chia seeds

Monica

A Little Goes a Long Way

Recently there are some foods that have been shown to have been overlooked as powerful and potent sources of not only nutrition, but also for their healing properties and protection from disease. Some are even being proven to help to prolong life, preventing ailments from heart attack and stroke risk to promoting brain health and diabetes. They are relatively inexpensive and so easy to incorporate into our daily lives. Let’s take a look at 10 amazing seeds that demonstrate great benefits for our health in a video by Dr. Gus.

Here is just one way in which to use these amazing seeds😋🥞 More recipe posts to come!

My recipe for Flaxseed Pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons of Flaxseeds (a substitute for eggs)
  • About 1&1/2-2 cups of a plant based drink (coconut milk, almond milk, whatever your choice)
  • A sweetener such as unsweetened applesauce (1/2 cup)
  • A few tablespoons of brown sugar (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil (or optional cooking oil of your choosing)
  • 1 tablespoon of baking powder
  • 1 pinch of baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon of liquid vanilla flavoring
  • About 2-2&1/2 cups of flour (healthy options: spelt mixed with whole wheat and can even mix in a bit of self-rising flour for baking in equal parts). Note that spelt flour will make for very light pancakes and will take more in the recipe. Whole wheat flour will make the pancake heavier so use sparingly.
  • Generally makes about 8-9 pancakes

Directions:

  • Start by grinding up your flaxseeds in a blender (generally takes about 30 seconds).
  • Place them into a medium mixing bowl and add your plant based drink. Allow a few minutes to soak a bit.
  • Add in brown sugar and applesauce and whisk in until consistent mixture (if you don’t have a whisk a fork works just fine)
  • Add your cooking oil, vanilla, baking soda and baking powder and whisk in as well.
  • Begin to add your flour (if you can sift it in to prevent lumping it’s better)……adding little by little as you whisk in or with your hand mixer until you have a consistent mixture. Shouldn’t be too runny so you may add flour as needed to reach a pancake batter consistency. Hint: It should pour slowly from a spoon/ladle.
  • At this point if you would like to add some fruit such as blueberries or strawberries, feel free to do so.
  • Heat your large frying pan on medium heat and add a few tablespoons of your choice of cooking oil. After a few minutes the pan should be heated enough to begin cooking your pancakes. When you see bubbles forming around the outer edges and a bit towards the middle it’s time to flip them. Generally after a minute or two on the second side they are ready to retrieve, cooking 1-2 at a time.
  • Serve as above with preserves, honey, or if you so desire maple syrup but in order to keep it more healthy the first two options are best.

Comment back if you tried the recipe and how you enjoyed it (or not 😉), or if you have a spin that you put on it that we can all benefit from. The point is, enjoy exploring healthy ways of cooking and share this with others.

As always, why not SHARE IT💖 , LIKE👍🏿, REPOST♻️, COMMENT💭 and YES, SUBSCRIBE✔️ by clicking Follow……Thanks so much for visiting, and please be a blessing and be blessed everyone!

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Monica

Powerful Fiber Source for Weight Loss

You all probably remember the famous “Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia”.  How many of us grew those chia plants back in the day and had no idea what it was?  Well, I have just become a user of these cool little seeds.  Top 8 reasons why to incorporate Chia Seeds into your daily diet:

