and Shreks, there was the original Chia Pet, a terra cotta ram, sold with a plastic tray and a packet of chia seeds. Just soak the seeds, spread them on the pet, keep your pet watered, and in just days it will sprout little grassy sprouts! What fun!
I doubt many of us actually ate the sprouts, and it wasn’t long before we forgot to water our seedlings or we moved on to other distractions. But wasn’t it weird how the seeds made the water like jelly when you soaked them?
Turns out those seeds are food! Wow, who knew? The Mayans apparently did, because they named the seed Chia, their word for “strength.” I’m learning about the strength of this tiny seed by doing some research and have come up with some really interesting properties and uses for my family!
- Chia seeds were once called “Indian Running Food” for the energy they impart. With two kids working and two volunteering (all in different places across the metro area) I might have to call it “Mom Running Food!”
- Chia seeds contain 30% protein and a nice range of essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
- They can be eaten raw, soaked, sprouted or cooked. Their flavor is very, very mildly nutty, almost flavorless. I do like a flexible food! (If your seeds taste bitter at all, they are rancid, throw them away, do NOT eat them!)
- When soaked, chia seeds release soluble fiber into the water, turning it into a gel. The gel is colorless, somewhat like a not-quite-set Jello but flavorless, and the seeds aren’t gritty or hard to chew. More on that in a minute.
- Epidemiologic studies have shown that increased fiber in the diet can reduce blood pressure and inflammation, according to the Mayo Clinic website. While some forms of fiber (insoluble) can bulk up stools and chew up the gut, scraping away its protective coating and good bacteria, the kind of fiber in Chia Gel (soluble) is very soothing to the intestinal tract and feeds good bacteria. I don’t like popping pills for inflammation, so I’m giving chia a good test.
Today I want to focus on Chia Gel. It couldn’t be easier to make. Here’s the recipe I’ve heard bandied about: Place 1/3 cup chia seeds in 2 cups of filtered water and shake it up. Let it sit for ten minutes or so then shake it up again and refrigerate it overnight. Keep it refrigerated and use it in 3 weeks.
I want to make a different suggestion, though. Chia are very delicate seeds, much like flax seeds. And like flax, they go rancid very, very quickly. Their seed coat will protect them to a certain degree when they are harvested, but you want the absolute freshest seeds you can obtain. Soaking or sprouting will open the seed coat and start the oxidation process. It takes an incredibly short time for these delicate seeds to become rancid. I recommend eating the sprouts as soon as little “tails” are seen on them, long before they turn green, and only making one serving of gel at a time.
To make one serving of Chia Gel: Add one-sixth of a teaspoon of chia seeds to one-sixth of a cup of water, stir. Wait ten minutes, stir again, drink.
Yeah, where exactly does one get a one-sixth teaspoon measure? A sixth is half of a third of a teaspoon, or a third of a half if you have spoons in those increments. Take a look at the quantity, feel it in a “pinch,” count out the seeds, really get to know that quantity. Now take a quarter cup of water and add half a quarter cup to it and look at where it rises to in your favorite cup. How long does it take to draw that much water from your tap or filter bottle? And you’re not going to commit some grave error by adding your seeds to a half cup of water, either, your gel will just be a little thinner. After a while, you’ll get to know these measurements and it will be second nature to you.
What can you do with the gel?
- Drink it to stay hydrated. A couple tablespoons of gel help keep you hydrated, and won’t cause the stomach upset that plain water can on a very hot day. For feverish patients or people working in the sun or extreme heat, I recommend making gel with coconut water for an extra boost of electrolytes.
- Take a couple tablespoons before a meal. When taken before food, the gel slows down the absorption of carbohydrates and sugars into the bloodstream, keeping blood sugar more level for a longer period of time. It also sends a “full signal” to the brain, so you are satisfied with fewer calories.
- Add it to foods. Salad dressings, pan sauces and reductions, condiments, smoothies, chocolate milk…think “what would be yummy slightly thickened?” and you’ll be thinking of things to add your gel to (or make your gel with).
- Mix it with bentonite clay for a healing poultice. If you’ve read Katie’s clay post, you are already familiar with the healing power of clay. I’ve been mixing clay with different media to test its effectiveness and have found clay+chia gel to be more effective at halting infection than clay+water.
- Creating gel with freshly juiced fruits and veggies makes a light, tasty addition to a meal, like Jello was to us baby boomers.
The recommendations I’ve read say to take three tablespoons of Chia gel with its seeds three times a day. Soluble fiber can cause gas if you’re not used to it, so I would recommend starting with one tablespoon once a day and working up to three by three a day gradually if you are going to go the three by three route.
I don’t really buy the whole “superfood” thing. There are valuable nutrients in chia, and it certainly has some fascinating properties and useful nutrition. But I’m not at all convinced the “3×3″ route is necessary for every day. I have been using it more as a carb-barrier for carb-heavy meals I can’t avoid or alter and for a stomach filler when I’ve already had adequate nutrition for the day but my stomach is growling. I plan to keep the seeds on a very frequent rotation in my emergency kit alongside the coconut water as well.
