Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

Several years ago, my best friend gave me a Chia Pet for Christmas as a gag. It might've even been a lamb Chia pet. And, being a fan of any good gag gift, I grew that damn Chia Pet until it started growing more than just chia on it.

If only I had known then that chia is actually awesomely good for you, I would've taken more care of the pet and maybe even groomed it for salad or something every so often. Chia sprouts can be used just like alfafa sprouts, you know.

Actually, though, the part of chia that's so good for you is the seeds. They're absolutely jam packed with omega fatty acids, amino acids, antioxidents, protein, fiber, and calcium. And there are a bunch of studies about how beneficial chia can be for diabetics to have on a regular basis to regulate blood sugar levels.

Rumor has it there is no better source of omega-3 fatty acids and fiber than chia. That's pretty impressive.

Apparently, the ancient Aztecs were quite the chia groupies- considering only corn and beans to be more important foods. And we all know that the Aztecs were pretty smart dudes.

It can be used like flax and hemp- mixed into almost anything to add nutritional value as either whole seeds or ground seeds. I bought some gounded chia under the trademarked name "Salba" (Wikipedia says that some of the other trademarked names for it are "Sachia," "Anutra," "Chia Sage," "Salba," and "Tresalbio.") after my father recieved the same e-mail twice about how fantastic it was. It came in a nifty jar with a shaker lid rather than a pouch like flax and I keep it in the refrigerator like its supposed to be.


I tend to just add it as a finishing touch to food, but I definitely want to start playing around with the "gel" that the grounds make when wet. I think there's a lot of baking mileage to that little feature. Especially in my egg-free and gluten-free corner of the world. It might be the missing link for that pizza dough I kept trying to make, if I ever remember to make some gel a few hours before attempting to bake.

Chia has a very mild and unnoticeable flavor to it- much more so than flax and hemp, in comparison. Not that either one of those is terribly overwhelming in the flavor department, though. The most I noticed it was when I had a Salba bar that was on sale at the health food store. It was, at the most, almost a poppy seed-ish flavor. Still very light tasting, though. The bar was really nice, by the way. Shame that they were a clearance item and I haven't been able to find them again.