chia chia chia

Friday:
Exercise: 30 min walk with Cammie (it's rest day)
Breakfast: Smoothie (spinach, blueberries, strawberries, 1/2 banana, cocoa powder, flax, water)
Lunch: Springtime Soup with Chia Seeds
Dinner: romaine, "refried" beans, whole wheat pita; raw brownies
Fuhrmometer: 9.5 - broccoli/kale

I've been reading a lot about Chia Seeds over at the Dr.Fuhrman.com forums lately and I have to say that I'm sold. Apparently, chias are amazing. They are a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids like flax seed or hemp seed, they have the ability to absorb a ton of water and can be used in cooking as an oil analog or a flavor extender/ calorie displacer. Also, chias help keep one feeling satiated longer - do some Internet searches on them and read how Native Americans in the Southwest and Mexico used them when hunting and running and fighting etc. Nutritious, filling and fun/useful in the ETL kitchen. I had to get myself some!

Luckily my local HFS carried them so I got myself some today to play with. Since right now chias aren't as popular as flax and hemp, they are much more expensive than their counterparts, so I think that I'll be using them primairily to cook with rather than for my daily EFA's. I'm really interested in trying to make some salad dressings with Chia Gel, which I think I'll take a stab at this weekend.

Tonight is our *super fun* (read - not super fun at all) networking thing for work. It's at an italian restaraunt and I know I don't want to eat anything while I'm there so I sprinkled some chias on my soup to help keep me feeling full until I can get home and eat my salad. I'll let you know how that turns out.