Chia?

[SkeeterN]

I haven't ventured into trying mode yet. To me this looks really icky.

Convince me that this is worth it. I see some recipes the chia is added without turning to gel. Is it like little nuts?

The gel looks very weird with the little black chia's floating in it.

What does it taste like?

[Soobee]

Chia has no taste. It takes on the flavor of whatever dish it is in. I put the seeds in meatballs and meatloaves without making the gel. I throw tem in soups and stews as a thickener. I almost never make the gel.

[SkeeterN]

Do you use the white or the black. Seems like the white is more appetizing looking, um? I guess LOL

What I see looks so gross.

[rosethorns]

LOL Skeeter. There are a few things I haven't tried. I can only find the black but they are great for a lot of things. I use them in baking and I've just started.

I don't see how I could make pudding with this but you never know.

[Mad4Chillas]

I just ventured in to using Chia Seeds texture is a little weird but I enjoy them,

Chia Recipes
Chia Pudding!

[Soobee]

I use the black ones, because thewy were cheaper. There's no nutritional difference between the 2 colors.

[Nigel]

I grind my chia up in the coffee grinder just to make it finer. It makes anything baked a lot moister and you don't taste the seeds at all. I don't use the gel....and the gel is hard to clean up if you spill any of it.

[rosethorns]

Wow ! This is helping me understand chia.Thanks you guys.

I read that long thread and I was more confused.

[dianafoot]

Last night I threw a cup of almond milk (Silk, original, unsweetened), a tablespoon of chia seeds, a tablespoon of Hershey's special dark cocoa, and one drop of Sweetzfree into the blender. Whirred on high for about a minute and poured into a tall, fancy glass. This was the most amazing thick rich chocolate drink I have ever had! Kind of like a super chocolate shake.

And this morning, I had more energy than I could believe, coincidence? I'll have to repeat that experiment! (BTW I was down another pound this morning.)

[Ann Lytle]

The first time I purchased the white, then found the black are less expensive and have gotten them since. I don't see any difference between the two and make the jell and have it in my fridge most of the time. Mostly I put it in smoothies or mixed with orange diet soda if I get hungry between meals. I also enjoy the Chia pudding, kind of like Tapioca................ Ann

[Micksgonepb]

I put chia in meatballs. It was fantastic!

[Nigel]

Originally Posted by dianafoot

Last night I threw a cup of almond milk (Silk, original, unsweetened), a tablespoon of chia seeds, a tablespoon of Hershey's special dark cocoa, and one drop of Sweetzfree into the blender. Whirred on high for about a minute and poured into a tall, fancy glass. This was the most amazing thick rich chocolate drink I have ever had! Kind of like a super chocolate shake.

And this morning, I had more energy than I could believe, coincidence? I'll have to repeat that experiment! (BTW I was down another pound this morning.)

Congrats on the weight loss. I'll try your shake and hopefully the energy will keep working for you. I've been desperately searching for energy, so maybe it will help me too. I'll let you know. Gotta make some almond milk first.

[sungoddess]

Originally Posted by Micksgonepb

I put chia in meatballs. It was fantastic!

I would like to do this. How much of the seeds did you use per pound of meat? What was the result? Were they moister?

[ladeeda]

I have been adding 1/2 T ground chia to 3T whey powder in a savory variation of LindaSue's Better Than Boxed Pancake recipe. You can't tell it's there. Give it a try in any "bread" recipe you have...yeah, Omega 3.

[Soobee]

I use 1-2 teaspoons per pound. Usually the meatballs are simmering in sauce, and the chia seeds can't been seen or tasted. But the meatballs are juicy instead of hard.

[Nigel]

The chia works great in meatloaf too. I added a tablespoon to about 2lbs of ground meat when I made it.

I was giving my dog about 1/4 teaspoon of it daily in her canned dog food cause she wasn't up to par. She started feeling better after a few days and she loved her dog food then. It helped her gain energy. I learn a lot from my dogs.

[sungoddess]

Originally Posted by Soobee

I use 1-2 teaspoons per pound. Usually the meatballs are simmering in sauce, and the chia seeds can't been seen or tasted. But the meatballs are juicy instead of hard.

Originally Posted by Nigel

The chia works great in meatloaf too. I added a tablespoon to about 2lbs of ground meat when I made it.

I was giving my dog about 1/4 teaspoon of it daily in her canned dog food cause she wasn't up to par. She started feeling better after a few days and she loved her dog food then. It helped her gain energy. I learn a lot from my dogs.

Thank you! Can't wait to try this.

[dawnyama]

Chia was mentioned on the show "The Revolution". Harley pasternick (how DO you spell his name anyway LOL?) the trainer to the stars was saying this was a great superfood!! But when it was on camera, it looked pretty gross. He said to soak it in water to get the gel. Again it looked awful and the girl who was on with him said something like "looks great" but with much sarcasm in her voice LOL. But people are catching on .

