10 Uses for Chia Seeds

Thank you for posting this! I’ve been wanting to try chia seeds for a while, but just hadn’t gotten around to looking up recipes. I’ll definitely give these suggestions a try! 

Gonna go make the pudding!

MMMM.  recipe, please?

I love chia seeds! I add them to my smoothies all the time! I will be making meatloaf with them next week! 

Do you typically powder them, or use them whole? For some of these recipes, it seems like whole seeds would be unpleasant.

I have a bag of chia’s (bought with great intentions but no skills) ‘ve been wondering what to do with! Thank you!

I use them in stews all the time, but it never occurred to me to use them in meatballs, thanks:)

Just made the pudding, not quite a success.  Not due to the taste but to the texture of the pudding of the chia seeds.  The children found it too weird.  So I thought I might ground them down next time to a powder and see if that makes a difference.  If that goes how I think it might the mousse would be absolutely gorgeous….  I will let you know.  Philxxx

I’ve been wondering about chia seeds … I will definitely be trying these! Thanks for the post!

either way. A little easier to get down in water though… they stick to your mouth!

We sprinkle the seeds on all sorts of things to up their nutritional value     When I’m dragging in the afternoon, if I remember to, I’ll just take a spoonful & swallow it down with water; not real crazy about chewing it plain  We aren’t fans of the pudding yet, but maybe someday??   I get mine from Amazon as a subscribe and save item and they are about $7 a pound with free shipping

I use them in refrigerator oatmeal for breakfast every morning…and in a quinoa granola! Yum!

I am impressed!

I make dairy kefir and add chia seeds and some stevia to sweeten – 1 qt kefir, 1/4C chia seeds, packet of stevia – stir occasionally so the seeds don’t settle to the bottom and they start gelling which then they remain thruout the kefir. I eat this with fruit every morning. My husband started using it as a salad dressing and now I do too! We’ve added cocoa powder to it like your pudding. Some people we’ve served it to don’t like the texture, as some of your commenters said.

I use ground chia seeds in place of flaxseed meal for muffins, and I have used it a lot as an egg substitute just because I didn’t have any eggs.  They work great!  

Love this article!  I just read something yesterday about blending gelled chia with fruit for a sugar-free jam replacement, too.  A recent convert to chia, we eat them every morning gelled with almond milk and berries, and I’ve noticed they help my gluten free baked goods (especially bread) stay moist a lot longer.

Question:  for the pudding, do you grind the chia seeds first?  If so, measured ½ cup before or after grinding?  THANKS!

Chia seeds sound like they pack a pretty big nutritional punch! However, you mentioned that they contain linoleic acid, which is the same acid known for increasing risk of skin cancer (as noted in another blog post of yours). So, what about that?

It is in a slightly different form and to the best of my knowledge, the type in Chia has not been correlated with increased risk of skin cancer….

Cool, Thanks. I’ll have to check it out. Enjoying your blog a lot these days!

I haven’t, but it’s a brilliant idea! I’ll definitely try next time, but if you try them, please let us know how it goes! Best of luck for an easy labor!

Here’s the base recipe http://wellnessmama.com/2575/natural-sports-drink-alternatives-recipe/

haha Welcome!

 Today I made “pudding” for the first time and it was excellent. I just put 2 tablespoons of seeds in a cup, added about 1.5 cups of Vanilla Flavored Almond Milk (unsweetened), stirred in 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, and stuck it in the fridge. Was a thick pudding later in the day, and to me, it was exactly like tapioca pudding.  If my eyes were closed, I’d think it was tapioca.  Delicious!

I add them to our smoothies and to breads/ muffins.

I don’t think I’d make it that far in advance, but you could easily just toss the chia seeds into a bottle of water and shake. It would be ready in 5-10 minutes…

They are relatively low. If you incorporate a tablespoon or so of chia seeds for energy during the day it shouldn’t have any effect on your carb count but should give you an energy boost…

or just search pet TickleMe Plant to grow the house plant that moves when you Tickle It

I thought chia seeds are high in phytic acid. What do you do to reduce it?

hemp seeds are awesome if no one has posted that yet lol

I’ve been using chia seeds in my smoothies for years. Back when I had a regular Oster blender, I had to use a coffee grinder to get them broken up. Now I have a blendtec (but a vitamix does the same) and I can just throw them in. For anyone new to them, remember that you need to add 10x water to chia seeds if you want the consistency of your beverage, etc. to stay the same. So if I add 1 tbsp of chia to my smoothie I add 10 tbsp of extra water or it will get THICK. There are also white seeds and black seeds. If you want to hide them from picky eaters, get the white ones for your lighter colored foods and dark for the dark. Even ground up the black ones look like pepper. Which is not appetizing in something sweet. I’ve only used them in raw foods bc I assumed that baking them would destroy nutritional value. Is that true? I also was told you get way more out of them if they are ground up instead of whole. True?

