Mama Mia Chia!

Chia seeds are my latest super food obsession.  I use them on and in everything from breakfast to dinner and on to dessert.

I'm probably a late-comer to the chia bandwagon, but I'm firmly on it now.  If you're scratching your head thinking "what's chia?" then (without wanting to pontificate too much) you're in for a treat.

It ticks all the super food boxes:

• Ancient civilisation dietary staple (Aztecs and Mayans) - tick
• Loaded with fibre, omega-3 and protein - tick
• Antioxidants and minerals - tick
• Mild-tasting - tick

Chia (salvia hispanica) is part of the mint family and it's tiny seeds are supremely versatile.  Aztecs and Mayans ground it into flour for bread and mixed it with water as a drink.  When you add it to water it balloons in size (all that fibre I was telling you about) and takes on a gel-like consistency.  When you sprinkle it on top of your yoghurt-topped cereal you have a double dose of protein.  I've also added added it to smoothies (as a gel), sprinkled it on salads (it looks a little bit like black sesame seeds) and added it to muffin mixtures.

I'd love to hear any other chia-inspired ideas that you might have!

Seeds can be pale or dark black