Chai seeds - what don't I know?

[clackley]

I have begun to notice some folks here are using chai seeds. What are the benefits of consuming them? Where might I find them? I tried to find out the carb count with no luck. Can anyone bring me up to date on these?

[tulipsandroses]

I bought some at Whole Foods. Haven't quite figured out what to do with them yet. I'll probably just end up putting them in my shakes since I'm not fond of pudding. They are supposed to be better than flax as far as Omega3s go so thats why I bought them.

I will say that if you are looking for something other than fat to make you feel full. This is it. I was stuffed eating half of the pudding I made with it. Unfortunately it was devoid of taste so I did not enjoy eating it. I'll probably start putting them in my shakes.

[Minnas]

Yeah, lots of good fat and fiber. You can add to liquid to make a gel which you can bake with or add to ground meat for meatloaf and meatballs and it keeps it very moist. Some add them to their shakes. I like the pudding but admit it was not love at first bite. It's a different texture.

Search the board and you will find endless threads with ideas and recipes. I oz of chia (2 TBSP) is about 140 calories, 9g fat, 12 carbs which are almost all fiber (11ish). It's good stuff!

I highly recommend the white seeds as they look more appetizing to me than the black. Same taste and nutrition but they don't turn everything grey.

[krb]

i'm so gonna try this soon.

[tulipsandroses]

Minnas, I had not thought about baking with it. I should try that.

[clackley]

Dang, I could have added to my meatloaf tonight instead of flax....I will be on the hunt for it tomorrow! The carb count is high for me as I don't deduct for fibre...maybe a tsp. in something will do the trick?
Thanks for the info and tips!!!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by clackley

I have begun to notice some folks here are using chai seeds. What are the benefits of consuming them? Where might I find them? I tried to find out the carb count with no luck. Can anyone bring me up to date on these?

Hi clackey…
If you spell it Ch-I-a you will find carb count (you are spelling it Ch-A-i)...

The count is
5 carbs per Tablespoon
1 carb soluble fiber
4 carb insoluble fiber
______________________
1 net carb per Tablespoon

I don't count insoluble fiber (as it is not going to be assimilated into the body).

Several uses for Chia Seeds...

• Agua Fresca (the recipes are out there for this one).
• Then there is the pudding which is more flavorful if one makes it with Choc Almond Milk & sweetener instead of water (perhaps with additional cocoa powder).
• It makes really nice thick shakes/smoothies (either add gel to a smoothie or just the seeds and then allow the shake to sit and gel after mixing).
• Add it as extender to mayo or salad dressings
• Add gel to yogurt 50/50 to have better sized portions.

It's tasteless and odorless.

The most standard gel formula is 1/3 cup Chia to 2 cups of liquid. This makes a 6:1 ratio and is a nice thick gel with 3 net carbs which can be thinned for other uses. You can of course make your gel thicker or thinner by adjusting the amount of water to seeds.

I toss seeds into my soups and let them thicken while eating the soup.

I put gel into my mayo when making slaws, and in my blue cheese salad dressing (and vinegar & oil dressing). I mix equal parts gel with 1/2 cup yogurt (including Carbmaster) to get enough to make it into a worth while size dessert.

I put it in our smoothies all the time too which thickens them up nicely at a basic level...I add the gel not the seeds to smoothies. If you add seeds, you have to wait for them to thicken.

I never use the Chia powder (ground up seeds) as it's hard to get it to mix without clumping.

Hope this helps push the discussion down the road...what are you folks doing with it?

[tulipsandroses]

Thanks for those tips Larry. I made it with water so no wonder it was devoid of taste. I did add some sweetener to it but that wasn't good enough. Will try again with the Almond milk.

I also saw Chia Flour while I was at Whole Foods. It was pricier so I didn't get it.

[Nelle Belle]

Chia is my newest addiction.

Love it in almond milk
love it in coffee/hc/sweetener (cold)
That's all I need for now, although I will be thinking about other things. I could eat it all day.

[Minnas]

Oh yeah, chia fresca will be flowing (or blobbing!) this summer at my house for sure. I made some last week and it was delicious and so refreshing. You can get recipes online but it's just chia in water with lemon and sweetener of your choice. It's fun like bubble tea! I think kids would love this.

I made some gel with some DaVinci's then froze it and put it through the ice shaver and it was wonderful. A much richer mouth feel than just plain ice. Sorbet-ish I would say. Another keeper for me.

