Chia Seeds

First of all, sorry readers. It's been awhile since I've posted... I've written a couple of new blog posts, but just haven't the courage to post them just yet - AND I've got an awesome guest post coming up from the amazing Becky at The Bex Factor, so stay tuned for that! But onto a quick little post about one of my favorite new thingys: Chia Seeds!
 Chia seeds are for more than just your pet... who knew?! I can remember soaking the tiny black seeds and smearing them on the terracotta figure as a kid. Watching them sprout and grow... and then sort of forgetting about them and then noticing a few weeks later the gross, brown rotting plant and just tossing it all in the trash... ok I've never really been much of a green thumb.

Then about a month ago I stumbled across a shelf, at my grocery store, with these tiny packages of cereal. They had fun names like "Holy Crap!" and "Skinny B". So I just had to look closer. My first thought was; "Seriously?! This little pack is almost $12 and it looks like enough for maybe 3 bowls of cereal! WTH?" Then I flipped it over and checked out the ingredients... clean, whole. It says you only need 2 tbsps. of the cereal. So I decided to give it a shot. Breakfast is my hurdle and it's always the meal that I always "forget" (read that; I get myself too busy and skip it, which results in me being hungry STARVING all day long).
Then I started reading a little bit more about what makes this cereal, or at least the ingredients in this cereal, so awesome. Chia seeds. These little suckers, pack a mean punch. They are like these little super ninja seeds. So I dug around and found out a few things about chia seeds...
- 8X the Omega 3 than Salmon
- 20% protein... a complete protein with 8 essential amino acids
- 5X more calcium than milk
- 7X more vitamin C than an orange
- 3X more iron than spinach
- twice the potassium content of banana
- super high in fibre
Ok, so these are definitely something that I can add to our diet. They are super easy to throw into pretty much anything to give it an extra healthy umph. I don't find that they have any major taste to them, so they're easy to hide for the picky eaters. All in all, I'm super pumped about chia seeds! Why did I not discover, or rediscover, them sooner?? High five chia, high five!

<--- this is how I enjoy my chia every morning: 2 tbsp. of cereal (Skinny B), in 6 tbsp. of low fat milk (we usually have 1%), let it soak for 5-10 minutes - the chia seeds absorb some of the milk and they get a bit gelly, then I mix in 3 tbsp. homemade granola for some added crunch. And YUM! Quick, easy and totally a good start to your day.

Breakfast Ramekin

I am no foodie. I enjoy eating, I like trying new things... but in the kitchen I think I am usually pretty boring and predictable (sorry family). I've been making myself this delicious breakfast a couple times a week and I just thought I'd share, because it's SUPER yummy and pretty easy. I make it just for myself, so this recipe is for a single serving.

Egg dish is approx 200 calories; 10g fat, 14g carbs, 9.5g protein

Little bit of butter or margarine
1/4c egg whites (or 2 eggs)
Pinch of cheese (I use about a tbsp of Kraft Mexicanna finely shredded)
Couple spinach leaves shredded
Diced red pepper
Splash of milk
A little less than 1 tbsp flour
Seasoning (I use a very small pinch of pepper and a little onion powder)

• Preheat oven to 350
• Put a little butter/margarine in a ramekin and put in oven to melt and get sizzley
• Mix flour and milk together until pretty smooth
• mix eggs, cheese, red pepper, spinach, and milk/flour together
• season to taste
• Pour into hot and sizzley ramekin and bake for 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown and set

**To make it easier when cooking lots, put the ramekins on a cookie sheet
** You can skip the flour, but I find it makes an almost yorkshire(ish) small crust on the bottom that I love.
** Butter will give you a more golden and crunchy finish to the top
**It'll come out of the oven really puffed up and pretty, but it will fall a bit as it cools.