New obsession alert!

Chia seeds, y’all. Y’ALL. What took me so long to try these little superfoods?

Chia seeds are tiny little seeds (groundbreaking writing here, I know) that come from the Salvia hispanica plant. The seeds are rich in protein, omega-3s and fiber – i.e. they’re good for you.

Most people put chia seeds in gree smoothies (which I am doing tomorrow for breakfast). Today, I had juice instead (spinach, apple, lemon, carrot), paired with apples and peanut butter. I dipped peanut butter-covered apple slices in chia seeds and nearly fell over. It was super good! The seeds are mostly tasteless, but the texture is super great, like sprinkles on ice cream or poppy seeds in muffins.

What is your favorite way to eat chia seeds?

An ode to green smoothies.

They’re crazy healthy, delicious and I can’t get enough of them. (That’s a lie – I very happily had pizza for dinner last night whoooooops).

But in all seriousness, I think that everyone could benefit from trying a green smoothie. The taste is a lot less, er, “healthy” than green juice, but with most of the same nutritional benefits. In case you were wondering what the benefits are: making vitamins like vitamin K super easy to absorb and digest, clean eating, and a bunch of other things that this person can explain to you (because I don’t want a novel-length post…)

I’m going to assume that most of you haven’t tried one. You can’t taste the spinach – I PROMISE. Let’s go over two of my favorite recipes, hmmm? Don’t worry too much about exact amounts. I believe in your ability to eyeball.

Sunshine smoothie (an A+ way to start the day)

• half an apple
• handful or two of baby spinach
• orange juice
• banana (frozen, if you can manage it)
• almond/soy/skim milk
• strawberries (again, frozen is fine)
• handful of uncooked oats (yes, as in oatmeal)

 

Lunch smoothie (a little more heft)

• spinach (because duh)
  
• almond/soy/skim milk (“or,” not “and”)
• a 1/4 cup-ish yogurt (I like to use Activia)
• scoop of protein powder
• kale (the greatest superfood of all superfoods, okay)
• banana (again, frozen is best)
• a little honey

The great thing about green smoothies is that you can put pretty much anything in them. Try adding raspberries, mango, blueberries, raw coconut flakes, chia seeds, hemp milk, orange slices, ginger, lime, etc. Think of food that would go well together on a spinach salad and then dump it into the blender and hit “Liquify.”

Happy blending!