Chia Power

Adding Nutrients to a Chia Pet???

A question posted on the Twiggers website.

Question:

if you added nutrients to a chia pet would it live longer?

Wrong Answer: Technically, yes – a little longer. It wouldn’t radically change the time it lives – simply because they are very short lived plants in the first. place.

My Answer:

No,no,no! Chia is not normally short lived. These plants can grow to be huge! Over 15 feet tall. But that's if they're growing in soil and aren't crowded together.

But on the chia pet, the seeds are crowded, and no amount of added nutrients will extend their lives beyond about 3 weeks.

The only exception is if you refrigerate them. You can add weeks to their lives if you leave them in the cold and dark.

Good luck!!

Fogbuster!

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

Chia Water

Mike posted this photo to Flickr and gave me permission to publish it here. Thanks, Mike!! Mike  said he tasted it, and enjoyed it!

 

He said he photographed it in Los Angeles near the corner of Echo Park and Sunset Blvd.  I went to the street view of Google Maps and, unbelievably, the street vendor was pictured there, on the southwest corner of Echo Park, in front of "Fashions of Echo Park."

This was in September 2009 and the scene has changed since then.

 

My Chia Peanut Butter Cookies

      
Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   1      c             brown sugar
   1      c             sugar
   1      c             butter
   2                     eggs
   1      tsp          vanilla
   1      c             peanut butter
   2 1/2  c           flour
   1      tsp          baking soda
   1/2  tsp           salt
   1/2  cup          chia seeds -- ground

Beat butter and sugars together until smooth and somewhat fluffy
Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter
Mix the flour, ground chia, salt, and baking soda together
Add these dry ingredients to the batter, and mix only until uniform

Roll into walnut size balls and flatten with back of a fork
Bake 375 for 12 min

Makes 5 dozen cookies, each with 105 calories, 1 gram of fiber and 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids!

Chia Dukkah

Dukkah..... is an Egyptian blend of ground nuts and spices  for dipping.

This recipe is from The Chia Company, an Australian chia grower and distributor. 

Tropical Fruit with Sweet Dukkah

Ingredients
70g slivered almonds 40 g hazelnuts 30g shredded coconut 20g sesame seeds 1 tablespoon white chia seeds 1 teaspoon cinnamon	3/4 teaspoon ground ginger 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 2 ½ tablespoons brown sugar Greek style yoghurt or pure cream Mixed tropical fruits, cut into dipping shapes
Method
1. Place almonds and hazelnuts in a non-stick frypan and toast for 2-3 minutes over a medium heat. Add coconut, sesame seeds, chia seeds, and spices. Continue to cook until all ingredients are golden and dukkah is fragrant. Stir frequently. Remove from heat and allow to cool. 2. Place cooled mixture and sugar in a food processor and process until chopped well. 3. Serve dukkah with a bowl of yoghurt or cream and tropical fruits. Dip fruit first into the yoghurt or cream and then into the dukkah. Makes 1 1/2 cups

Here's  another recipe. Healthy Party Food. Also available at Trader Joe's, but w/o chia seed.

Chia Does a Strip Tease!

4 weeks old and here she is behaving like this!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her outfit came off all in one piece. So guess what I did with it!

 

(Note: republished from 9/7/2007.)

Tarahumara Living

Melissa's cute video is informative and has a couple of good chia drink recipes and includes a great Tarahumara cartoon. It's part of a series that she made for a college project, I believe.

But it has one error. Her  mother remembers drinking a chia beverage in Vietnam many years ago (at 1:25), but that drink was almost certainly made from basil seeds, not chia seeds.

The Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cupcakes but Fed Up with Fondue

Reading about the people whose passion fueled so many different food fads has helped me put the whole chia thing into perspective, especially when I read this on page 86:

Yes, I'm quoted in it! And so is my Mom! Author David Sax interviewed me almost 12 years ago, and I'm glad to say is still in touch with me.

Buy this book and learn about chia, acai, quinoa, and cupcakes

Strawberry, Basil and Chia Seed Mojito

Created for you by the girls at Fashionably Bombed. (I haven't tried it.)

Timelapse of Growing Chia Seeds

Someone should make an animated GIF of this. Not sure how many hours this timelapse video covers. But don't let anyone tell you that plants don't move.