In March we read about the many benefits of including Chia seeds in our diets. Though how, exactly, can we use them? Chia seeds are actually easy to incorporate – here are some suggestions (your recommended daily intake of Chia is 1 – 2 tablespoons per day):

A healthy start to the day

• Grind seeds and add to hot milk to make a “porridge”
• Mix into yoghurt.
• Want a crunchy breakfast? Add half to one tablespoon of chia seeds to crunchy toasted muesli, add milk, fruit juice, soy or nut milk and eat immediately. The chia seeds will retain their crunch. Add whole seeds to granola.
• Blend into smoothies.
• Add whole seeds to diluted fruit juice to make Chia Fresca.
• Make a “lassie” by blending the seeds, yogurt and fruit juice.
• Add to beaten eggs, soak for 10 minutes and make an omelette.
• Soak seeds in beaten eggs and use mix to make a frittata.
• Mix ground seeds with butter, peanut butter for Nutella or a nutritious spread.
• Whisk a dessertspoon of chia seeds into coconut water. This is especially good on a hot day for keeping hydrated and an excellent idea for athletes (it’s so effective and healthy I feel it will soon be marketed as a sports drink!)

Dinners

• Add to soup to thicken.
• Mix with Worcestershire or bbq sauce and brush over barbecued meats.
• Add seeds to stews to thicken.
• Throw some seeds into a stir fry.
• Make a thin batter of ground chia seeds and milk and cook in a slow oven to make crackers.
• Stir into cooked lentils.
• Cook brown rice in vegetable stock and stir seeds through when rice is cooked.
• Mix ground seeds with ground beef to make meatballs. Add ground seeds soaked in an egg to bind a hamburger mix.
• Mix chia seeds that have been soaked in milk through mashed potatoes.
• Make a pasta sauce by blending chia seeds, cooked cauliflower and vegetable stock.
• Add ground or whole chia seeds to your favourite stuffing mixture.
• Add ground chia seeds to your favourite fish cake recipe.
• Sprinkle over a salad, or sprout the seeds to use in salads.
• Add to salad dressings.

Desserts

• Add to apple juice to make “sago”.
• Grind seeds and mix with flour, milk and eggs to make pancakes.
• Make Chia pudding by adding whole seeds to milk, nut milk or soy milk.
• Pureed fruit, chia seeds and a little fruit juice is a good topping for ice cream.
• Top a cheesecake with chia seeds soaked in fruit juice to make a gel topping.
• Cook brown rice in apple juice, add grated apple and stir whole chia seeds through the mixture for a tasty dessert.
• Add a desert spoon of black seeds to a green jelly mix for “frog spawn jelly” or to custard to make “polka dot custard” – great for kids!

Baking

• Mix 1 dessertspoon of seeds with quarter cup of water to make egg substitute for baking cakes.
• Add to a cake batter to make a heavy poppy seed like cake.
• Add ground chia seeds to flour when making bread.
• Make chia pan bread by combining chia seeds, eggs, milk, flour and baking powder. Cook in a heavy based pan with a lid on.
• Add whole or ground seeds to biscuit cookie mixes.
• Toasted ground chia seeds mixed with honey and cinnamon – great base for a cheesecake.
• Cinnamon, ground chia and butter is great on hot scones.
• Spread a mixture of honey, cinnamon, dried fruit and ground chia on to filo or puff pastry sheets, roll up and cook in a hot oven.

And you can simply eat Chia seeds whole and raw as a snack. Adding Chia to your diet costs from as little as 50p per day. Buy your organic Chia Seeds from Wikaniko and get a healthier lifestyle, instantly! Visit online shop ecomarketstall.wikaniko.com

For the health benefits of Chia seeds, you can read it here