Cooking with Chia

[Freddy]

I want to start adding Chia seeds to my diet and I was wondering what's the best way to do that? Should I just eat them by themselves, can I cook them? What's the best way to prepare them?

[enviroTodd]

There is so much you can do with them. THey can be as easy or complex to use as you want. When I first started using them, I bought the whole seeds (black, I don't knwo what to do with the white ones, but they're more rare anyway) and just added them to smoothies. They do require you to wait about 5 minutes after you add them to a liquid if you want them to expand before you eat them. I like them that way because they get a tiny little jelly texture which makes them easier to swallow. If you don't expand them, they're like hard little poppy seeds. Whichever you prefer. Since then, I've also added them to my breakfast granola in the morning. I mix them with almond milk or kefir or both. That said, if you buy ground chia seeds, you can make things like puddings or add it to desserts so you'll get all the added protein and nutrition without even really knowing it's there.

[TammyBear]

A lot of the packets actually have recipes on them. You can always look to see if any of those appeal to you before you buy them. THe puddings are gross fyi

[BabyButtons]

There is so much you can do with them. THey can be as easy or complex to use as you want. When I first started using them, I bought the whole seeds (black, I don't knwo what to do with the white ones, but they're more rare anyway) and just added them to smoothies. They do require you to wait about 5 minutes after you add them to a liquid if you want them to expand before you eat them. I like them that way because they get a tiny little jelly texture which makes them easier to swallow. If you don't expand them, they're like hard little poppy seeds. Whichever you prefer. Since then, I've also added them to my breakfast granola in the morning. I mix them with almond milk or kefir or both. That said, if you buy ground chia seeds, you can make things like puddings or add it to desserts so you'll get all the added protein and nutrition without even really knowing it's there.

I like them best when they are jelly-like too! I ate them once when they were still hard and they all got caught in my teeth! I didn't like that experience nearly as much. My favorite way to eat them is in pudding but they're good in smoothies too

[enviroTodd]

I like them best when they are jelly-like too! I ate them once when they were still hard and they all got caught in my teeth! I didn't like that experience nearly as much. My favorite way to eat them is in pudding but they're good in smoothies too

I think I like them in smoothies best, too, though they do mix well with a granola style cereal if you enjoy that for breakfast. The only part I find frustrating about putting them in smoothies is that a lot of them stick to the cup, so you either spend time fishing them out with a spoon or you lose a certain number to the dishwasher.

[BabyButtons]

Haha! Yeah they really can be a pain sometimes. I can admit I've sent more than my fair share to the dishwasher

[Bethie]

Haha! Yeah they really can be a pain sometimes. I can admit I've sent more than my fair share to the dishwasher

What is it about small foods like rice, chia seeds, corn meal? Why can't the dishwasher get them off? It just blasts them around and sticks them to dishes. Detergent commercials should focus less on water spots and should focus more on grains of rice!

[Freddy]

A lot of the packets actually have recipes on them. You can always look to see if any of those appeal to you before you buy them. THe puddings are gross fyi

Thanks Tammybear. I'll see if I can find some packets to get some ideas. Lately I've been buying them in bulk so I didn't have packages

Thanks for your suggestions as well enviroTodd...and yeah, I've discovered they really aren't dishwasher-friendly haha