© 2008 DBA Design Action MySeeds Chia
You’ve probably seen the ads, or
maybe even bottles in the
refrigerated section of grocery
stores…chia seed drinks are
gaining popularity.
What is a chia drink?
A bottled beverage with a
thicker texture & a variety of
fruity or fermented flavors.
They're always refrigerated, and
generally packed with tiny seeds
that you can see swirling in the
bottle.
This new, textured beverage has every right to be popular too, there
are so many delicious flavor combinations…and the health benefits
are undeniable. If you could have a fruity, fun beverage that kept you
feeling full for hours, was loaded with plant protein AND gave you a
big dose of your daily fiber, wouldn’t you want to drink it as often as
you could? Chia seed beverages are definitely worth looking into, for
flavor and for your health…but what if you could make your own chia
seed drinks in mere minutes for MUCH less money and with custom
flavors too?
Concentrated fruit flavor with plenty of
healthy fiber...all for much less money
when you easily mix it up yourself!
To learn about chia drinks and making your own, first, you have to
know about the chia seed. The chia seed is a very tiny, flavorless seed.
It’s this ability to taste like whatever flavored food/beverage you add it
to, that both you and companies can love. Next, is the nutrition of
these tiny seeds. They are 23% complete protein by weight. (This is
one of the highest numbers in the plant world!) They have more
calcium by weight than milk, plus the minerals boron & magnesium,
to help you absorb it. There are also B- vitamins AND healthy omega-
3 oils along with antioxidants to keep them fresh. With all of these
fantastic benefits, it’s no wonder everyone is scrambling to add chia
to beverages.
Chia Seeds are very tiny & they have no flavor.
Flavorless foods go with any flavor you DO like!
The third property of chia is its high
fiber content. It’s this fiber that
gives chia drinks their distinctive
texture & their ability to keep
people feeling full. Most bottled
drinks are thick, closer to a
smoothie than to a fruit juice. The
seeds have 2 kinds of fiber, soluble
& insoluble.
Neither type can be digested, so it does not add to the calorie count.
Insoluble fiber keeps food moving through the digestive system.
Soluble fiber hydrates the digestive system & feeds good bacteria
(Probiotic bacteria eat soluble fiber) which further improves your
digestive ability.
You can actually witness the fiber in action. When you see the seeds
floating in little ‘bubbles’ of gel, that’s the hydrated soluble
fiber—there’s so much of this normally-invisible micro fiber, that it
actually becomes visible to the naked eye. This is called chia gel. See
how the seeds are sitting apart from eachother in the tablespoon
measure above? That's chia gel in action. It's scoop-able, pour-able,
and makes the textured drink you're looking for.
Chia drinks come in many flavors. Everything from fruit juice to tea to
kombucha (a fermented flavor) are available. You might wonder why
you should make your own, if so many options are available right now.
First off is price.
Single serve bottles can range in price from $3.18 to $4.56 . What if
you wanted to use it to replace breakfast or lunch, in a weight-loss
effort? That’s between $15.90 & $22.80 per week extra. Second is
flavor. Using chia for your health should be delicious and fun. If there
are only 3 or 4 flavors in the store to choose from, you could get
bored, or even get ‘turned off’ if none of the brands or flavors are to
your liking. What if kombucha just isn’t for you? Making your own
means nothing’s off the table: seasonal fruits, fruit & tea mixtures
(raspberry tea with a splash of lemon), fruit & veggie mixtures (add a
splash of cool with cucumber) as well as your own favorite no-calorie
natural sweeteners like stevia and monk-fruit.
A sampling of cold chia drinks includes lemon-lime-aid, tea with
mint & lemon, raspberry cold tea & sweet tea with honey
What goes into the drink is as important as what comes
out of it.
If you see a product on a store shelf or in a refrigerator case, you can
be 99% sure it has been pasteurized. (unless otherwise marked on the
label) Pasteurization is a safety method that involves heating the
product to kill any possible bacteria so that the item is guaranteed to
be safe, and have a decent shelf life. However, some plant
compounds & important enzymes in fruits or vegetables are killed by
heat. Making your own fresh drinks eliminates the need for heat &
preserves more nutrition for you.
What sort of juice
should you use?
