Chia Seeds

I first read about chia seeds in The New York Times back in May. Martha Rose Schulman’s Recipes for Health feature covered using chia seeds in smoothies. She refrigerated 1 tablespoon of the seeds in 4 tablespoons of water overnight, and used one tablespoon of the mixture in her morning smoothie.

Later this summer, I saw a bag of chia seeds in my local HomeGoods store, and bought a bag. With experimentation, I decided that I liked the chia seeds with more water, so lately I have been adding 2 teaspoons seeds soaked in about 6 tablespoons of water overnight in my morning smoothie.

According to the nutritional information on the Bob’s Red Mill website (they sell chia seeds), one tablespoon of chia seeds have 60 calories, 40 of which are from fat, a high amount of which is Omega-3s. They are also an excellent source of fiber and antioxidants. Bob’s Red Mill recommend a 1 to 6 ratio of seeds to water, so I was on the right track in increasing the amount of water relative to seeds.

I also add one tablespoon of ground flaxseed to my morning smoothie. Prevention magazine’s website has an interesting comparison of the nutritional value of chia seeds versus flaxseed, and gives flaxseed the edge when it comes to nutrition.

I’m not claiming that chia seeds are the next superfood, but I do like the fact that they make my smoothie thicker, and I’m pleased that they have additional fiber and omega-3s.