Raise your hand if you remember the Chia Pet commercials from the 70′s and 80′s. Who could get that jingle out of their head? It turns out that the seeds used in this wildly popular product are Super Hero Foods. No, really. They are.

You’ve probably heard about flax seeds and their health benefits. Chia seeds provide even more health benefits: even more omega-3 fatty acids (making them anti-inflammatory superstars); high in fiber (1 tablespoon has 4 grams of fiber), calcium, protein and other nutrients.

A Neat Trick

Chia seeds do something neat when mixed with a liquid: they form a gel. In addition to making it possible to coat a Chia Pet form so it would grow green sprouts, this little trick can also slow down digestion and conversion of the carbohydrates to sugar. This will keep you feeling full and keep your blood sugar steadier.

Chia seeds are one of the easiest improvements to make to your diet. You can find them at health-food stores or online . The seeds are tiny and it’s hard to even notice how they taste due to their size. I add them to my breakfast cereals, yogurt, bean salads and so on. Because they’re so high in fiber, start with just a tablespoon at a time and gradually add more each day (don’t forget to drink plenty of water, especially if you’re not accustomed to a lot of fiber in your diet).

You can also try this yummy Oat & Chia Bar recipe, courtesy of Shiloh Farms.

Oat and Chia Bar

2 cups Shiloh Farms rolled oats
1/2 cup Shiloh Farms raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup Shiloh Farms raw sunflower seeds
2-3 tbsp Shiloh Farms chia seeds
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
2 tbsp unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 325′.
Spread oats and seeds on baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring twice to assure uniform toasting. Transfer to a medium bowl. Put honey and butter into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low for about 10 minutes or until syrup starts to condense and thicken. (similar to soft ball stage) . Pour hot syrup over oat mixture and stir to combine. Quickly spread mixture in a buttered 8-inch square pan and pack down evenly. Cut into bars. Cool. Separate bars and store in a sealed container.

And if you have any seeds left over, you can always pull your Chia Pet out of storage and give it a fresh green coat!

Which Chia Pet did you have? My favorite was Chia Guy, followed by Chia Ram. Call me a traditionalist.

Inspired by what you read? You can always get more great information (and inspiration) at Prevention Not Prescriptions.

Tags: chia seeds, Recipes, super foods

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at 7:55 am and is filed under Disease Prevention, Prevention Not Prescriptions . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.