What are Chia seeds?

Are you thinking ch-ch-ch-chia?  You probably once owned one of those green hair clay pot pets, given to you at Christmas because you love flowers. The Chia seed and your pet Chia are cousins.

Only recently did chia seeds become recognized as a modern day superfood. The word “chia” is the ancient Mayan word for “strength.”   It is being used as a nutty topping for yogurts and salads and used in cereals, energy bars, even pasta dishes.

Unlike flax seeds, chia does not need to be ground  which makes them much easier to prepare.  Eat them raw, soaked in juice, added to porridges and puddings, or added to baked goods.

Health conscious people everywhere are now eating chia seed and on the hunt for recipes.

A common dosage is 20 grams (about 1.5 tablespoons) of chia seeds, twice per day.

I read everywhere that there are some  studies showing type 2 diabetics can significantly lower blood pressure and a marker for inflammation of blood vessels by eating chia seeds.  I could not find those studies so this could be hype.... Let's look at the nutritional value of Chia seed.

Chia Seeds 
Nutritional values of one ounce (28.4 grams) chia seeds:

Calories: 138     (subtract the fiber, 10 x 4 = 40 changes to 98 calories)
Total Carbohydrate: 12 g (subtract 10 g of fiber to get 2 g Carbs for you diabetics)
Dietary fiber 10 g  (wow!)
Protein: 4.7 g   (wow!)
Total Fat: 9 g    (5 of which are Omega-3's).

• Saturated fat 0.9 g
• Polyunsaturated fat 7 g
• Monounsaturated fat 0.7 g
• Trans fat 0 g
• Cholesterol 0 mg

Sodium 5 mg
Potassium 115 mg
Calcium: 17% of the RDA.
Magnesium: 23% of the RDA.
Iron: 12% of the RDA

Look for Chia seed everywhere...Wal-Mart, Sam's and your better Grocery stores.

Please share your ideas for adding these great little seeds to your recipes.