Chia Girl

I love chia seeds.  Since running the half marathon in May, they have been a staple in my diet.  I eat at least 2 tablespoons every day, sometimes more.  No matter what I eat for breakfast, I have 2 cups of water with one tablespoon of chia seeds as my  beverage (well, after my 6 cups of coffee that is!)  I also mix them in Greek yogurt most days for lunch.  I swear they have done me a world of good in so many ways. Whenever I feel like I'm dragging, or if I feel shaky from low blood sugar, a tablespoon of chia seeds usually puts me back on track.  I'm always looking for new ways to eat them, and while on a recipe search, I came across this link, which is a neat little page about the benefits of chia seeds. I often have people ask me what they are and why I eat them.  Well, here you go!

http://www.mychiaseeds.com/Articles/Top10ChiaBenefits.html

I also found some new suggestions for how to eat them:

* Mix them with peanut butter or butter on toast (I don't eat much bread, so I won't eat it on toast, but mixed with peanut butter on a banana might be good!)

*  Soak in milk and add to oatmeal (again, I don't eat oatmeal except on a rare occasion, but when I do, you bet I'll be adding the chia seeds!)

*  Add to cake batter...actually, I think I'll add them to my next batch of banana bread.  I have two over-ripe bananas in my freezer that need to be baked before they get freezer burn.  I read that you can substitute chia gel for half of the butter content in baked goods.  That's awesome!  I'm definitely going to try this one!

*  Cook brown rice in apple juice.  Add grated apple and chia seeds.  I have cooked rice in apple juice before and eaten it for breakfast.  It's good that way.  I also like to add a cinnamon stick while it's cooking too.  Adding the chia seeds seems like a logical next step!

So what are you waiting for?  Go out and get some chia seeds ASAP!  (You can get them in the organic section of most grocery stores.  In Hollidaysburg, Giant Eagle doesn't carry them, but Martins does.)