How do you do your chia?

[barefoot.zumba.runner]

Chia is just some really awesome stuff and a versitile food. I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate it into our diet. We eat the gel often, plain. Stir the gel into some lemonade for some agua chia. I bring a baggie of it on a long run, recently mixed with coconut water. I have never added dry seeds to food, yay or nay to those who have?

 

[Barefoot Phil]

 I've only tried dried seeds.

I've only tried dried seeds. Have mixed with water and juice and have tried blending. None of that works very well. I also mixed with oatmeal. Makes the oatmeal look a little strange but otherswise... And I don't mind chewing them plain.

I don't have a lot of experience, but I never felt any great short term effects.

How do you get the gel? Do you make it yourself from seeds?

 

[Last Place Jason]

In my 100 miler last year, I

In my 100 miler last year, I used chia extensively from mile 20 to the end. I would pour about two ounces of water in a cup, dump in a scoop of chia, and immediately drink it. I'd only recommend this tactic for races, but it did work very well in that situation.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

From what I understand about

From what I understand about the chia seeds is that they swell in the stomach allowing the body to retain its fluid longer. When running, this really helps with dehydration.

I take two big swallows of dry chia seeds, chase them down with a bunch of water, and I am out the door for a long run.

 

[Joe Butkus]

One of my frequent breakfast

One of my frequent breakfast meals is yogurt and grapenuts mixed together. I have started throwing a tablespoon of dry chia seeds into the mix. I don't notice any difference in the texture or consistency.

 

[soulrunner]

I remember reading somewhere

I remember reading somewhere that mixing chia with coconut water would be a good combination. forgot the reasons why though hah

 

[mokaman]

 I have a big glass full of

I have a big glass full of watery chia seeds before my long runs, I've tried to take some during the run but its to messy. I need to figure out a good way to carry it pre-mixed I guess. Its not a quick boost of energy like a GU but a slower more even energy to me.

 

[Joe Butkus]

I tried the chia/coconut

I tried the chia/coconut water mix in a fuel belt bottle, but the spout kept clogging. I am going to try Air Force Ted's suggestion of using breast milk bags. I think that would work much better.

 

[barefoot.zumba.runner]

So dry chia is better for

So dry chia is better for hydration than the gel (Phil, I make the gel by mixing 1/3c chia with 2c water in a covered pint jar shaking it every so often for 15min. The seeds swell and it creates a thick gel, I refrigerate and pour out a few table spoons at a time.

Moke, I agree...not a quick energy boost but good sustainable energy.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Breast milk bags.  Sorry I

Breast milk bags. Sorry I missed that one. Must have been a hoot.

Zum, I don't know if eating them raw provides any more hydration benefits than eating them mixed in some type of liquid.

 

[Pammer]

I have made chia fresca

I have made chia fresca (iskiate) and it goes down pretty easy. I've thrown them on my oatmeal a few times, didn't even notice them. I found they at least kept me going a bit longer than just plain oatmeal; perhaps from the extra protein plus water retention?

I met someone last year who sprinkles them on a lot of different foods...salads, in sandwiches, pasta, similar to sprinkling on ground flax. Haven't tried that myself, mostly because I forget to.

 

[inbetweenmytoes]

My preferred method of intake

My preferred method of intake is a scoop of chia in a glass of orange juice. I take it on particularly sluggish mornings and before long runs. Other than that, nothing very original here.

 

[Zeke]

On my 24 hour run a couple

On my 24 hour run a couple weeks ago the foundation of my nutrition strategy was a chia fresca made with 1/4 cup each lemon juice, agave nectar, and chia seeds filled to 32oz. My day to day hydration is the same except without the agave nectar.

I also put it on salads, in some packaged curry I really like to balance out the omega-6 rich oil in it, and in the smoothies that I make when I've got time for such things in the morning for myself and my family.

 

[Randy Reed]

I've been messing with em for

I've been messing with em for a while. I added them to most everything. Some mornings it's just with soy milk or juice. Sometimes I add it to cereal. I add it to the bread and muffins I make, it makes a great egg substitute if you let it gel up in water. I sprinkle it on salads also.



I admit that I haven't used it on any type of a long run like some other posters mostly since i'm not up to long runs yet I look at it like vitamins. You don't necessarily feel them but you know they are good for you and work. It's just one of the foods I have in my arsenal in the ongoing quest for healthier eating and living.



I never have an issue with hunger or thirst on my usual 4 or 5 mile morning runs but couldn't say Chia is the reason.

 

[Matt]

 By the spoonful.  I love the

By the spoonful. I love the way their consistency changes in my mouth as I chew them. They are funny little seeds.

 

[barefoot.zumba.runner]

funny little seeds indeed

funny little seeds indeed Matt

In milk eh Zeke? Interesting! Does it change the consistency of a smoothie, do you add more liquid to balance out the thickness the chia adds?

 

[Barefoot Terry]

I drink chia seeds as

I drink chia seeds as iskiate. Usually lemon juice not the lime mentioned Born To Run. I want to try it with lime juice to see which I prefer. I've got a sensitive stomach to all the engineered gels and hydration drinks out there, but with iskiate it's so far so good!

I also have thrown some seeds into my oatmeal. Like someone above mentioned, it makes it look a little funny with all the little black dots but it doesn't affect taste.

 

[AlanT]

I drink chia fresca on a

I drink chia fresca on a regular basis. Chia is also an ingredient in the home-made granola I make on a weekly basis. I sprinkle it on desserts made of kefir (a type of yogurt) and blueberries. And I mix it in smoothies of soy milk, hemp protein powder, and frozen raspberries.

Alan

 

[barefoot.zumba.runner]

oo in Granola, care to share

oo in Granola, care to share the recipe Alan?

 

[AlanT]

This recipe makes enough for

This recipe makes enough for my wife and I have to have breakfasts for a week. (She adds skim milk or yogurt, I add kefir or, less often, soy milk.) Very often, though, it doesn't last the whole week, as we both snack on handfuls of the stuff at various times through the day. It's good!

4 cups oatmeal

2 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1 cup unprocessed bran

2/3 cup ground flaxseed

2or 3 tablespoons of chia seeds

1/2 cup of raw unhulled sunflower seeds

2/3 cup apple juice

1 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons minced crystallized ginger

2 cups chopped dried apples

2/3 dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 300F. Coat rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine oats, walnuts, bran, and flaxseed in a large bowl.

Combine apple juice, maple syrup, and ginger in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture simmers. Pour over the oat mixture and stir to coat.

Spread onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring twice. Place in a bowl, and stir in apples and cranberries.

Alan