Until last year, if you had said “chia” I would of automatically assumed you were talking about (the sometimes racist) Chia pets. However, chia seeds are actually a highly-nutritious food.

Chia seeds contain omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and some minerals. Among raw foodies, chia seeds are considered a superfood.

I also love learning the origin or history of food, so after a bit of reading I learned that chia seeds are from the Southwest/Mexico and were used by Aztec warriors. They believed that this seed gave them greater endurance during battles.

Like so many of the foods I talk about on this blog, I picked up a bag of Chia seeds at Amazing Savings for $1.49 – much cheaper than I’ve seen at local health food stores. For my first attempt at eating them, I used the basic chia seed pudding recipe from one of my favorite blogs – Choosing Raw.

Right out of the bag, the chia seeds were small and black – almost like black sesame seeds.

I added almond milk, salt, and a bunch of vanilla, and this is what it looked like.

Here is the pudding after five minutes:

It tasted much better than I had imagined it would, although the texture was definitely something to get used to. After the seeds soaked up the almond milk, the mixture became gelatinous. The best part about this though, especially if you eat it for breakfast, is that it is incredibly filling. I could only eat half of what I made (only a fourth of Gena’s recipe). I’m looking forward to experimenting more with this seed. Aside from puddings like this, I’ve seen sauces, crackers, and even oatmeal that includes chia seeds.