Perhaps this was already mentioned, but I normally throw a tablespoon of seeds into my morning breakfast drink (Carnation Breakfast Essentials, powdered mix) mixed with skim or 1% milk. Tastes great! But make sure to shake it up before every sip cuz most of the seeds will rise to the top.

I rented a place that had a Buddha statue out back. I think the statue was made out of concrete, and it was about 18″ tall. It was spring in western Oregon, which means it sprinkles almost every day. Anyway, I put a chia seed mix on his head, and he grew bright green hair.

I love chia seeds and have been using them for a while. One tip though. I take medication every morning for the ptsd I suffer from. When I started using chia seeds I took it in the morning also, but the chia seeds prevented my body from absorbing my medication and sent me into withdrawals. That was not pleasant! Now I take my medication in the morning and the chia seeds at lunch time and all is fine. Just something to be aware of

Could I be preparing these wrong? I got mine from the loose spice bins at the grocery store. They look like the ones in your pictures. Only when I put them in water they don’t do ANYTHING, not even when left overnight. I tried just putting them straight into some juice yo drink and they were SPICY!! I’m breastfeeding so I know my taste buds are very sensitive but there’s no way I could eat these alone! I also got a headache after drinking them. I tthought maybe I didn’t drink enough with them but I drink upwards of 150oz daily.
Thoughts?

If I could chia seed in my oatmeal before I cook it do I still get all the benefits as I would if I added the chia in after I cooked the oatmeal?

Great info and tips!
I have been making coconut flour pancakes and topping with a vanilla coconut milk chia pudding and warm strawberries. It is fantastic and super healthy. Reminds me of the Belgian waffles with whipped cream and sugar strawberries but a lot less calories and a lot more nutrients.

I have bought the white chia seeds. I pretty much will sprinkle chia on anything. Pasta, stir fry, stew. Great in smoothies. I even sprinkle them on my omelets.

I did read to be careful if you take blood pressure medicine because chia has been known to lower blood presure. Also if you eat the seeds dry always follow with plenty of water/ liquid. They will expand in your body.

I have done a version of this for months now and have never looked so forward to breakfast. Delicious.

wash them down with coffee!! after all that health talk you finish with coffee!! woooow

Coffee is not unhealthy

I found a recipe for chia seed jam. It’s amazing! and healthy! Just blueberries (or any fruit) chia seeds, and a little bit of organic maple syrup.

I take medication in the morning too, so the chia seeds may prevent my medication to be absorbed? I have to watch that, I have severe rheumatoid arthritis

Could you share the exact proportions of this jam recipie, so excited!

I was looking at something called Hungry for a change, and it talked about Chia Seeds, and like someone else said, I got here. I have read the post, and just laughed. I would love to talk to you Mama I really want to take the full advantage of the Chia Seed,, going to the health food store now to get some.

I’m a pharmacist, and I’ve looked into this issue before. Not surprisingly, there is almost no information in drug or natural product databases on the effect of chia on medication absorption. There is some information, however, on the possibility that it could cause drug interactions based on the way many meds are metabolized in the liver (the CYP450 enzyme system).

Bottom line is that if you can separate administration, I’d do that. Some meds are more finicky than others about being absorbed, so probably a lot of that possible effect will depend on the specific drugs you are taking.

I add chia in my Vitamix to make raw applesauce that is never runny.

All chia is grown organically. Bugs are actually not attracted to the plant so pesticides are not needed in the growing process.

If you don’t have a Costco near you, Walmart sales 4 16oz. packages for $32.74. I just bought some. Trying anything so I don’t have to have bariatric surgery. Hope this works.

I drink chia water every day. I make a gel out of it, take tablespoon of it and put it in water, and drink! It’s so good for your heart, your brain, and your skin and hair. it lowers your cholesterol.

Thanks

Yes