Healthy Chia Seed Recipes to Brighten Your Diet

As we enter the Spring Equinox, our bodies and minds are ready to regenerate and renew. Chia seeds are a great way to get rid of the extra toxins we intake during the winter months, and they taste great, too! Check out our recipe below and give your digestive system a clean by adding these fiber-filled chia seeds to your yogic diet.

What’s in a chia seed?

This ancient Aztec grain is packed with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid that is essential to your diet and helps support cardiovascular function. By weight, they contain 14 percent protein and 40 percent fiber. The higher amount of soluble fiber binds matter in the gut, aids your colon, and cleans your digestive system.

That’s not all; chia seeds are rich in antioxidants and trace minerals, improving your complexion and hydration. They were vital to nutrition in the Mayan Empire and arguably as important as maze crops for food.

Making a chia seed gel

Once chia seeds are soaked, they become a nutritious, gelatinous substance that can be intimidating to consume. But the magic of soaked chia seeds is they are easily to digest.

For more potency, you can soak them in alkalized water, which is water between 8 or 9.5 pH level. This can be found in most grocery stores. Your mixture can be stored in the fridge for about two weeks.

You can add this gooey paste to everything or eat it alone as a great snack! Try it in all dressings, aiolis, and smoothies—or just throw it in a water bottle on the go. For a healthy dessert, soak chia seeds in coconut milk; then add honey, fruit, or roasted nuts to taste.

Healthy chia tahini dressing

My southern French roots take hold in my kitchen, and I am drawn to use Mediterranean flavors and spices. Today I was inspired to use chia seeds in my usual tahini dressing. This dressing is also a great option for vegetarians and vegans, as both the chia seeds and sesame paste provide extra protein.

Recipe:

• 2 cups Tahini (traditional sesame butter)
• 3 dollops of chia paste
• ¾ cup olive oil
• ½ cup squeezed lemon
• 4 pinch zaatar
• 1 pinch salt and pepper to taste

Play around with the dollops of chia paste you put in your dressing, depending on your preference of texture. This dressing adds sustenance to salads and greens, and I love adding the dressing to toast in the morning with raw honey for a little bit of sweetness.

Finding time

Caught in the hustle and bustle of city life, it is hard to find time to cook, to stick to your palate’s roots, and to get in all the nutrient-dense foods necessary to maintain our superhero expectations as yogis.

My healthy chia seed recipe is a good start to a great diet, but use your imagination to include this nutrient-packed gel in many others. What you get is nourishing food for body and soul.

Like this recipe? Check out our kick-ass kitchari recipe.

Reference: Kintzios, SE. Sage: The Genus Salvia. Taylor & Francise eLibrary 2005.