2011-01-29

Good Food: Chia: Chocolate Tapioca Pudding

Here is a cross-post from my comment to a delightful written debate on the merits of chia, a food I have been eating for well over two years.  I'm disappointed that the Paleo gentleman touts flax seed over chia seed. I have personally experienced problems with flax and none with chia. Neither of them are suitable for DHA supplementation imho. I think chia’s greatest benefit is as fiber. I have two servings per day of the following. 

//Update 2012-1020: Amazing Grass changed their product for the worse by adding stevia/etc and fortunately reversed their decision recently and stamped the new tins "You have good taste"!

Recipe: “Chocolate Tapioca Pudding”
8oz mug
2 scoops of Chia Seed (not milled/powder) (any kind seems fine. I like RenewLife's slightly best of all, but I normally buy on price, eg below)
2 scoops of Amazing Grass Chocolate Greens Powder
Add a small bit of water. Mix carefully to remove lumps. Gradually mix in more water to fill the 8oz container. Let stand 5 minutes for the chia to swell; stir again.

This recipe, imho, is safe for diabetic/hypoglycemic/oversensitive types such as myself a couple of years back when almost everything disagareed with me. Having this item as a “treat” (I couldn’t eat too much even of this) was something that saved my sanity! Here are urls for products I have bought;

The debate on chia’s healthfulness is here:
My remark is:
Dr. Cordain of the Paleo diet challenges Dr. Coates to provide proof via studies that chia is healthy to consume. Although clinical studies are nice, why doesn’t the fact that the Aztecs raised it for years and venerated it count for anything? Wikipedia summarizes: “Folklore attests it was cultivated by the Aztec in pre-Columbian times, and was so valued that it was given as an annual tribute by the people to the rulers.[2][3]” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_hispanica
Human studies of nutrition are notoriously difficult to do and control. The problem and also the benefit of food-based medicine like chia is that it is powerful yet subtle. To detect such subtle effects, imho, almost mandates collecting reams of data.
In the end, is it worth it? Chia is a food. Try it, maybe you’ll like it. Otherwise you spent $10, and in the USA we can all afford that risk. Also, if you don’t like it, be sure to give it to one of us afficionados!
Thank you Mr. Mendosa for a wonderfully rational pro/con blogpost.

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