Chia Power

LifeMax (The Signature Grain) and What Happened to Arizona Chia (Part 2)

It's taken 10 weeks, but the news is beginning to leak out.

As I reported below, Arizona Chia, which for many years sold excellent quality chia seed at $6/pound, has has been acquired by LifeMax, a company based in Orlando, Florida. Founder Wayne Coates is no longer directly involved in sales; he has joined the company to provide scientific expertise. You can listen to a LifeMax sponsored interview with Dr. Coates, here.

LifeMax launched in mid May and sales are taking off!  Chia seed ("micro-sliced") is being sold through a multilevel marketing business,  as "The Signature Grain." The price is now $80/pound (not a misprint).

LifeMax provides distributors with a personalized website, a generous product discount, and, of course, a commission on sales. This is just one example of a distributor's website. You might want to sign up to become a LifeMax distributor, yourself!

This is a new business, and, like all multilevel marketing businesses, is open to criticism as a Ponzi scheme. That is the opinion of blogger, Cheryl-Lynné   Rose    Henderson, who is familiar with prior real estate dealings of LifeMax founder, Jim Wear.

If you see Dr. Coates on Oprah this month (as yet an uncomfirmed rumor), or otherwise hear about LifeMax distributorship opportunities, I hope you will Cheryl-Lynné's research to be of interest.

Lime Chia Gelato!

Paciugo Gelateria offers more than 200 flavors, including Lime Chia!

Kyle Nabilcy writes

--- the lime gelato was really good on its own. With just the right blend of icy cool and puckering tart, it was the perfect antidote to the day's early spring heat. The presence of the chia seeds added a grassy flavor component and crunchy texture that allowed the gelato to play well on a greater number of senses --Isthmus Daily Page, Madison WI, June 11

England, 1819

From the Botanical Register,  courtesy of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Chia Recipe Contest

Angela at  RawReform is celebrating all things chia-related and is offering a special RawReform Giveaway Contest: the prize is a copy of her shiny new ‘Chia Cheat Sheet’ chart, along with a 1lb bag of chia and a bag of the delicious new ‘Chia Goodness’ cereal.

 

To be in with a chance of winning this chia goodie basket, just email in YOUR answer to the following Q:

What is YOUR favourite chia recipe? (ingredients/description please ;)

Please send in your answers to angela@rawreform.com before July the 31st. (And please tell her that I sent you!)The winner shall be picked at random and with love thereafter... ;)

The Herbinator Speaks

Awhile back, I flagged this post by The Herbinator, a  medical herbalist and Green Party candidate from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

He asks,
Should Salba (a trademarked form of white chia seed) have received the Silver Award for Alive Magazine's 2007 Product of the Year? Apparently not, because according to the Herbinator, "Salba is crap".

He says, "I have people bringing in packages of this Salba here to the clinic and asking my opinion. I tell them they were dupped, over-charged, and sold an inferior product to cheaper, certified organic seed. They all feel silly, and betrayed by a magazine masquerading as an enterprise serving their better interest."

His advice: "never buy a food with an ingredient that has a registered trademark. You are paying extra and are being had."

In the comments to this post, Mark Gobuty, of Source Salba, tries to respond to the Herbinator's rant, by offering some factual information. I appreciate that he directed readers to visit Chia Power for more information.

I find  this Salba/chia controversy to be quite interesting, and I've decided to provoke more discussion. I intend to stay impartial, but it won't be easy. Flaming posts and comments like those on the Leisure Guy's blog will test my patience.

Readers? What do you think?

Cookies in the Raw!

Kyle over at To Live Long and Prosper has invented a raw chia cookie recipe that everyone seems to love.

Basically, he soaks chia seed and flax seed for several hours,  throws them in the blender with some ginger and honey, and then leaves them to dry out in the dehydrator for a day or two.  The recipe is  here.

Chi Chi Soap Chia Seeds and Shea Butter Lavender Mint Superfood for your Skin

Check it out on Etsy!

Pet Food?

Can your pets eat chia seed? We know that there's been lots of experiments on using chia seed as chicken feed.

I've found  a few more examples of chia seeds as animal food:

• Harrison's Premium Certified Organic Bird Foods.
• Wellytales Dog/Puppy Products
• One experiment on rats concluded that chia seed and oil was beneficial to them.
• Tortoises love sprouts of all kinds and Carolina Pet Supply carries several sprouting mixes containing chia seed.

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Note: the Chia Cat Grass Planter does not contain any chia seeds!
 

Fogbuster!

Mike from Gluten Free Blog drinks this every morning for breakfast!

Eat This!

A recipe for Dairy Free Chocolate Pudding With Chia was recently posted by our friends over at Eat This. Looks really delicious to me!

And while you're over there, check out the several articles about chia! They are all very well researched and well written. Check out 15 Facts About Chia Seeds.