If you mix it with a fatty ground beef you can mix it dry and it will absorb the juices and fat from the meat. Yum. I made some gel and mixed it with some wretched ground turkey breast and it really made it nice and juicy. Well, o.k. it made it much less dry than it would be otherwise.

I'm finding I like the "pudding" best when I add some type of powder like cocoa or protein powder which sort of thickens it up and changes the texture to a more pudding-like feel. Lately my mix is chia in chocolate almond milk with some erythritol then adding cocoa powder and a bit of espresso powder to finish it.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Minnas

Oh yeah, chia fresca will be flowing (or blobbing!) this summer at my house for sure. I made some last week and it was delicious and so refreshing. You can get recipes online but it's just chia in water with lemon and sweetener of your choice. It's fun like bubble tea! I think kids would love this.

Hi Minnas…
Cool ideas!

I tell little boys it's frog's-eggs or frog-eyes. The other day a friend's 5 year old daughter took me aside and told me I should tell little girls that it is Butterfly-eggs not frog-eggs. She's probably right...

I also gel it with Crystal Lite instead of plain water for our version of Agua Fresca. I blob/plop some flavored gel into a glass, then add some Fresca (diet Soda) Diet Dew, plain Crystal Lite or Soda Water, and a splash of lime juice. Kids (large or small) get a straw to stir and enjoy it with...

I’m going to experiment with gelling it with Lemon or Peach Crystal Lite and putting it into iced tea.

I don't use it to suppress appetite, but it sure works for that.

I had two different types from Whole Foods, and the brand called ChiaLife clumps too much without a lot of help. That has not been my experience noramally. Most of mine is easy to mix and gel evenly...

[Joycelyn]

If you go into the Recipe forum, Administrator Dottie featured a Tapioca Pudding made from chia! You won't believe it until you try it. I love Chia! It is so good for you.

A lot of people don't realize it's also high in calcium. 2 tb. chia seeds gives you 10% of your daily calcium allowance. I don't know of any other "grain" that is so high.

[Joycelyn]

I found a bunch of great chia recipes on a low carb blog. If you google Dardreams Blog it will take you to a low carb recipe blog started by a lady who is diabetic and very creative in the kitchen. She has very low carb recipes for chia cake, crackers, raspberry jam using chia gel and sugar free raspberry syrup (talk about creative!), candy bars, etc.

You have to search the site; she categorizes her recipes. You want the chia seed category recipes. She also has a neat section for very low carb coconut flour recipes, etc. I stumbled on this blog by accident. Her recipes are very creative.

Just thought I'd share for you fellow chia fans out there.

[SmileySue]

Supposedly, you can use chia gel in place of an egg when baking.To replace one egg, use 2 tablespoons of chia with half a cup of cold water. This will make 1/4 cup of chia gel.

IMHO, I'd rather have the egg, but in a pinch or for someone with egg allergies, it sounds like a viable solution.

[clackley]

Wow, such great info! Thank you everyone!!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by SmileySue

...I'd rather have the egg, but in a pinch or for someone with egg allergies, it sounds like a viable solution.

Hi Sue…
Sometimes I mix some chia gel with my raw eggs then scramble them...

[Cablegriz]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Agua Fresca (the recipes are out there for this one).[*]Then there is the pudding which is more flavorful if one makes it with Choc Almond Milk & sweetener instead of water (perhaps with additional cocoa powder).

Do you happen to have the recipe for the pudding? or is it just as easy as chia, mixed with almond milk and sweetener?

Had a chia fresca this morning with breakfast MMMMMM>

[fawn]

Originally Posted by Joycelyn

I found a bunch of great chia recipes on a low carb blog. If you google Dardreams Blog it will take you to a low carb recipe blog started by a lady who is diabetic and very creative in the kitchen. She has very low carb recipes for chia cake, crackers, raspberry jam using chia gel and sugar free raspberry syrup (talk about creative!), candy bars, etc.

You have to search the site; she categorizes her recipes. You want the chia seed category recipes. She also has a neat section for very low carb coconut flour recipes, etc. I stumbled on this blog by accident. Her recipes are very creative.

Just thought I'd share for you fellow chia fans out there.

