ch - ch - chia

so im always on the hunt for the next most nutritional thing i can sneak in my family's food. it is now chia. as in the chia pet. the seeds are a nutritional powerhouse boasting more calcium than milk, more iron than beef liver, more antioxidants than blueberries, more omega 3's than salmon, and so on. they also hold 9 times their weight in water, so you can put a tablespoon in 4 oz of water and make a gel within 5 minutes.
chia gel, yummy. you can mix it with milk and have instant chia pudding. it just kind of looks like frog eggs.
i got mine from amazon today and made super healthy and surprisingly yummy chia chocolate chip cookies.

my recipe is as follows:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (i use white whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup chia gel (about 1 tbs chia to 4 oz water - let soak x 5 minutes)
1/2 cup fat free plain greek yogurt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips (i used half a bag)
3 Tbs chia seeds - more if your willing - i started with about 3-4.

mix first four ingredients in one bowl, mix next 6 ingredients in separate bowl.
add chocolate chips and dry chia seeds and stir. if mixture looks too wet, add another handful of oats. this is how i bake.
spoon them onto cookie sheets and bake for about 10-15 minutes.



my next plan is to serve them in oatmeal and sneak them into my flax/oat brownies. i have been told you can cut the hair right off your chia pet and toss it in your salad also. hmmm....