Trader Joe’s Chia Seeds

You can hear the commercial now “Ch-Ch-Chia Pet Chia Pet !”! Yes my dear readers this is the same seeds that are on those kitschy Chia Pets that we were all so found of when we were kids. I had one way back in the 1980’s and kept it going for a couple of weeks. My brother and sister and I had a ball watching them grow… OK flash forward to 2012, Chia seeds are the new wonder seed. Grown for food since aztec times, these seeds pack a punch for protein and Omega 3 fatty acids.
I had to do a little research on them at Wikipedia because other than the Chia pet thing, I had no idea humans ate the seeds. Chia, also known as Salvia hispanicanative to Mexico and eaten for many centuries there. They are a flowering plant in the Mint family.

I spotted this in the new section last week at my local Trader Joe’s and quickly picked up a bag because it’s so unique and I thought Becky would love to try them. Looking at the packaging, it’s obviously being marketed (as much as Trader Joe’s does product marketing) towards women in the violet colored bag.

I picked up the bag and looked through the clear plastic on the front and looked at the seeds and the look very similar to sesame seeds in size and color. I read the back of the package and saw some ideas for using them. Becky puts flax seeds (from Trader Joe’s of course) on her greek plain yogurt every morning. BTW, did I ever tell you she is waaaay more of a health food nut than me!

Got the seeds home and opened the bag and just ate a whole spoonful off them straight. I was slightly surprised at the fruity/nuttiness of them. I found them way more flavorful than flax seeds. This is going to sound strange, but they had a flavor reminiscent of watermelons. Not the seeds but the flesh. They had a nice crunch as you would expect. I really liked the flavor by themselves.

Even though this is a central/south American food item, these are a “Product of Australia! Considering Chia is related to Mint (which we all know can grow just about anywhere) why not Australia!

I looked up on the web and there are a few ways to use these seeds. Sprinkle them on your yogurt or cereal in the morning. Bake them in breads and muffins, like sesame seeds. The Mexicans put them in fruit juice and then they swell up and become glutinous and they drink the concoction. Probably super healthy!

Becky will probably be eating these way more than me but I really like the idea of sprinkling them on all types of foods for a protein boost! I am going to rate these Trader Joe’s Chia seeds an 8 bells!

3 Comments

  1. these are also widely used in Asia. They use this mostly as dessert topping, in juices, etc. I don’t think they even know that it’s supposed to be good for them. Granted other ingredients they use in the dessert probably trumps all the nutrients in the seed. 😛

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