I’ve been a big fan of chia seeds for a really long time…
I use them in healthy energy bars, chia-kombucha energy drink, and even as an egg replacement.
Why Chia Seeds?
Chia seeds are an amazing superfood and a great source of calcium, omega-3s, and antioxidants. They also hold many times their weight in water, creating a natural “gel” that provides energy and nutrition.
Legend has it that they were used by the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incans as an energy food and for hydration. They were nicknamed “Indian Running Food” for their supposed ability to help warriors and athletes maintain energy and hydration during long and strenuous activity.
Chia Seed Squeeze Pouches:
My children love chia seeds and especially love these Mamma Chia squeeze pouches, but they are expensive (almost $2 each) and not ideal when I need 1-2 per child per snack.
When I found reusable silicone squeeze pouches, I realized we could make our own for a fraction of the cost of buying pre-made, and avoid all of the waste of the disposable pouches as well. Silicon can be somewhat controversial for food use, but this post details why I feel comfortable using them at room temperature like this.
Bonus: the pouches are no-mess and have been mess-tested by my two year old.
We’ve had fun experimenting with flavors and different types of juice to make different “chia squeezes” and these are now a favorite summer snack at our house. We even figured out how to make these into popsicles (recipe soon).
Supplies You’ll Need
- Reusable silicone pouches
- Chia seeds
- Organic juice of choice
- Water
- A bottle or pitcher for mixing
Flavor Variations
- Cherry and lime (with tart cherry juice)
- Strawberry lemon
- Pomegranate
- Green (with green juices)
- Orange mango (equal parts orange and mango juices)
- Pineapple lime
- Any other combination you can think of
Chia Seed Squeeze Pouches Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups unsweetened fruit juice
- ¼ cup lemon or lime juice optional
- ¼ cup organic chia seeds
- sweetener of choice optional
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a pitcher or mason jar.
- Let sit in the refrigerator overnight so that the chia seeds can hydrate and create a natural gel.
- Pour into pouches and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
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What is your favorite recipe that uses chia seeds? Share below!
When are you sharing the Chia Seed Pouch Popsicle post?! I’m dying!
Katie. What is your opinion on the phytic acid of chia seeds?
Hi all! I love love this too but mine is little differnt and just some advice to those out there who want a more thicker liquid…I find it creates more gel when I heat the water before I mix the seeds. Then I let it sit for about 10 min and put in refrigerator overnight. Also, I only do a 1/1 mixture meaning only 1 cup of juice for the 1 cup with the seeds when I mix it the next day ?
Thank you for responding to all of the comments regarding the liquidness of the final product. I also followed the directions above exactly and simply have juice with chia seeds in it now. The pudding I made at the same time turned out perfect. When I do pudding, I don’t heat anything and I still seem to get a great pudding consistency, but it’s two cups liquid to 1/2 cup chia seeds…
Here we have 3 cups liquid to 1/4 chia seeds. So maybe if we double the chia seeds, same amount of liquid, we can get a consistency between pudding and liquid….?
If anyone else has been successful, please share!
Mine did not gel at all. I also followed the recipe. Hmmmm….Any ideas? I used cherry juice and water.
i love making my own chia drinks as well! i love the mama chia drinks but yes the cost does add up quickly. i recently bought the tart cherry juice in my produce department and a lime (because my favorite of the mama chia drinks is the cherry lime!) and it is sitting in my fridge now! i love making these drinks and how much cheaper it is!
Its nice to see this cause we love these drinks!! But….I’ve been waiting for the popsicle recipe with bated breath!!! Can you please share it soon?!?! Its been almost 2 weeks! Yes I’m counting 🙂
We’re big fans of mama chia too but it’s too expensive for a 3-second snack. Love love love these! thank you for this recipe Katie!
I noticed the recipe calls for Organic Chia Seeds but the link that you posted for purchasing Chia seeds at Thrive Market do not say organic. Would you recommend purchasing these Chia Seeds although they are not listed as organic?
We tried this following the recipe exactly and it’s pretty liquid. I’ve not tried purchased chia pouches but assume they’d be more like a gel? I know it’s not my chia seeds because I just used them to make a pudding. My toddler loved this but it was a huge mess :0…..I tried it in his cup this morning but there’s something about those pouches that makes him want to have whatever is in it :).
Melissa, I too, was surprised that the recipe wasn’t more gel-like. I followed the recipe exactly so I’m not sure what happened. Can anyone help us out with a fix? Would I just add more chia seeds?
I doubled the chia seeds, we’ll see how it turns out in the morning!
Great idea! Do these have to stay refrigerated?
Yes