Bought some chia seeds, thinking of throwing them in my oatmeal in the morning. Can I just throw them in raw? Or am I supposed to cook them? (or do something else with them)
I soak them overnight in the fridge for a sort of pudding. Oat milk & cacao & vanilla with some berries is nice. I also put the soaked gel in smoothies sometimes.
I use them in baking too, but always soaked.
In my understanding it can be bad if you eat them dry as they absorb so much water.
In my county there is also a recommended daily amount for them, I think about 1-2tbs. So I tend to follow that if eating them.
Cooking is not necessary.
I mix em with frozen fruit and yogurt. You can also soak a quarter cup or so in half a cup of water and use the resulting goo as part of your wet ingredients in bread or pancakes etc
I like to take a quarter cup of chia, a quarter cup of lime juice, and two tablespoons of sugar in a pint or so of water to use as a hydration beverage post exercise or when it's hot out
I am trying to add them to oatmeal, but I think what I'm going to do is soak a bit in water as you say, and then try mixing that gel into the oatmeal. Hopefully that all tastes okay
Should be fine! Compared to flax, chia is pretty neutral tasting.
I regularly mix them into oatmeal. You just need to add some extra water because they soak up a lot. Maybe an eighth of a cup of water for a 12g serving of chia seeds (sorry for the mixed units)
do you throw them straight into the oatmeal, or soak them beforehand?
Straight in. I mix them with the dry oats sometimes. They soften very quickly.
Water them every other day and keep em between 90 and 60f until they hatch into baby chia pets.
yeah that's what I'm getting from trying to read up a bit. I think I'm going to try and soak them for like 15 minutes or something in some water before adding them to the oatmeal.
- I find they go really well in (non-dairy
) yogurt. Sprinkle some on, stir, wait 5 minutes. - Chia egg (mix with cold water, wait 5-10 minutes) is a great substitute in every recipe that needs a binder. Lots of uses in baking.
- Smoothies. Go nuts.
- Overnight oats are a popular meal prep option, and chia can add lots of good nutrients without conflicting with whatever flavor profile you're working into the oats.
- I find they go really well in (non-dairy
Soak em definitely. The longer you soak them the softer and slimier they get. I usually have a little plastic tub of them pre-soaked in the fridge that I'll stir through hot porridge (rather than cook with the porridge). More reliable results and keeps the texture
