This week I'm working at the culinary school I went to, and it's re-energized my healthy eating commitment. The school, Bauman College, focuses on a holistic and therapeutic approach to cooking. Aside from the obvious: eat lots of fruits and veggies, avoid trans fats and sugar, the culinary program taught me about powerfully healthy "alternative" ingredients. When I first started the program I referred to them as "weird foods." The first one I was introduced to was chia. One of my instructors, Chef Maria, shared her love of chia with us in the first week. Every time she mentioned it, I couldn't help but picture the silly chia pets that I used to see advertised on TV. I never understood why those were considered a cute gift; I had an even harder time imagining how they could be tasty and good for you to eat??? Come to think of it, my ex-husband gave me a chia pet for Christmas years ago (yet another reason why he's the "ex" husband), and while I may have contemplated making HIM eat it, I never would've taken a nibble myself.
So back to culinary school... one day at school our kitchen manager, Dana, made us a chia pudding for our snack. A) it was delicious, and B) it wasn't the green stuff pretending to be Abe Lincoln's hair; they were tiny dark seeds...
Now for the nutritional stuff.... chia seeds have more calcium that a glass of milk, are a good source of fiber, protein and omega 3's, and because they soak up 10X their weight in water they help to keep you hydrated and to retain electrolytes.
Dana soaked the seeds in coconut milk and added garam masala and cinnamon. I was so in love with the taste that when I had a bunch of my college girlfriends over for a girls' weekend a couple weeks later I fixed it for breakfast, and, not surprisingly, they all loved it. My friend Sue still makes it regularly and has developed her own concoctions using chia seeds. Maybe she'll share some of her ideas with us...
I hadn't made Chia Pudding in months, but between being back at Bauman this week and seeing the new commercial for the Barak Obama Chia Head today, I decided to whip up a little chia love.
Coconut milk is sometimes a little heavy for me, so I tried something I had read about while at Bauman and made banana milk. For people who are lactose intolerant (which I unfortunately am not), it's a nice alternative and super easy to make: put one medium banana in a blender with 1/2 cup of water and blend until smooth. You can strain it if you want, but I don't. It makes 1 cup of "milk." I poured a little bit on my granola (yum) and then made a Banana Chia Pudding:
First put 1/4 cup chia seeds in a bowl and add 1 cup banana milk (always use 1 part chia seeds to 4 parts liquid) and a pinch of cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg:
Stir to blend. Let it sit for about 5 minutes and then stir well again. Wait another 5 minutes and give it one more stir. Trust me on this... the first time I made it I took a short cut on the stirring part, and the final product reminded me of a clumpy litter box (yeah, not so appetizing, so do it!). Put it in the fridge overnight. What you get is a super delish pudding, great for breakfast, snack or dessert. I like to add berries and nuts, usually. I was too excited to eat this one, so I forgot to add the nuts and didn't even take the time to defrost the frozen berries; just wanted to take the picture and dig in!
Give this one a try. Just trust me; you'll love it, and it is sooooo good for you. Not to mention, according to the Chia Head commercials running now, if you are "Proud to be an American" you'll get your chia on!!
No comments:
Post a Comment