Chia Pancakes
If you have not yet added chia seeds to your daily diet, then you are missing out on the many health benefits of chia seeds not just for your body but also for your mind. Chia seeds are tiny seeds with nutritional properties that match the ones obtained from flax seeds. In fact, these are a better alternative. They have all the vitamins, minerals, fiber, proteins, calcium, fatty acids and many other nutrients that are needed by the body. They also fight fat and are increasingly being used by millions all over the world to maintain their ideal weight. Chia seeds help maintain sugar levels and help in the smooth functioning of the heart as well as other important organs. Chia seeds are easily digestible and they get rid of numerous stomach ailments.
These tasteless and mildly flavored seeds can be added to any food. They can be soaked in water and the gel produced can be added to all kinds of smoothies, soups, shakes, and other drinks. They can be blended into or simply stirred into soups and many other meals you prepare.
Some chia recipes call for chia butter. Chia butter is prepared by blending until super smooth 2 tablespoons chia seeds, 1½ tablespoons Canola oil or any other oil like peanut or hazelnut oil, 1½ tablespoons honey and 2 cups of almonds.
Some chia recipes call for chia milk. You can make chia milk by blending in a food processor 2 tablespoons of chia seeds and 1 tablespoon of almonds with one cup of water, then add ½ tsp vanilla, 1 tablespoon sesame tahini, ½ tsp cinnamon, 1 tablespoon agave syrup and 1 more cup of water and blend until smooth and well mixed. This mixture should be refrigerated for a minimum of 4 hours before its first use. Store chia milk in the refrigerator.
To prepare Chia gel, soak a cup of chia seeds in six cups of water and allow it to sit for 10 – 15 minutes. You can use this gel along with the seeds for drinks or add it to any preparation. Any leftover gel can be refrigerated for up to two weeks.
The chia pancake is highly nutritious and easy to make. You need 1 cup whole meal flour, 1 cup whole meal spelt flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 cups chia milk, 2 tsp chia gel, and a pinch of salt. Mix all the dry ingredients and stir in the chia milk, chia gel and honey to form a smooth batter without any lumps.
Heat a pan, oil it lightly, pour 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan at a time and cook each side until light golden brown. You can serve these pancakes hot with chia butter and honey.
A cup of fresh fruit juice, pulp of a juiced fruit and 2 cups of chia gel blended together and refrigerated for an hour makes a very delicious, highly nutritious and delightful drink.
Yet another easy recipe is Chia Salad Dressing. Mix ½ cup chia gel, 1 teaspoon lime juice, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 chopped garlic clove, 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon dried basil and 1 teaspoon dried tarragon. Toss this with salad right before serving to make an excellent dressing that is not only tasty but also highly nutritious. You can refrigerate the remaining dressing.
Chia Couscous
If you know about the benefits of chia seeds, then you must have begun to add them to the dishes you prepare. Their tasteless and almost flavorless nature makes them easy to blend with any preparation. You can add them to your breakfast for an energetic and healthy start to your day. This tiny seed, which is packed with a wide range of nutrients will give you the stamina to do your work efficiently during the day and enjoy relaxed undisturbed sleep at night. The seeds, apart from providing numerous health benefits, also help in weight loss.
Chia Breakfast Eggs is a highly nutritious breakfast that will give you the strength to face any tough and busy day. You need 1 teaspoon cooking oil or butter, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, a handful of baby spinach, 1 finely chopped onion and two teaspoons of milk. Whisk the egg and milk together and soak the chia seeds in this mixture for about 15 minutes. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the finely chopped onion for a minute or two, add the egg and chia seed mixture and stir until it is set and then quickly add the baby spinach leaves and stir until the leaves soften. Remove from heat and season with sufficient salt and ground black pepper and serve hot.
You can add these seeds to just about any kind of meal you prepare including salads, smoothies, fruit shakes and all kinds of cakes, cookies, brownies and rice preparations. They can be soaked in water, ground or roasted and added to any meal or the whole seeds can be eaten raw.
You can blend chia seeds with couscous to prepare a savory chia seed dish that will be perfect for lunch. You will need 2 cups of vegetable stock, a cup of vegetables like peas, corn and celery, 1 cup of couscous, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and butter. Allow the vegetable stock to simmer gently until lightly cooked. Add couscous and chia seeds and stir. Let this mixture stand for about ten minutes after removing from heat. Fluff it with a dash of butter before serving hot.
Fruity Couscous is an easy dessert to make and your kids will love it.
You need: In a pot place 2 cups of orange or apple juice, 1 chopped apple, ½ cup of dried fruits like pears, dates and apricots and bring to a boil, then add one cup of couscous and 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and stir. Turn off the flame and allow this mixture to stand for 5 – 10 minutes until the juice is fully absorbed and your couscous delight is ready to be served.
