August 4: Chia Seeds

Today, I tried these new pretzel-like snack sticks called "Sticks & Twigs" made by Mary's Gone Crackers. Yes, that's the actual brand name, and, based on previous blog entries, yes, we bought them at Whole Foods. The statement "Contains Chia Seeds" is imprinted directly, and prominently, on the bag, which got me thinking "what the hell is a chia seed and should I be eating it?" Of course, that prompted me into another round of research on, none other than, chia seeds. Okay, first of all, chia seeds are the same seeds that cover the infamous Chia Pet and other Chia variations; the latest being the Chia Obama (I kid you not). Seeing as that was the first "fact" I had on chia seeds, I wasn't feeling too confident about just ingesting them. But, I continued my research. Turns out, chia seeds allegedly have quite the nutritional value. According to The Chia Seed website, they are "an excellent source of fiber, packed with antioxidants, full of protein, loaded with vitamins and minerals, and the richest known plant source of omega-3". Of course, they also have a claim that Dr. Oz loves the chia seed, so I'm not sure how much credibility we can lend to the site. I learned that the chia plant, from which the seeds come, is a flowering plant from the mint family, and the seeds are popular in Mexico and Guatemala where they use the seed in both whole and ground form for a number of different purposes. That would include chia sprouts, which are the end product of the aforementioned Chia Pet products, that are commonly found in salads; similar to the way we use bean sprouts in the U.S. I stopped there with my research, however, I did find quite a comprehensive posting regarding chia that some of you with a greater interest may want to check out. The article is appropriately titled "Chia Seed - The Ancient Food of the Future".