Chia is one of the plants with great nutritional properties. They come from a plant belonging to the mint family in Mexico and Guatemala. These civilizations used it as a basic component in their diet since they are a natural source of Omega 3, antioxidants, vitamins A, B, D and E, calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium, and what is better, it has properties to burn fat, being a useful food in weight loss diets according to recent research from the " British Journal of Nutrition ".
How to consume chia seed and use it in reducing diets
Chia seeds can be consumed in many ways, with vegetable milks, yogurts, salads, fruits, sauces, desserts, smoothies, soups, creams, vegetables, and endless dishes, but you must know how to consume it. It is a seed with great benefits and it can be used in various diets, but always try to make it as healthy as possible, including fresh vegetables, fruits and seeds, and avoiding processed products.
So, here we describe in a better way how you can use them every day.
1. At breakfast
Mix your breakfast cereals and granola with the seeds and serve with yogurt or non-dairy milk for a super-energetic and healthy breakfast.
2. In salads and desserts
Simply sprinkle on top of a warm salad or crisp fresh vegetables, also on your desserts to take advantage of their energy value.
3. In jams and jellies
Grind the chia seeds and add them to strawberry, blueberry or peach jams or jellies, or the one of your preference, they can also be whole, just mix them with a little water for a few minutes and add them in your recipe.
4. Thickened soups or sauces
If you don't like using artificial thickeners (and it's okay not to use them), add a teaspoon of ground seeds in your soups or sauces until you get the desired creaminess, you will be giving your dish much more variety of nutrients and all the benefits of these seeds.
5. Replace egg with chia seeds
If you are making a recipe with eggs, you can replace 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of ground seeds with 3 tablespoons of water. With this preparation you will incorporate proteins into your diet and in a natural way.
6. To make chia seed flour
You can make flour and use it to replace regular flour, use a powerful processor so that they are perfectly ground. You can also mix finely ground chia seeds with flour to prepare your recipes.
7. To make a hair mask
Add lemon juice to a chia seed gel and apply the mixture to your hair for 10 minutes.
8. To enrich the breadcrumbs
Mix the chia seeds with the breadcrumbs and you will be giving them an unparalleled nutritional value, in addition, the chia seeds do not add flavor to our dishes, so they can be used to simply increase their nutritional value to a great extent.
9. To make an energy drink
Try mixing coconut water with chia seeds to make a homemade sports drink and recharge after exercise.
10. To improve healing
Try applying chia gel on scars, it can relieve redness and inflammation.
Chia seed for reducing diets
If you are on a weight reduction diet you can use the seeds in the following way:
Take 25 grams of chia seeds a day. To lose weight with chia seeds, you must be consistent and take it for at least a month. Before the two main meals prepare a glass of water or a glass of light juice, it can be cucumber with lemon, cucumber with celery, cucumber with apple, try to be natural juices without much sugar.
Since you must take 25 grams per day, put 12.5 grams of the seeds in each glass. They contain soluble fiber and that, together with their ability to absorb liquid, will make them disappear little by little from the glass of water, to become a thicker liquid, something that looks like a gel. Let them rest for 30 minutes.
It is essential that you do these steps as is before being consumed, do not lead your stomach to have to do the task of the water in the glass, that could bring you complications because the seeds would be absorbing your own internal liquids. Once the seeds have absorbed the water from the glass, you can proceed to consume them.
The function of chia seeds is to give a feeling of satisfaction to the stomach, making you not feel too eager to eat more than you should and thus have bad times in your diets. This is totally healthy if you do it as directed.
Reasons to include chia seeds in your diet
With the rise of the healthy world and fitness culture, the consumption of seeds, plants and green smoothies has become very popular as time passes. And that is the case of Chia seeds, which today are classified as a superfood and millions of people are already consuming it continuously around the world, since its multiple benefits and amazing results have caused an impact incredible in most of its consumers.
And although it may not seem like it, these small seeds that look very simply, bring multiple benefits to the body because they contain a significant amount of high-quality protein, more iron than spinach and much more potassium than banana, in addition to their high content of fiber.
How to incorporate it into your diet?
And that's not all, since chia seeds are also considered one of the largest vegetable sources of omega 3 fatty acids, that is, they are highly recommended to improve cardiovascular problems, since they also have a high content of antioxidants and if you want to lose weight, chia has substances that promote the elimination of fat in your body.
Include the seeds in an energy shake
One of the best ways to include chia seed in your day is by including them in an energy shake that will help you have the necessary energy during the day, you can blend a tablespoon of seeds, a banana, a handful of spinach, two tablespoons of cocoa powder and a cup of almond milk. Besides being delicious, this shake will help you improve your performance.
A snack with chia
Another way is preparing some delicious tortillas with chia seeds because they are the perfect snack or can be part of your breakfast. You can prepare them sweet or salty, and even include other foods such as eggs to increase their protein content, always taking into account the level of calories you consume, so that it does not affect any of them in particular.
Strawberry ice cream with chia seeds
Likewise, you can also mix them with a strawberry shake or prepare a homemade ice cream yourself and add the seeds, you just have to blend a cup of strawberries, with a cup and a half of coconut milk and two tablespoons of chia seeds; You will take the result to the freezer and voila, you already have a healthy homemade ice cream to consume.
Incorporate it like healthy cookies
Or if you want to consume them as a dessert, you can prepare some cookies with chia, sesame seeds, pumpkin, sunflower and a little water, bake the mixture and you will have the richest snack in vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. You can also mix them with oats and get an extra protein that will help you improve your day.
Actually, there are many recipes that you can include chia seeds in, and they are versatile and easy to incorporate. Dare! And begin to enjoy its properties, but keep in mind that it is important to remember that any diet works better if we incorporate exercises daily.
Normally, blood glucose levels are tightly controlled by insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin lowers the blood glucose level. When the blood glucose elevates (for example, after eating food), insulin is released from the pancreas.