Chia Seed Help!!!

[mirpmama]

I bought some chia seeds, finally, last week.  I am 15 weeks pregnant and have serious food aversions to pretty much everything that is not fruit (though I think it is getting better).  Anyway, smoothies have been my saving grace and I am trying to sneak as much stuff in there to get some extra nutrition besides the fruit.  I took 1/3 cup chia seeds, put them in 2 cups water (found this ratio online) and put them in a glass mason jar, closed them up and put them in the fridge.  It has been several days and they still don't look like the big gel balls that I have seen online.  They certainly have absorbed some water, but they do not look like gel.  Did I do something wrong? Should I throw some in a smoothie anyway? Thanks!!

[Jesse b]

Unfortunately, most of the chia on the market today is from Mexico and is full of weed seeds, which look just like chia.  They do not gel, so it sounds like you have a bad batch of seeds.  Also, most of the Mexican seed is moldy, so you need to be extra careful.  I know it is a little more expensive, but you need to search out an Organic Chia seed.  It is also important that it is ground, as a new clinical showed that whole chia seed has no nutritional value, other that an overpriced fiber source. Just Google:

Chia Seed Supplementation and Disease Risk Factors in Overweight Women: A Metabolomics Investigation

Hope this helps and Good Luck with your pregnancy;-)