Chia

So what is this stuff anyway?!?  It's seems to be in everything now. It's in the coconut granola Vince wanted from Aldi, te in drinks that you get in the refrigeration section (I've actually tried these and wasn't a fan. Drinking slimey beads was hard to stomach.). It's touted as a superfood but why?  Green tea is too,  but you need to drink SO much of it to make it worthwhile.  So I decided to look into chia a little and share what I found.

Ok, so first and foremost it's not related to or in any way like the most common for of Chia- the pet.  The Chia we're talking about is the seed of a plant in the mint family native to Mexico and Guatamala.  I found a site that explained why the chia seed is so great and they reasons were fairly generic so I think they're a good measure of why there's so much hype about these little black seeds, First, they're  packed full of nutrients, with very little calories.  Here's the rundown of said nutrients.

So that's looking good.  The other listed reasons are they're full of antioxidents, their carbs are all fiber, they're a good source of protein, they're supposed to help with weight loss because of their high fiber and protein content (this alone would be enough to make chia a superstar at the grocery store), they're high in omega-3 fatty acids, they may improve certain blood markers, lowering your risk of hear disease and type 2 diabetes, high in many important bone nutrients,  they can improve Type 2 diabetes, and they work like a sports drink to improve exercise.  

So my take, I'll give them a try.  I really could use extra protein and omega-3s, plus with all my pregnancies and nursing, I need to really think about my bone health as I get older.  If it helps you lose weight, great bonus.  I've seen them in bulk at the Raisin Rack and this article I read that listed why they're great says they're easy to add to everything since you don't need to grind them up and they're bland tasting.  Just throw them on whatever-yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies, bake them.  WARNING_if you add them to liquid they get gel-like which is what happened in that chia drink I had.  I'm going to throw them in a smooth and see if they get gross or if they're ok blended with all that other junk.  

Just to be clear, I'm not jumping on the bandwagon.  I'm giving them a try.  I kind of feel like there are a LOT of seeds that are similar since the seed is the most nutrient dense part of any plant.  (This may be incorrect, but I feel like I read that somewhere.) Just like stem cells are "magic" so are seeds.  (Again I could be totally making this up, but I'm pretty sure it's accurate.)

So there you have it.  Chia seeds and why they're so popular right now.  To be honest, all this talk about chia kind of makes me want to get the kids chia pets for Easter.