  • One big reason is you get a lot for doing so little.  Chia seeds are packed with so many nutrients and very few calories.  They contain 11 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, 5 grams of Omega-3s out of the 9 grams of fat, 18% of the recommended daily allowance of Calcium (RDA), 30% of the RDA of Manganese, 27% of the RDA of Phosphorus, a generous amount of Zinc, Vitamin B3/Niacin, Potassium, Vitamin B1/Thiamine and Vitamin B2.
    • In just 1 ounce, you get a power-packed 137 calories (this is just 2 tablespoons).  Since a lot of these calories are fiber and may not be used by the body, these ends up being about 101 calories per ounce.  Chia seeds are usually grown organically and considered a “whole grain” food.  They are non-GMO and also gluten free without any manipulation.
  • Chia seeds have been found to have a high amount of anti-oxidants
  • As mentioned earlier, almost all of the calories are from fiber.  Since fiber won’t raise your blood sugar level, eating chia seeds doesn’t require so much usage of insulin because only a small percentage is actual carbs.  Fiber absorbs a lot of water and eating these seeds in other foods and drinks will “fill you up” so to speak.  This may lead to you eating fewer calories, thus, it may help in weight loss.
  • Chia seeds are high in protein which helps to keep you full and suppress apetite!
  • They are high in Omega-3-Fatty acids
  • May reduce your risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes
  • They contain nutrients that are healthy for bones.  This is important to me since I made a decision not to drink or give cow milk to my family.  I wanted another source of calcium and phosphorus.  These nutrients also include magnesium and protein in which Chia seeds contain a great amount.
  • These little seeds may cause improvement in Type 2 Diabetes patients due to their ability to significantly lower blood pressure and a marker for inflammation.

I hope you will give these little seeds a try, but before doing so, just consider that it is best taken in small amounts like an ounce or so mixed in with other food and drink.  Also, please consult your healthcare provider before introducing anything new.  This just keeps them in the loop and helps you to be safer!

Also check out this video that summarizes the above post. There are so many recipes making use of this small seed. Have fun exploring all the ways you can use it!

As always, why not SHARE IT👍🏿 , LIKE❤️,  REPOST♻️, COMMENT😊 and YES, SUBSCRIBE by clicking Follow……Thanks so much for visiting and please let’s get healthy everyone!

Monica

All About Chia Seeds

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You all probably remember the famous “Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia”.  How many of us grew those chia plants back in the day and had no idea what it was?  Well, I have just become a user of these cool little seeds.  Top 8 reasons why to incorporate Chia Seeds into your daily diet:

  • One big reason is you get a lot for doing so little.  Chia seeds are packed with so many nutrients and very few calories.  They contain 11 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, 5 grams of Omega-3s out of the 9 grams of fat, 18% of the recommended daily allowance of Calcium (RDA), 30% of the RDA of Manganese, 27% of the RDA of Phosphorus, a generous amount of Zinc, Vitamin B3/Niacin, Potassium, Vitamin B1/Thiamine and Vitamin B2.
    • In just 1 ounce, you get a power-packed 137 calories (this is just 2 tablespoons).  Since a lot of these calories are fiber and may not be used by the body, these ends up being about 101 calories per ounce.  Chia seeds are usually grown organically and considered a “whole grain” food.  They are non-GMO and also gluten free without any manipulation.
  • Chia seeds have been found to have a high amount of anti-oxidants
  • As mentioned earlier, almost all of the calories are from fiber.  Since fiber won’t raise your blood sugar level, eating chia seeds doesn’t require so much usage of insulin because only a small percentage is actual carbs.  Fiber absorbs a lot of water and eating these seeds in other foods and drinks will “fill you up” so to speak.  This may lead to you eating fewer calories, thus, it may help in weight loss.
  • Chia seeds are high in protein which helps to keep you full and suppress apetite!
  • They are high in Omega-3-Fatty acids
  • May reduce your risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes
  • They contain nutrients that are healthy for bones.  This is important to me since I made a decision not to drink or give cow milk to my family.  I wanted another source of calcium and phosphorus.  These nutrients also include magnesium and protein in which Chia seeds contain a great amount.
  • These little seeds may cause improvement in Type 2 Diabetes patients due to their ability to significantly lower blood pressure and a marker for inflammation.

I hope you will give these little seeds a try, but before doing so, just consider that it is best taken in small amounts like an ounce or so mixed in with other food and drink.  Also, please consult your healthcare provider before introducing anything new.  This just keeps them in the loop and helps you to be safer!

References:

  1. https://authoritynutrition.com/11-proven-health-benefits-of-chia-seeds/
  2. https://www.nutrition.org/asn-blog/2012/03/the-real-scoop-on-chia-seeds/