Jocelyn can you post the link? edited to add: I found it!

http://dardreams.spaces.live.com/blog/

[Sunny7]

i stir some in my yogurt, have been out of them for a while, thanks for reminding me

[fawn]

Here are some interesting nutrition facts as well as a recipe I enjoy

* Omega 3 fatty acids - equal to 250 grams (9 oz) of salmon
* Antioxidants - equal to 15 grams of blueberries
* Fiber - equal to 17 grams of bran
* Protein - equal to 44 grams of kidney beans
* Calcium - equal to 3 oz whole milk
* Magnesium - equal to 73 grams of spinach
* Iron - equal to 103 grams of spinach
* Supports healthy digestion
* Rapid transport to tissues
* Builds tissue and muscle
* Maintains a feeling of satiety
* Beneficial to cholesterol

1 can coconut milk
1 cup coconut powder (a bit courser than flour)
2 scoops chia
2 Tbs. Powdered Xylitol
zest of one lemon and 1 tbs. lemon juice

refrigerate over night....you can add others flavors as well.

[Beeb]

Originally Posted by Joycelyn

I found a bunch of great chia recipes on a low carb blog. If you google Dardreams Blog it will take you to a low carb recipe blog started by a lady who is diabetic and very creative in the kitchen. She has very low carb recipes for chia cake, crackers, raspberry jam using chia gel and sugar free raspberry syrup (talk about creative!), candy bars, etc.

You have to search the site; she categorizes her recipes. You want the chia seed category recipes. She also has a neat section for very low carb coconut flour recipes, etc. I stumbled on this blog by accident. Her recipes are very creative.

Just thought I'd share for you fellow chia fans out there.

I checked out her blog. She seems to use Fiberfit in everything. I don't have this ingredient, is there a sub for this?

Sorry for the thread jump, OP.:blush:

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Cablegriz

Do you happen to have the recipe for the pudding? or is it just as easy as chia, mixed with almond milk and sweetener?

Had a chia fresca this morning with breakfast MMMMMM>

Hi C-griz…
I like it a bit thicker than the straight 6:1 ratio (1/3 cup Chia to 2 cups liquid).

So I play with the ratio so it's a bit less than 2 cups Chocolate Almond Milk (non-sweet) and a Tablespoon more than 1/3 cup Chia plus whatever sweetener I prefer.

[Cablegriz]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi C-griz…
I like it a bit thicker than the straight 6:1 ratio (1/3 cup Chia to 2 cups liquid).

So I play with the ratio so it's a bit less than 2 cups Chocolate Almond Milk (non-sweet) and a Tablespoon more than 1/3 cup Chia plus whatever sweetener I prefer.

Thanks!!

[SmileySue]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Sue…
Sometimes I mix some chia gel with my raw eggs then scramble them...

Now that's one I hadn't thought of!! I'm going to give it a try. Thanks!!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by SmileySue

Now that's one I hadn't thought of!! I'm going to give it a try. Thanks!!

Hi Sue…
The gel made with white seeds hardly show in eggs, or mayo, or salad dressing.

The black seed gel looks nice in salad dressings because it looks like some sort of spice in it...or pepper. Never had anyone even know or notice it...

It's a great extender (helps things feel like bigger portions, thickens, and fortifies the texture of some things).

[Cablegriz]

Larry,
I'm going to get the white ones next time. So I don't see them in the eggs LOL I don't taste them and they are a great addition.

Making chia pudding right now

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Cablegriz

Larry,
I'm going to get the white ones next time. So I don't see them in the eggs LOL I don't taste them and they are a great addition.

Making chia pudding right now

Hi Bethy…
I don't find any difference in texture or anything else between black and white, but I do pay a couple bucks a pound more for white.

They have been a fun & delightful addition to my low carb eating...sprinkled on salads they look like sesame or caraway seed.

[CarolynF]

Beeb: Fiberfit is like fake fat, so just use butter/oil..

Netrition sells one pound of the white chia for $10..My hfstore sells one pound for $26..Holy smokes.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

Beeb: Fiberfit is like fake fat, so just use butter/oil..

Netrition sells one pound of the white chia for $10..My hfstore sells one pound for $26..Holy smokes.

Hi Carolyn…
Scouting around online it can be had for about $5-7 pound shipped in 5# lots.

Avoid paying more for anything labeled 'organic' because Chia plants have no natural predators and none of them are ever sprayed or treated - in essence they are all organic. (doesn't stop some vendors from using it as a marketing tactic)

The white ones I order are usually $2 more than the black ones.

[CarolynF]

Thanks, Larry..