Chia - wonder food

The story of Chia seed is incredible.  This miraculous little herb, related to sage, was almost wiped off the face of the planet, but it survived and has now reclaimed its position as a superfood.

Chia was a staple food for the Aztecs who valued it so highly that they used it as a currency alongside maize and beans.  Aztec legend tells that just one handful of chia seed was enough to sustain a warrior in battle for 24 hours.  Perhaps that is part of the reason that the Spaniards destroyed all the chia crops when they conquered the Aztecs some 500 years ago.  Another reason given by historians is that they simply forbade the use of any crops that were not Spanish.

Either way, chia has continued to be cultivated by Mexican people for their own use.  It is an annual plant, so the seed needs to be saved each year for planting.  An unbroken line of families growing and saving seed has kept this plant in cultivation for around 5000 years.  There is a story about Chia that it was declared extinct and then rediscovered 20 years ago by the American Forestry Association, but the rediscovery was not a glorious stumbling upon a rare plant in the Amazon, but rather a realization that a previously ignored crop has amazing properties.

Now come the part where I write what I found out about the nutritional properties of Chia seeds.  They are almost unbelievable, so feel free to look it up on the internet and draw your own conclusions, but here are some claims about Chia that I found: The seeds have more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other plant food, and more than 7 times the amount found in salmon.  They have 5 times the amount of calcium as milk, and it is in a readily available form.  Chia is around 20% protein, which makes it the highest source of protein from any plant.  The type of protein has amino acids similar to meat, which makes it particularly valuable in a complete vegetarian diet.

Chia is slow burning, with a very low Glycemic Index (GI).  This makes it an ideal food for diabetics.  It absorbs 10 times its weight in water, and then releases it slowly in the gut, which is part of why it was so beneficial to those Aztec warriors, and why it is being widely adopted by long distance runners and other endurance sports.  This ability to absorb moisture also makes the seeds swell up, and that creates a feeling of lasting fullness.  Many chia-based weightloss programs have now sprung up, using that full feeling to help reduce eating.

Chia seed has, gram for gram, more selenium than linseeds, more magnesium than broccoli, more iron than spinach and more potassium than bananas.

Possibly one of the most surprising properties of Chia seeds is that they more antioxidants than blueberries.  The high levels of antioxidants protect the oils in the seed from going rancid, which means that you don’t have to keep it in the fridge and grind it fresh daily, on the contrary, chia seed can be stored indefinitely at room temperature and easily digested whole.

Chia seeds are truly incredible, but how does that help with self-sufficiency and creating less dependence on fossil fuels?

Chia plants are not plagued by pests and diseases in the same way that our top food crops usually are, so chia is easy to grow organically, even in non-organic production chia is not sprayed with pesticides at all.  Less pesticide sprays means less energy is used in their production.  Most chia, which is commercially grown in Peru, is not certified organic, but is grown without sprays or synthetic fertilizers.

Chia grows well in New Zealand, and if you have the room and the patience to thresh out the seeds then you could supply your own.  With its high levels of readily available protein chia is an excellent substitute for meat, and reducing meat consumption is one of the most important lifestyle changes a person can make to reduce their carbon footprint.  Eating less meat is good for our health, our planet, and our wallets.

If I was stranded on a desert island with only one food source available to me I would choose chia.  If there was a food crisis and we had limited rations I would know that my family was getting as close as possible to a complete healthy diet all packed into the one type of seed.

Right now, we have to travel from Opotiki to Whakatane to buy chia.  Most places that have bulk bins will stock it, and it's available from from Bin Inn, but cheaper from Chantals Organic Wholesalers. 

Including chia in your diet is easy.  It is fairly tasteless, with a slightly nutty flavour, but essentially bland.  I throw it in nearly everything.  According to author and chia reasearcher, Dr Wayne Coates, there is no real detrimental effect from cooking chia, “although, the higher the heat there will be some destruction, but not a lot”.

So a tablespoon of chia sprinkled on your cereal is a great start to the day.  Blend it up in a smoothie, or stir it into yoghurt.  If you soak chia seeds in water they swell and create a kind of jelly.  You can then use that jelly in cooking, as a substitute for eggs or oil in baking. 

My sister puts chia seeds in her (organic, fair-trade) hot chocolate and she drinks it that way throughout the day.  If you put in more than a tablespoon you could let the drink cool down, put it in the fridge and serve it with a spoon for pudding.

I love to add the crunch of seeds to peanut butter sandwiches, or bake them in biscuits or crackers.  Some people sprout the seeds and only eat the green sprouts, but I still haven’t worked out what to do with all the gel that comes out.

Another brilliant way to use chia seeds is to thicken gravies and sauces with it.  It’s fast and never goes lumpy like flour.  Basically, put it in everything.  All the time. You can eat a cup a day without any fear, but even a few tablespoons will have benefits.