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Chia Seed Help!!!

post #1 of 10
2/12/13 at 6:20am
Thread Starter 

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!!

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post #2 of 10
2/12/13 at 8:21am

What did it do?  Is it a bunch of smaller clumps of gel settled in the bottom, or did it do nothing at all?  If it's smaller clumps of gel and has been in the fridge the whole time, I'd go ahead and use it. 

 

I've never tried to do a thick gel or chia pudding (one of these days), so I'm not that much help.  What I do do a lot is chia lemonade with a tablespoon or so of chia in a big glass of water with lemon juice and agave or honey to make it sweet.  The result reminds me of bubble tea.  It's not quite the same, but the little clumps of chia remind me of the tapioca balls they use.  Sometimes most of them end up in one larger clump that I have to break up.

 

Maybe try again with just a little less water?  Or try stirring  or shaking a bit at the beginning before it is fully gelled to help break up individual clumps and get it to combine more evenly? 

 

Chia absorbs water pretty quickly, so after the first 20 minutes or so, it has probably absorbed all it is going to and leaving it hours/days longer won't really change things. 

post #3 of 10
2/12/13 at 2:24pm

Are you going to blend them up?  If so, does it matter whether they clump up?  They are soaked and should now blend as easily as they ever will.

post #4 of 10
2/13/13 at 12:30pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks mamas! Yes, I am going to blend them up....I just checked on them and there is a gel around them, they just don't look like they expanded at all, and certainly do not look like the gel beads I have seen online in recipes.  Maybe I used too much water? Or too much seeds? I will use these in smoothies to start....thanks!!

post #5 of 10
2/14/13 at 11:51am

We put chia seeds in our smoothies all of the time (especially for the kiddos) but we just throw them in raw. They aren't crunchy at all, they absorb the liquid in their almost immediately and go down super easy. A great trick to get all of your nutrients and can only stomach smoothies is the Green Monster smoothie with tofu. I use it with my two boys all of the time (33 months, and 14 months) ... a couple huge handfuls of spinach, banana, apple, chia seeds or flax, milk, greek yogurt, a half a cup of tofu, blend it together with some frozen fruit (whatever is on hand) and they have a delicious and super nutritious breakfast <-- great for on-the-go too! good luck!

post #6 of 10
2/14/13 at 5:46pm

We put chia in EVERYTHING! YOu can just throw them in smoothies raw, or oatmeal, cereal, etc for that matter. They absorb water very quickly.

 

Hmmm....Weird that yours did not get all jelly in the mason jar. They should. We also make chia spread at our house to make them easier to digest for DS. We grind the seeds in a coffee grinder, place them in a jar with water, let them sit for a few hours and then use like a jelly on toast, crackers, etc. I often put another layer of coconut oil, peanut butter etc for flavor. Everyone loves it!

post #7 of 10
2/28/13 at 10:46pm
I think those pictures are a bit embellished. I wouldn't soak my chia that way if you are using it in a smoothie. If you soak it, then stir or shake the jar. Otherwise it just clumps. If you can stomach it, my favorite way to eat it is to put it in a mason jar with chocolate almond milk. Stir or shake it a few times. It is like tapioca.
post #8 of 10
2/28/13 at 11:30pm

The recipe I was given had instructions to shake the mason jar really well when you first mix the seeds and liquid. You have to give it several hard shakes. That was for chia pudding. I think I shake it for about 30 seconds to a minute or so. I'm not sure if I need to shake it that long, but I get a nice thick pudding. 

 

I've found that some chia seeds will thicken a lot and others not quite so much. One batch of pudding was almost cement-like. If you are mixing anything in like honey or syrup, it might affect the thickening a little, so keep that in mind if you try different recipes.  

 

I do like a simple vanilla chia pudding with coconut and fruit mixed in. Yum! 

post #9 of 10
3/1/13 at 4:34am
I love chia in orange juice. I do three tablespoons of chia in one cup of orange juice juice. Shaken in a mason jar. Y um!
post #10 of 10
3/4/13 at 5:47am

Just a quick note on my last post. I've now experimented a little. Instead of vigorously shaking the chia in the liquids in a mason jar, which I normally do, I simply stirred the mixture thoroughly with a whisk for about 10 to 20 seconds. The pudding still set up nicely. It took a couple of hours at room temperature to reach a creamy, thick consistency.

 

I suspect you had a poor batch of seeds. Perhaps you could find a different producer and try again.