Have you heard about chia seeds? They are being newly popularized as a super food, up there with flax and goji berries. I bought a package of ground chia seeds from my local heath food store and I throw them into smoothies, baked goods, oatmeal. The other day I rinsed out my smoothie glass and left it on the counter to use again later. I guess there were a few seeds stuck to the side of the glass, and when I looked later they seemed to have a gel surrounding them. Weird. Then it occured to me... Right, they are seeds so if they were left long enough they would probably sprout.*
Which brings to this Google search:
So, can you eat your Chia Pet? And why would you want to? According to this article, no you don't want to eat your Chia Pet as the quality of the seeds is not for human consumption, but here a few facts on the benefits of chia taken from the TimesFreePress.com:
Slightly smaller than a sesame seed, chia seeds are grayish brown or off-white and are largely tasteless. Highly hydrophilic, chia seeds can absorb up to 10 times their weight in water," Runners and endurance athletes take a gel made from water and chia seeds for hydration, energy and endurance.
In addition to increasing energy some people use chia seeds as a weight-loss aid. The high fiber content, 6 grams per serving, or 24 percent of the recommended daily allowance, helps contribute to a feeling of fullness.
Chia seeds contain 4.5 grams of fat per two tablespoons, but have no saturated- or trans-fats. The American Heart Association reports that polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats may help to lower blood cholesterol levels. Much of the fat in chia seeds comes from omega-3 fatty acids, which are also found in fish oils.
One serving of chia seeds contains 10 percent of daily recommended value of calcium and 8 percent daily recommended value of iron. "That's pretty darn good for a tablespoon of something that's of non-meat origin," Jones said.
I figure there's nothing to lose by tossing some into a smoothie or what not- my philosophy is if you can easily boost the nutrition of what you are putting into your body, why the hell not? "Why the hell not", by the way, being another over-arching philosohy of mine.
One Year Ago: Favorite Thing: Goats Milk Mozzarella
*I don't know if this happens to you to, but being so used to buying everything and being disconnected from the growing process of my food sometimes I forget where it comes from. It doesn't occur to me that this is real stuff from nature unless I give it some conscious thought. Did I mention I'm a blonde?
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