Chia Chicken Loaf
Some of the most nutritious and easily digestible seeds becoming popular the world over are chia seeds. The world has rediscovered the immense benefits’ of this tiny seed that has an amazing range of all kinds of nutrients. The proteins, calcium omega fatty acids, niacin, fiber and many other vitamins and minerals are found in such abundance in these seeds that just a few tablespoons of them will do wonders for your family’s well being. This tasteless and almost flavorless seed can easily be made a part of your family’s daily diet. It is easily digestible and its nutrients are absorbed by the body easily making them ideal for kids as well as adults. They can be added to all kinds of recipes, sweet, savory, vegetarian and non-vegetarian.
The chia seed is a water loving seed that absorbs about ten times its weight in water and this makes it easy to blend with any preparation. You can add chia seeds to recipes raw, ground or roasted.
A delicious non-vegetarian preparation you can make with chia seeds is the Chia Chicken Loaf. You will need:
1 pound of minced chicken, 1 cup of breadcrumbs, 1 chopped onion, 4 tablespoons dried sage, 1 red capsicum, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cayenne pepper and ½-cup chia gel. Chia gel is prepared by soaking 1/3 cup of chia seeds in 2 cups of water for a few minutes. Any remaining gel can be refrigerated for up to two weeks.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Mix all of these ingredients together and shape the mixture into a loaf. Place the chicken chia loaf on foil that has been lightly sprayed with olive oil, brush it with tomato sauce and cover with more foil and cook for one hour. You not only get a very tasty dish but also one packed with nutrients.
There are so many ways to experiment with chia seeds…
Chia seeds added to ground cornmeal make a tasty breakfast. The ingredients needed are ½ cup ground cornmeal, 2 tablespoon chia seeds, 2 cups unsweetened chia milk, 1 teaspoon chia butter and 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast. Chia butter is prepared by blending until super smooth 2 tablespoons chia seeds, 1½ tablespoons Canola oil or any other oil like peanut, hazelnut or citrus, 1½ tablespoons honey and 2 cups of almonds. You can make chia milk by blending in a food processor 2 tablespoons of chia seeds and 1 tablespoon of almonds with one cup of water, then add ½ tsp vanilla, 1 tablespoon sesame tahini, ½ tsp cinnamon, 1 tablespoon agave syrup 1 more cup of water and blend until smooth and well mixed. This mixture should be refrigerated for a minimum of four hours before its first use. Store in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Pour the cornmeal, milk and chia seeds into a saucepan, stir and bring them to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and constantly stir for ten minutes until they become thick and creamy. Remove this mixture from the stove and stir in the butter and yeast. Transfer this to a greased loaf pan and bake for forty minutes.
You can add chia seeds in any form to smoothies, shakes, salads and soups to make them more nutritious and to help your body fight fat.
Green Chia Smoothie/Pudding Recipe
When so much of the food we eat contains unhealthy fats, carbohydrates and other ingredients, which are harmful to the body, adding a little bit of chia seeds that are rich in antioxidants to our daily diet can do wonders for our body. This wonder seed that is rich in all kinds of vitamins, proteins, calcium, fatty acids, fiber and many more nutrients helps reduce fat as well. It is a stimulating, energy giving, rejuvenating food that is highly beneficial and gives us a healthy body and an active mind.
Adding one to two teaspoons of chia seeds to your favorite cold beverage, waiting a few minutes and then drinking it is one of the quickest ways to enjoy the benefits of this seed.
You can eat chia seeds raw or ground. They are flavorless tasteless seeds that easily blend with many kinds of preparations. You can add these tiny seeds to many of the recipes that you prepare. The internet is the best place to find a range of recipes that include simple recipes containing chia seeds from fruit shakes, smoothies, soups and salads to elaborate desserts, cookies, breads, cakes and many main course delicacies made of wheat, rice, cereals and pulses.
With chia seeds, you can make different kinds of tasty and nutritious raw food recipes like the following:
Measure and set aside 4 tablespoons of chia seeds and 1-quarter cup of dried mulberries. Blend 2 to 3 peeled, cored and chopped apples and about 10 dates. Transfer the apples and dates to a bowl and stir in the mulberries and the chia seeds. Let this Chia, Fruit and Seed pudding chill for about ten minutes before enjoying.
The following Chia Smoothie is yet another delicious and highly nutritious way to consume chia seeds: Blend a banana with ¾ cup of chopped papaya; blend 6 pitted Turkish figs into the banana and papaya mixture and leave it to soak in the fridge covered overnight. Blend the whole mix once again, stir in two tablespoons of ground chia seeds and serve.
The Green Chia Smoothie/Pudding is another highly nutritious raw recipe. Soak 8 dried prunes in water until soft and plump. Remove the prunes from the water, add 1/3 cup of chia seeds to the water, and let stand for 10 minutes. Blend the prunes and 1 dose of spirulina powder with the water and chia seeds, divide the smoothie into glasses and let chill before enjoying.
There is such a wide a range of highly nutritious savory and sweet chia seed recipes that you should be able to find a few that will be relished by everyone in your family.