Chia has high concentration of those wonderfully healthly omega-3 fatty acid, carbohydrates - mainly as fibre , protein, iron, antioxidats in the form of vitamin C and calcium. In fact just 1 heaping tablespoon (15g) has 3 g of omega-3, 5 g of fibre (6 g of carbohydrates in total), 3 g of protein, 10% of your daily iron (but remember since it is plant based absorption is lower - but can be increased by having it with a higher Vitamin C containing food item), 2% of your vitamin C and 10% of your calcium (all these numbers are based on a 2000 calorie diet) and have been taken directly off the package. (www.organictraditions.com)
If soaked in water it can be used as an egg re-placer (2 tbsp chia in 1 cup of water = 1 egg) in some recipes, figuring that out is a bit of trial and error...but it is great to add to other things raw. If you eat yogurt add it, if making smoothies add it, if having a salad sprinkle it on top, if baking cookies or bread add it - where it can be added is only limited by your imagination and the amount we are talking about is a few tablespoons to a recipe, or a 1-2 tablespoon or less for other individual sized things so it won't add a lot of bulk, but it will add in lots of nutrition.
When I make gluten free bread I add flax (both whole and ground) and chia to increase both the fibre and nutrition since a rice based bread (which is what mine is) seems to be a little lacking in both in my opinion. In fact the only store bought gluten free breads that address this (in my opinion) are those made by Silverhills (www.silverhillsbakery.ca). They use things like quinoa and chia to up the nutrition of their breads and while the slices are small - as is the case with most gluten free breads they are one of the best tasting and textured breads that I have found so far...even better then what I can make in the kitchen - but unfortunately not currently available in Grande Prairie so I usually pick up some when in Edmonton. Next time I really should just pick up more and freeze it - that would be the more convenient thing to do...that being said the bread mixes like those from Bob's Red Mill (http://www.bobsredmill.com) are really easy and quick to make but like I mentioned you may want add somethings to the recipe.
Unlike flax, chia does not need to be ground for the body to get the nutritional value. Whole flax is basically just insoluble fibre, but ground up is where it is really a potent component of healthy nutrition. Whereas chia is good to go as it is - which is part of the reason it is becoming a favorite for sure.
Got the image below from Facebook which is what inspired today's little blog.
Namaste