And while Chia Seeds can be a bit pricey (I spend about $8 for a pound of seeds), that single pound makes about 24 cups of gel…more than a month of “3×3″ servings.
What would you or do you do with Chia Gel?
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop and Fight Back Friday, hosted by Food Renegade.
I’ve been wanting to add more coconut oil to my diet for a while now. I cook with it almost exclusively and add it to the occasional smoothie. But from what I’ve seen from the literature, I need to start at about 2 tablespoons a day, and increase slowly up to about 5 to get the maximum health (and weight loss) benefit. I calculate I’m getting a good 1/2 tablespoon a day just from eating what I’ve cooked in it.
When it was time to put the Christmas decorations away for the year, I found the plastic mold from a box of Advent calendar chocolates hanging around. Although I like the flavor of coconut oil, it is difficult for me to eat plain because the texture just doesn’t feel right. One thing I can always eat plain, though, is butter! Yum! So, I melted equal parts of butter and coconut oil, washed up the mold and poured the delectable solution into the little hearts. Isn’t it cute? Each heart holds about 1/2 a tablespoonful of mixture. Can I eat two of these a couple times a day? Oh yes, I certainly can!
I’m still considering going grain-free. Anna commented on my Low Carbing It post with some really fascinating info that I’ve been researching. The more I study this issue, the more I think I need to cut out the grains. Totally at first, at the very least for a few weeks. But I’m pretty chicken about asking my family to go down that road with me. Funny, I didn’t think twice about offering them a raw meat meal, but a meal without bread just seems beyond the pale.
So, I’ll start with my coconut oil treats and see what happens.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays, hosted this week by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.
Cabinet by newrachael, on Flickr
(NOT my cabinet above)
I have a real fondness for carbs. The mere smell of toast is enough to put me in a feeding frenzy. The thought of honey in my coffee makes my mouth water. Pasta, bread, potatoes or rice: now that’s a sound architectural base for a filling meal.
Back, oh, six years ago now, I lost a few pounds on the South Beach diet. But it was a struggle and I didn’t enjoy the food. (This was before I started using real foods like butter and cream and raw milk.) And as soon as “diet time” was over, the pounds packed right back on. I guess you could say I’m one of those that probably needs to lay off the carbs permanently. I’m also quite an addict: one piece of toast today leads to two tomorrow, etc.
But, for the last couple weeks I’ve been playing at low carbing my diet. Nothing extreme or regimented, just making different choices. My normal breakfast has been a couple eggs fried sunny side up in coconut oil. It’s the right size and usually keeps me from getting hungry again before lunch. Yesterday when the kids made sloppy joes for lunch, I had my meat in a bowl with a dollop of creme fraiche instead of on a bun. Delicious! And the Chicken Fettucini Alfredo my daughter made for dinner a few days ago tasted just right over broccoli instead of noodles.
I’ve been kind of keeping track of my total carbohydrate count for this most recent visit to Low Carb-land. I’ve been averaging less than 100 grams, some days slightly higher, but most days significantly less. Yesterday, for example, I was at about 50, even after a serving of my daughter’s homemade ice cream.
I haven’t seen a single pound drop and my clothes aren’t fitting differently so far. I do have a fairly good energy level and haven’t needed quite as many midday cups of coffee. After seeing Fathead, (yes, Kelly, Netflix finally found a copy for me) I’m convinced that even if I never lose an ounce I’m on the right track. So, I’m going to stick to it and not expect any weight loss. I’ll be doing my body a favor, even if it never does my wardrobe any favors back.
Okay, I’m going to try making whey one more time. I really wanted to take advantage of the lacto-fermented veggie recipes in NT, but just haven’t been able to get the whey thing working. I picked up my raw milk order today and am separating milk and cream on the counter right now. Along with my order I got some pasture butter and clarified that so my allergic daughter can benefit without breaking out. I got a last minute call from the farmer that she couldn’t make any creme fraiche for me this week, so we put that off a couple weeks.
Last night I had an attack of heartburn, my first in the month of February. It occurred to me: I hadn’t had any fermented foods at all yesterday. I got to the kitchen and poured myself about a half cup of my son’s eggnog and felt immediately better. My stomach didn’t act up again all night. I must remember this!
We had leftover cherry muffins for breakfast, and cleaned out the fridge for lunch. I ran out to the grocery store and on my way home got a call from hubby: too many sickies in the house and we’d be skipping church. Oh, and could I pick up dinner on the way home? He had a Taco Bell craving. Blech. The kids were ecstatic. I made some Coconut Chicken soup that I sipped while I messed around in the kitchen with various projects I’m working on. I had some flour soaking that I didn’t use this morning for pancakes (no eggs), so I put together some blueberry muffins for tomorrow’s breakfast and put the rest of the flour in a Mason jar in the fridge. Those pancakes can wait.
I head back from the egg farmer, his chickens aren’t pastured, and are fed a mash of corn and soy, just what we don’t need. Still looking! I haven’t been on the scale, but I put on a dress today that was too tight at the beginning of the month and it almost fit. Hm. Perhaps I’ll step on the scale tomorrow.
The Dark Side of Fat Loss
