Remember last March?
With it's unseasonably warm days, bright blue skies, and sunshine. Well, it's not like that this year. It's still cold - freezing, even. When it rains, it's a mixture of rain and snow and sleet. And I have to keep telling myself that spring will come eventually. It must, right?
Any survival tips?
16 March, 2013
13 March, 2013
chia seeds
You probably aren't going to be very interested in a recipe without a photo, right? I usually want a photograph before I consider a recipe. It's just so much easier; a quick glimpse and I know if I'll be interested, before I take the time to read the list of ingredients and imagine how they will taste once melded together in my mouth. And eating ought to be a visual experience as well as oral and olfactory. The more senses you use, the more you can enjoy. Unfortunately, I have reached the limit of my free blogger photo space.
I didn't know a limit existed, but it does, and it has me questioning what this is all about. Really though, that questioning is nothing new. I go through phases that range from feeling like I'll keep blogging indefinitely and have this fantastic archive and many followers, to satisfaction that I just enjoy writing it for it's own sake, to the whole thing being utterly pointless...like writing into some void. I recently read a comment elsewhere which read: "when my blog grows up I want it to be like _________." Certainly, many people feel this way. Because there are a lot of beautiful blogs out there (I have a theory about blogs and Victorian letter-writing; perhaps I'll share it another day), and we can be inspired by them, or transported, or educated. And there are a lot of women out there with great recipes, beautiful homes, flourishing prose, and lovely photographs. Do I really have something to add to the near-infinity of what is already on the internet?... I'll think of giving it up, but then another idea will come to mind that I'd like to share, and I find myself writing again. Which is all quite fine. At the very least, I know of a couple friends who read it. And my dad, and maybe even one of his friends (hi Mr. McFarland!).
Anyway, I plan to keep it up for now - even without photographs - because I want to tell you about chia seeds. Chia seeds are about the size of a strawberry seed, get stuck in your teeth just the same, and are packed full of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. In 1 ounce, they have 11 grams of fiber (reference: recommended daily amount for women is 25g, for men it's 38g), and almost 5 grams of omega-3 fatty acids (that's 8x more than salmon). They also have calcium, antioxidants, and a bit of protein. They have very little flavor, so you can do all sorts of things with them. Throw them in a smoothie, sprinkle them on top of yogurt or a casserole. I bet you could go so far as to sneak them into an omelet and nobody would notice. Apparently you can even use them as a pectin substitute to make jam, and, like ground flaxseeds, you can use them as a substitute binding ingredient in baking. This is because they absorb water and become like a gel. Aside from easing digestion, soaking them in water (1:6 seed:water ratio) is also a great way to soften them up and prevent them from sticking in your teeth, which can be rather annoying. My big chia seed kick has been based on this soaking method. I keep a mason jar in the fridge, and in the morning I stir a spoonful into my oatmeal or yogurt. Here's a recipe for my current favorite breakfast:
Yogurt with Chia Seeds Recipe:
1 bowlful of Greek yogurt - whatever you consider an appropriate serving size. My favorite is Fage 2% fat.
1 spoonful of chia seed gel
1 spoonful of jelly or honey
optional: 1 spoonful of peanut butter. I don't care for this, but Ian loves it!
other extras: nuts, granola, fresh fruit, dried fruit, etc.
Just mix it all together and enjoy!
p.s.: if I did have a photograph, I would want it to look something like this one
I didn't know a limit existed, but it does, and it has me questioning what this is all about. Really though, that questioning is nothing new. I go through phases that range from feeling like I'll keep blogging indefinitely and have this fantastic archive and many followers, to satisfaction that I just enjoy writing it for it's own sake, to the whole thing being utterly pointless...like writing into some void. I recently read a comment elsewhere which read: "when my blog grows up I want it to be like _________." Certainly, many people feel this way. Because there are a lot of beautiful blogs out there (I have a theory about blogs and Victorian letter-writing; perhaps I'll share it another day), and we can be inspired by them, or transported, or educated. And there are a lot of women out there with great recipes, beautiful homes, flourishing prose, and lovely photographs. Do I really have something to add to the near-infinity of what is already on the internet?... I'll think of giving it up, but then another idea will come to mind that I'd like to share, and I find myself writing again. Which is all quite fine. At the very least, I know of a couple friends who read it. And my dad, and maybe even one of his friends (hi Mr. McFarland!).
Anyway, I plan to keep it up for now - even without photographs - because I want to tell you about chia seeds. Chia seeds are about the size of a strawberry seed, get stuck in your teeth just the same, and are packed full of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. In 1 ounce, they have 11 grams of fiber (reference: recommended daily amount for women is 25g, for men it's 38g), and almost 5 grams of omega-3 fatty acids (that's 8x more than salmon). They also have calcium, antioxidants, and a bit of protein. They have very little flavor, so you can do all sorts of things with them. Throw them in a smoothie, sprinkle them on top of yogurt or a casserole. I bet you could go so far as to sneak them into an omelet and nobody would notice. Apparently you can even use them as a pectin substitute to make jam, and, like ground flaxseeds, you can use them as a substitute binding ingredient in baking. This is because they absorb water and become like a gel. Aside from easing digestion, soaking them in water (1:6 seed:water ratio) is also a great way to soften them up and prevent them from sticking in your teeth, which can be rather annoying. My big chia seed kick has been based on this soaking method. I keep a mason jar in the fridge, and in the morning I stir a spoonful into my oatmeal or yogurt. Here's a recipe for my current favorite breakfast:
Yogurt with Chia Seeds Recipe:
1 bowlful of Greek yogurt - whatever you consider an appropriate serving size. My favorite is Fage 2% fat.
1 spoonful of chia seed gel
1 spoonful of jelly or honey
optional: 1 spoonful of peanut butter. I don't care for this, but Ian loves it!
other extras: nuts, granola, fresh fruit, dried fruit, etc.
Just mix it all together and enjoy!
p.s.: if I did have a photograph, I would want it to look something like this one
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