Avoiding less-than-
healthy additives like
high fructose corn syrup
(it’s likely ok in
moderation…but then
it’s in almost every food
which makes “actual
moderation” very
difficult), aspartame (this
can make some people
unreasonably hungry,
and that's just the
opposite of what you
need if you're trying to lose weight) sucralose (gives some people
unhealthy food cravings--again, cravings sabotage weight loss efforts) or
lots of added sugar / cane juice (lots of added sugar means lots of added
calories), is also easy to do when you go homemade. Real fresh & ripe fruit
is often sweet enough on its own—but if it’s not, you can use a natural
sweetener like stevia that doesn’t add chemicals or calories and sweeten
only as much as you would like. Avoid high fructose corn syrup or
artificially sweetened juices
Making your own drink recipe is super simple. Chia will hydrate in almost
anything that’s not too acidic. (You can’t make chia gel in pure lemon juice,
for example) One tablespoon of dry chia seeds makes 9 tablespoons of
chia gel. With a 1 to 9 ratio, you can see how buying dry chia & then
hydrating it yourself can save you so much money. You can make the gel
first with plain filtered* water (Just add seeds & water in a 9 to 1 ratio,
shake or stir to prevent clumping & wait 15 minutes for gel to form) or
allow dry seeds to gel in your favorite fruit juice mixture or tea.
*Filtered water is important because chia can magnify flavors. If there are
any unsavory flavors in the tap water, it can influence the taste of the
beverage. Chia gel should taste like nothing at all, when made with plain,
filtered water.
You can add even more fiber
& freshness when you use
fresh fruits instead of juices
or concentrates alone in your
drinks. A little fruit puree, like
blueberry or strawberry in
some unsweetened apple or
white grape juice with the
chia gel & you’re ready to go.
(After all, the flavor of a fruit
is throughout the whole
thing, not just in the juice)
Coconut water with a splash of blueberry
puree makes a refreshing ice cold drink on a
hot day.
Pure fresh squeezed orange juice & a little papaya
or canteloupe is a great wake-up chia drink.
Can you make chia drinks with your favorite greens, algae,
powdered plant suppliments (such as wheat or barley grass
powder, macca or moringa) or protein powder?
Yes you can!
Grab your favorite brands or veggies & get the blender started
because they're all just as easy to use as fruit. Here, you can see a
spirulina-pineapple drink that tastes tropical & refreshing. Almond
milk, rice milk or coconut water can be used to control the
thickness.
Now that you know just how easy, diverse and FUN homemade
chia seed drinks can be, why not try some of your own? Use
MySeeds mixed black & white chia to enjoy great quality seeds and
lots of special bonuses too! There's a whole lot more you can do
with chia than just making drinks. You can use your instant
bonuses to open up a whole new world of tasty fun with chia. It's
time to get started now and Buy Chia Seeds - MySeeds The Chia
With the Best Bonuses
Make a Light Refreshing
Chia Drink Now
Pomegranate and lime
combine with a hint of ginger
for a flavor you just can’t get in
stores! The Pomegranate Lime
Chia Refresher (seen here)
brings just the right mix of
sweet, tart and tangy for an
afternoon wakeup call.
This drink mixes up in minutes,
but keeps you feeling full
longer. You can easily replace a
snack with it, and still feel
satisfied.
Ingredients
¼ cup pure pomegranate juice
1 and 1/3 cup filtered water
1 and ½ tsp pure lime juice
1 tsp agave nectar OR 1 and ½ tsp honey OR ½ tsp stevia
1 tbsp MySeeds chia gel
1 tbsp pomegranate arils
¼ inch thickness ginger slice (depends on ginger diameter)
This drink produces a beautiful mix of refreshing flavors that
complement each other.
Powerfully fruity pomegranate gets a light zing from the lime while
the ginger adds a kick of complexity. Chia seeds and a sprinkling of
arils add fiber and fights hunger. It’s so quick to make, too!
Simply combine all ingredients & stir for about 30 seconds to ensure
the sweetener is dissolved. Cut your ginger root slice, and place it in
your garlic press. Squeeze it over the pomegranate mixture & the
ginger juice will begin to drip. Use about 5 to 8 drops of ginger juice
(or, to taste). Ginger benefits digestion, and here it makes the drink
really stand out. This makes about 8 ounces / 1 glass of fruit drink.
Freely customize the fruit balance to your liking! Add more water or
ice cubes for a milder drink.
How to Save Money Making Chia Seed Drinks
At Home With MySeeds Chia
You can also make great drinks with watermelon (just put it in the
blender or food processor & mix in the chia seeds—how about a twist
of lime, or strawberry too?) , thawed frozen fruit (so season doesn’t
matter & frozen is often very inexpensive) and even healthy coconut
water. When you go homemade, you are in charge of the flavor
combinations & textures.