Inaugural HTOTD: Magic of the Chia Seed

When he was still around, our dad had a thing for ancient proverbs and witty quotations. In our basement, he kept a small trove of quotation books filled with wise words from philosophers, politicians, literary greats. Every once in a while, he’d email a favorite quote to his children and extended family with the subject line: “WSOTD” — short for “Wise Saying of the Day.” So, when he passed away in May 2007, we decided to make “WSOTD cards” at his funeral … in place of the conventional prayer card. We printed his artwork on one side of each card and a WSOTD on the other.

In honor of that tradition, we’re starting our very own adaptation of this, only ours will be: HTOTD – “Health Tip of the Day.”

To get things started, here’s our first post on Chia seeds, an ancient seed that has some pretty amazing benefits. When Sven started buying these at the grocery store, I balked at the price. Wha?? $30 for a bag of these tiny suckers? Even the kid at the sales counter raised an eyebrow after ringing it up and said, “Do you still want this?”

But after reading up on these curious little seeds, originally used by indigenous Americans, I believe we may be onto something 🙂 Chia is the Mayan word for “strength.” Indian running messengers used to carry a pouch full of chia seeds to sustain their energy. Here’s what Dr. Oz has to say about them. Some of my own fave benefits of chia seeds:

• Get more with less: Get the same super-nutrients that you get from fish and flax, except with fewer calories! These itty bitty seeds are filled with fiber, omega fatty acids, iron, calcium, and antioxidants (and protein, a plus for people who like their steel cookies, hehe).
• Keep the cravings at bay: Chia seeds keep you full longer. The seeds have this amazing gelling action where the hard outer layer turns into gel when soaked in liquid, carrying something like 10x its weight in water. Your body doesn’t digest this outer layer–instead it goes right through your body and acts like a little broom in your intestines, absorbing and sweeping shit up, literally.
• Make your decadent baked goods less decadent: I was sold when I read this one — use chia “gel” as a substitute for butter or oil in your muffins and cakes! Neato. It’s also so mild in taste you can also make fruit pudding out of them by adding them to a fruit juice of your choice, as a healthy snack.

For my daily dose of chia and flax seeds, I asked my hubby to grind up equal parts flax and chia seeds in his trusty BlendTec blender and I store the super powder in a tupperware. Every morning when I pack granola for my hot cereal for work, I toss in a tablespoon of the powder. Super yum…. and super good for you too. *e