Before I started keto diet, my all time favourite breakfast was oats with summer fruits, nuts and honey. I was having this for my breakfast everyday and never got bored. Even now my mouth’s watering just thinking about my morning porridge. Although you never know, after months of keto some food seems to taste different (worse) than before.

By the way, do you have any food items that you really liked before keto, and now you think they are so-so? I have this with potatoes – I really enjoyed their taste before keto, now boiled potatoes seems bland and tasteless, baked ones though are still great. I haven’t tried oats yet, I still avoid gluten and try to keep my carbs pretty low – seems like it serves me best. On the other side, I’m a bit afraid that I might not like my porridge like used to.

So because of this situation I had to find some kind of replacement for my morning oats. Although I swapped mornings with nights, and usually make chia pudding for supper or eat it as a treat, for example when we watch movies. It’s not the same, but does the job 😉

For last few years chia seeds become very popular as a “healthy food”, but they are not new at all. They has been known for over 5.500 years as main component of diet of Mayas and Aztecs. Chia grows is in an area from western Mexico to northern Guatemala, that’s why it’s well known in US, what’s interesting EU countries the marketing of chia seeds as new food ingredients has been permitted only since 13 October 2009.

Chia seeds contain 16-26% of protein, 31-34% of fat, 37-45% of carbohydrates in total. Chia seeds contain quite a lot of carbs, but most of them (23-41%) it’s fiber. Twice as much fibre as bran, 4-5 times more than almonds, soy, quinoa or amaranth. Apart from that, they are a source of minerals (calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium), vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, ascorbic acid and vitamin A) and antioxidant compounds. Apart from that, they contain 6 times more calcium, 11 times more phosphorus and 4 times more potassium than cow’s milk. Most of the fats are in the form of polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as ω-3 alpha-linolenic acid and ω-6 alpha-linoleic acid. They also contain more proteins than rice, maize, barley or oats seeds. They may play an important role in preventing and treating diseases of the digestive and circulatory systems, diabetes, colorectal cancer, kidney stones, haemorrhoids and metabolic disorders.*

So seems like, this inconspicuous seed might be fairly good source of nutrients, and bring you some health benefits. It’s not going to heal your body magically, but together with other nutritional foods will keep you stronger and in better shape.

Definitely it’s a better treat, than crisps. And it’s almost as easy to make as grabbing bag of crisps 😉 You just need 3 ingredients.

 

chia pudding with summer fruits #ketofriendly #nodairy #vegan

INGREDIENTS (for one portion)

• 5-6 tsp chia seeds
• 350 ml almond or coconut milk (or cow milk if you choose)
• 1/2 cup forest fruits (my favourite: blueberries, raspberries or cherries, oh and blackcurrants) – usually I use frozen ones
• optionally: 1 tsp coconut oil

DIRECTIONS

In a small pot heat the milk, add 5-6 tsp of chia seeds and stir thoroughly, so the seeds won’t stick to each other. Bring to boil and cook for 5-10 minutes, until it get thickened. I also add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to top up the fats. At the end add most of the fruits, leaving a few for decoration. Stir so the flavour from the fruits will go through your pudding. Prepare small bowl or a jar and pour your pudding in. Decorate with remaining fruits and enjoy!

* “Chia seeds (Salvia hispanica): health promoting properties and therapeutic applications – a review“, Katarzyna Marcinek, Zbigniew Krejpcio, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Department of Human Nutrition and Hygiene, Poznan, Poland