[MargD]

Originally Posted by dianafoot

Last night I threw a cup of almond milk (Silk, original, unsweetened), a tablespoon of chia seeds, a tablespoon of Hershey's special dark cocoa, and one drop of Sweetzfree into the blender. Whirred on high for about a minute and poured into a tall, fancy glass. This was the most amazing thick rich chocolate drink I have ever had! Kind of like a super chocolate shake.

I made this between work and my workout yesterday and I really enjoyed it. Thanks for posting the recipe.

[dianafoot]

Originally Posted by dianafoot

Last night I threw a cup of almond milk (Silk, original, unsweetened), a tablespoon of chia seeds, a tablespoon of Hershey's special dark cocoa, and one drop of Sweetzfree into the blender. Whirred on high for about a minute and poured into a tall, fancy glass. This was the most amazing thick rich chocolate drink I have ever had! Kind of like a super chocolate shake.

And this morning, I had more energy than I could believe, coincidence? I'll have to repeat that experiment! (BTW I was down another pound this morning.)

I just realized that the sweetener I used was EzSweetz, not Sweetzfree. Just a drop. today I added about 2 Tbs Erythritol to the blender because it just needed to be a hair sweeter. Oh, My Goodness. Nirvana. I did try this with regular cocoa yesterday and it was good, well, just okay. Not the mind-blowing dark rich chocolate concoction of this recipe, though.

[rosethorns]

Diana I'm going to try your drink recipe . Thanks.

[PaminKY]

I try to drink a chia fresca every weekday at work. I make it with a glass of water, about 12 ozs, and two tablespoons of chia seeds with some TrueLemon sprinkled in and a bit of stevia. Mix it up and let it gel for about an hour and drink it down.

I have quite a bit of foot pain at times and I have found that I can drink this in the afternoon and the next morning I will have no foot pain at all. Sometimes I get lazy and skip it for a few days and the foot pain returns and as soon as I drink it again it goes away. I've seen where you can buy it in capsule form and I thought about ordering some for my husband since he absolutely refuses to drink it.

I also use it in cooking for thickening, works great with soups and stews and I also use it a lot when making sunflower/parmesan crackers.

I got a glass gelling right now.

[rosethorns]

the chocolate drink was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nigel]

Originally Posted by dianafoot

Last night I threw a cup of almond milk (Silk, original, unsweetened), a tablespoon of chia seeds, a tablespoon of Hershey's special dark cocoa, and one drop of Sweetzfree into the blender. Whirred on high for about a minute and poured into a tall, fancy glass. This was the most amazing thick rich chocolate drink I have ever had! Kind of like a super chocolate shake.

And this morning, I had more energy than I could believe, coincidence? I'll have to repeat that experiment! (BTW I was down another pound this morning.)

I made this today. Mine was a little weak since I added ice. Next time, I'll just pop it in the freezer for a while instead of adding ice. It was tasty like a chocolate shake though. I liked it. I'll let you know if I get any energy. I'm desperately searching for energy lately.

[Mad4Chillas]

I made a really delicious Vanilla Chia Spice pudding the other day, helps with my sweet cravings.

Vanilla Spice Chia Pudding
-3/4 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
-1/4 Cup Sugar Free Vanilla Creamer
-3 Packets Splenda (or sweetness to taste)
-1 Tsp. Cinnamon
-1/2 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
-3 Tbsp. Chia Seeds

Combine Almond Milk, Creamer, Splenda, Cinnamon, & Pumpkin Pie Spice in a small blender (I use a magic bullet) until well combined. Place into a bowl or a large cup with a lid. Stir in 3 Tbsp. of Chia seed, stirring periodically to make sure they are completely coated. Refigerate overnight. Enjoy

[rosethorns]

If you grind it will the chia still gel??

[theredhead]

I'm planning on making a veggie soup in the crock pot tomorrow. What would happen if I put a little chia seed into it? Does it thicken? Would it be more like a stew that way?

[dianafoot]

Originally Posted by rosethorns

If you grind it will the chia still gel??

I ground the chia at first before adding it to my chocolate drink. It gelled just fine, but I found that there was no difference in the consistency of the drink when I ground it beforehand, or when I just put it in the blender with the other ingredients and blended everything together. I didn't want the little "tapioca pearls" effect, so that is why I chose to blend it instead of stirring it. The results in both cases were a sort of milkshake that was very thick and rich. If I had added another tablespoon of chia seeds to the mix, it would have been pudding.

I have an ice cream mix in the making right now, using cottage cheese (a la Lauren at Healthy Indulgences), but I added Almond milk, dark chocolate cocoa, and chia seeds to that mix. It was mostly because the cottage cheese had too much salt in it and I needed to lighten it up. The mix tastes wonderful. Tomorrow, I will put it through the ice cream maker and report on the results.

[Brendajm]

I made the chia gel and added it to the Stella scones. It made them very moist. I am going to add some to biscuits today.
If you add it to meatballs or meatloaf are you grinding it first or added whole?
That chocolate drink sounds good. Might try that later.

[Soobee]

I add them whole, but the meatballs are simmered in the sauce. I don't know how they would work just baked, although in meatloaf, they also disappear. I hate grinding them because it's an extra step and I am extra lazy.