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<\/p>\nIn the glow up of the century, chia seeds have gone from living a life of growing wacky plant shapes to being promoted all the way to the role of \u201csuperfood\u201d! These teeny tiny seeds, aside from contributing a fun speckled appearance and crunchy texture to any dish also significantly increase the nutritional value of your meal.<\/p>\n
Although you may have been hearing a lot about them lately, we don\u2019t blame you if you still aren\u2019t exactly sure how to eat chia seeds. You may have tasted chia pudding before but honestly, what else is there to do with the little guys? As it turns out, lots of things! We\u2019ve assembled our top 8 favorite ways to use chia seeds and can assure you, you\u2019ll have cooked your way through that bag of chia seeds lingering in your pantry before you know it.<\/p>\n
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Chia seeds are the seeds produced by Salvia hispanica<\/em>, a specific type of flowering plant in the mint family. The seeds are quite small, about the same size as sesame seeds, weighing only about 1.3 milligrams each<\/u><\/a>! Each chia seed may differ slightly from another in coloring as it is quite common to have a mix of white, black, marbled, or brown chia seeds produced by the same plant.<\/p>\n Though these seeds are members of the mint family, you sure wouldn\u2019t know it by their taste! On their own, chia seeds have an extremely mild flavor, slightly nutty, but overall very plain. When consumed raw, they have a small-but-mighty crunchy texture, much like poppy seeds. When soaked however, they turn into gelatinous bulbs–think tapioca pearls!<\/p>\n Whether eaten raw or soaked in liquid, chia seeds provide a blank canvas for other flavors to be highlighted and incorporate a unique texture into any dish they are added to.<\/p>\n Chia was a key food crop of the ancient Mesoamerican peoples, so it\u2019s no surprise that once again, humankind is turning to these tiny powerhouses as an important food source!<\/p>\n Most folks these days choose to soak chia seeds, as this causes them to experience a dramatic textual change, swelling up to nearly 10 times their size, but as you’re about to see, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy chia seeds as well.<\/p>\n Chia pudding is one of the most popular and well known ways to eat chia seeds, so of course, it\u2019s first up on our list! As mentioned above, when soaked in liquid, chia seeds take on a jelly-like, globular texture like tapioca, therefore it\u2019s no surprise that they make for an excellent pudding as well!<\/p>\n Everyone loves the way that poppy seeds speckle a batch of lemon-poppy muffins oh so perfectly, but little do they know that chia seeds can play this role equally as well! When baking with chia, you may opt for either ground chia seeds or whole chia seeds, depending on your recipe.<\/p>\n For far too long, chia seeds have been relegated to the garden department in the form of Chia Pets–it seems almost blasphemous to be considering sending them back there. This time though, the intention behind sprouting your chia seeds is not just to enjoy looking at them, rather it is to eat them!<\/p>\n Sprouting chia seeds is a great way to bring the power of chia into your diet in a different way, especially if you find yourself growing weary of having tiny seeds in all of your dishes, or if you suffer from particular digestive conditions that make eating whole seeds out of the question.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not a fan of the gelatinous texture that results when you soak chia seeds, this option is for you! By quickly toasting chia seeds, you can elicit a delightful nutty flavor which is world\u2019s away from the comparatively plain taste of the raw seeds.<\/p>\n Making beverages is one of the easiest ways to use chia seeds–no cooking required. It may seem odd to think about drinking<\/em> seeds, but when exposed to water, each chia seed develops that smooth, jelly-like coating which makes them blend right into any drinkable liquid.<\/p>\n One of the ways that the ancient Aztec and Mayan peoples would consume chia was to simply mix the whole chia seeds with water and drink it down as a type of \u201cenergy drink\u201d. In fact, the term \u201cchia\u201d actually has roots in the ancient Mayan word<\/a> for \u201cstrength\u201d!<\/p>\n Now, we\u2019re not saying that you can use chia seeds to replicate the experience of eating a plate of scrambled eggs for brunch, but the way that chia seeds gel up when exposed to water makes them an amazing substitute for eggs when called for in a baking or cooking recipe!<\/p>\n Seeing as granola always features some combination of oats, nuts, and seeds, adding chia seeds into the mix is a natural fit! You can easily adapt your favorite granola to be a chia seed granola, just add chia seeds into the oat mixture and proceed.<\/p>\n Chia seeds + fruit is a match made in heaven! The seeds add a pleasant crunch (not to mention protein boost!) to the juicy, refreshing texture of any fruit. While there are some store bought versions of chia jam or compote that feature chia seeds already mixed in, you can also whip up your own combinations at home.<\/p>\n Along with the \u201csuperfood\u201d designation comes plenty of nutrient density. In fact, one serving of chia seeds is just two tablespoons! This may not sound like much, but you can be sure that there is plenty of nutrition packed into a serving of this size.<\/p>\n As you can see, there are plenty of ways to enjoy chia seeds that go far beyond the chia pudding or simply tossing them on top of any ol’ dish!<\/p>\n Due to their small size, they are actually quite easy to work into any number of existing recipes for baked goods or granola. In many cases, you may not even know they’re there, while in others, their crunchy texture is at the forefront. If you feel like trying something a bit different, whip up a refreshing chia seed beverage or try your hand at sprouting the little seeds to get your greens in a whole new way!<\/p>\n However you choose to incorporate chia seeds into your diet is fine by us, just be sure that you do<\/em> so that you can start reaping the big nutritional rewards provided by these tiny little seeds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the glow up of the century, chia seeds have gone from living a life of growing wacky plant shapes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5145"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5145"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5164,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5145\/revisions\/5164"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What do Chia Seeds Taste Like?<\/h3>\n
How Are Chia Seeds Used?<\/h3>\n
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8 Delicious Ideas for How to Eat Chia Seeds<\/h2>\n
Chia Seed Pudding<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hellawella.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/chia-pudding-1024x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTips for Making Chia Seed Pudding:<\/h4>\n
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Chia Seed Baked Goods<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nTips for Making Chia Seed Baked Goods:<\/h4>\n
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Chia Seed Sprouts<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nChia Seed Sprout Tips:<\/h4>\n
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Toasted Chia Seeds<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nTips for Using Toasted Chia Seeds:<\/h4>\n
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Chia Seed Beverages<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nTips for Making Chia Seed Beverages:<\/h4>\n
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Chia Seeds as an Egg Substitute<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nTips for Using Chia Seeds as an Egg Substitute:<\/h4>\n
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Chia Seed Granola<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nChia Seed Granola Tips:<\/h4>\n
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Chia Seed Jams and Fruit Compotes<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nChia Seed Jam and Fruit Compote Tips:<\/h4>\n
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Health Benefits of Chia Seeds<\/h2>\n
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How to Eat Chia Seeds: Find Your Favorite Way!<\/h2>\n