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.