Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

As I told y'all earlier, I am trying my best to stick to a low(er) carbohydrate diet.  The problem is, I always have a hard time meeting my daily fiber quota when low carbing.  I have a Facebook friend that has been posting lots of delicious looking smoothies and I noticed she uses Chia seeds quite often in her recipes.  So I did a little digging online and it turns out these babies are packed with antioxidants, full of protein, an excellent source of fiber, loaded with vitamins and minerals, and the richest known plant source of omega-3.  It has more omega-3 than an Atlantic Salmon, more antioxidants than fresh blueberries, more calcium than 2% milk, more fiber than bran flakes, and more protein, fiber, and calcium than flax seed.  It's a superfood!!

1 tbsp of Chia seeds has 5 grams of carbohydrates and 5 grams of fiber.  So if you are counting net carbs....it has NO COUNTABLE CARBS! 

I just made a protein smoothie with them and it was really good.  Now, if you are a person with food texture issues, you may have a problem with the seeds.  I don't, so it didn't bother me.  If you drink your smoothie right after you make it, the seeds kind of have the texture of poppy seeds.  The longer the seeds sit in your drink the more gel-like they become.  They remind me of a mix between poppy seeds and tapioca.  They don't really have a flavor, so as long as the texture doesn't bother you, you'll be fine. 

So, get your Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia on and reap the benefits of this superfood!

Until next time...