I've recently had to revamp my diet, for some medical reasons. While in the bulk food section of the grocery store checking out the grains, I ran into a bin for chia seeds. I didn't think much about them, other than having a quick chuckle at the thought. Just a few days later, I received an Active.com newsletter with an article on new foods to try, including a "pudding" recipe using chia seeds!
I did a quick search on what else one can do with chia seeds. I'm a trifle skeptical of all the claims people make, but I am experimenting with food so I thought I'd give it a shot. Plus, apparently you can use chia seed gel as a replacement for eggs in baking, and at some point I'm going to try that.
I still haven't tried the pudding recipe, but I have made up a batch of regular chia gel using 2 cups water to 1/3 cup seeds. The chia gel is...odd. The seeds are fairly tasteless, which is nice. However, it does gel pretty impressively with the water, and eating a mouthful of tasteless jelly is, well, tasteless. I've only eaten a few spoonfuls of it since I made it. Some people claim it gives them this great boost of energy, which I have not yet noticed. I have noticed, however, that it does a very good job of making me feel full or satisfied for longer.
This past weekend I needed to work an outdoor athletic event, and I wanted a good way to not feel too hungry, as I knew I wouldn't have many chances to eat. In my google searching I came across an interesting recipe on No Meat Athlete's page about making a chia energy gel. I like the idea of orange and pineapple, but I am not a fan of brown rice syrup, nor do I have any in my house.
I decided I would try my own bastardized version, using strawberries as my base. I wasn't going to worry this particular time about the electrolytes, as I knew the weather wasn't going to be too hot. I added vinegar because I thought it might help as a natural preservative while I was outside all day. Plus, who doesn't love strawberries with balsamic vinegar? Unfortunately my strawberries weren't quite as fruity as I would have liked, and while the mix was good, it was still lacking some oomph. I went ahead and added some sweetener. It turned out pretty well, I think. Here's what I used.
Strawberry Chia Goo
2 cups strawberry puree (I was slightly under, so just added a little water to get to 2 cups)
1/2 oz tangerine balsamic vinegar
1/2 oz lemon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup chia seeds
1/2 oz (probably less, I didn't measure) maple syrup
1 oz honey
Stir together, then allow to rest for at least 15 minutes so the seeds can gel. I made mine the night before. This makes a fairly thick (and chewable) goo.
Photo will be added when I remember where I put my camera!
I filled a brand new 3 oz GoToob (which I have been calling Goob Tubes until I went looking for a link!) and took it to the field with me. Whenever I felt like I was getting hungry but either didn't really want to eat or didn't have time, I ate some goo and was good to go!
While I am enjoying it on its own, I bet it would be good in a lot of ways, including thickening up a smoothie.
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