Description
Chia Seeds are part of the mint family and a wonderful option to use for your seed sprouting hobby! They are small and light tasting and quick and easy to grow. Although it isn’t necessary, you can pre-soak your chia seeds in a little water first. This will help to speed up the sprouting process so you can to eating these yummy sprouts a little sooner.
So why would you want to eat chia seeds anyway?
If you are not familiar with these little power houses, let me help you get educated on how great chia seeds really are. These nutrient dense seeds are an excellent source of several things including an impressive amount of protein, calcium and omega 3 fatty acids just to name a few. But there’s more….chia seeds are also a good source of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and several important minerals including iron, potassium, magnesium, iodine, sulphur, thiamine, etc.
Chia seeds are a well known health food that can help with many important body functions like: Boosting Metabolism, Losing Weight, Reducing Blood Pressure, Fighting Cancer, Strengthening Bones, Healing Diabetes, Eliminating Toxins in the Bowel and Improving Digestion. The only other mention is that if you don’t soak the seeds first, you should drink extra water to prevent constipation. Because they are highly absorbent , the seeds will draw water and toxins from your body as they move through your system. You can just figure drinking an extra cup of water for each 2 tablespoons serving size and you should be fine. This is not so important if you soak them first and doesn’t apply to sprouts since they are already water dense.
While enjoying sprouted chia seeds is a good habit to start including on your road to better health, my absolute favorite way to eat these is as a pudding. The reason why I love Chia Pudding so much is that the wait time is only a few hours or overnight verses several days of rinsing and growing for sprouts.
Chia Pudding can be a made for breakfast or become your afternoon or night time treat. You can add sweetener like honey, xylitol or stevia if you’d like or eat it simple like I do with only milk, water or both and a little vanilla extract. It has a mild taste and reminds me somewhat of tapioca pudding. I just love it!
Easy Chia Seed Pudding Recipe
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 cup milk or water
vanilla to taste
Mix all ingredients together and stir a few times before putting in the fridge. Wait at least an hour, two hours is better or let it sit overnight for thicker pudding…if you can wait that long. You can give it another stir anytime your in the fridge so it mixes evenly. When your ready to eat, if you want something more fancy, try adding berries and cream, cinnamon or any flavor you like. I am actually wondering if you could soak these in juice or lemonade to make a soft jello or freeze pop treat. I am going to have to experiment with this idea and try these out on my husband and kids who should be quite happy to indulge me.
