Salvia hispanica, more commonly known as chia seeds, is an ancient seed and traditional food originating from Central and South America. More recently it has been dubbed as a "super food" with a number of health benefits associated with it. Chia has an excellent composition- protein, omega-3s (even more than flax seed!), carbs, plus a lot of fibre. The ratio of omega 3 to 6 fats is an excellent one. Furthermore it contains no gluten and an expanse of phytochemicals giving it antioxidant activity.
Chia seeds have been suggested to help with weight loss because the high fibre content provides satiety- you just feel fuller for longer so essentially you eat less. With its strong antioxidant activity it has been suggested to decrease the inflammatory response as well. Some studies have looked at it in regards to cardiovascular disease since it has a great combo of omega-3s and antioxidants. It appears to have a positive effect against CVD, but more research needs to be done. Since the majority of all chronic diseases (think obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, etc.) have now been determined to be inflammatory in nature, I wonder if chia would prove to be effective against them as well? There is tons of room for research on this tiny seed and I'm sure we'll be hearing more about it soon.
One interesting article I did come across was using chia seeds for carb loading. The study used 50% chia seeds plus 50% of a sports drink and it was found to provide similar results to just a carb drink. This successfully cut the participants sugar intake down a lot, and at the same time gave them a boost of omega-3s.
I use ChiaNutra and I like to put the seeds in my smoothies (about a tablespoon), and from experience they really do fill you up! Something I'd like to try is creating a chia gel- you soak the seeds in water for about half an hour and you can add it to your cooking, baking, etc. You can easily toss them in your cereal or oatmeal, or on salads.
If you're looking to boost your omega-3s chia seeds are your best choice, definitely the way to go!
References:
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2012/171956/
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/142/1/64.long
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21183832
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA365093/Chia-for-Health.html
We had four quite mushy Bosc pears and while my dad was cutting them he told me to make a pear treat out of them. I Googled some ideas and settled on trying to make a pear cake. It was dense and delicious and my sister said it tasted like something you would find at Starbucks so I was quite flattered. It was easy and if you are looking for something sweet (and vegan) give this a try!
Ingredients:
4 Bosc pears cubed (4 cups)
2 cups unsweetened apple juice
1 (or 1.5- depending on how sweet you want it) cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed cloves
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1.5 teaspoons salt
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Boil the first 7 ingredients together. Once they begin to boil simmer for 7-10 minutes.
3. Let the mixture cool till near room temp.
4. Mix together the flour and baking soda.
5. Fold in the pear mixture with the dry ingredients.
6. Lightly grease/spray a 9 or 10 inch cake pan.
7. Smooth the mixture into the pan (it gets quite gooey!)
8. Bake for about 40 minutes; it should be brown on top and a toothpick should come out clean.
I made a caramel glaze as well (2 tbsp soy milk, 1 tbsp earth balance/vegan margarine, 1/2 cup brown sugar- bring it to a boil on the stove and let it boil for about 2 minutes) and poured it over each slice. I topped them off with some crushed walnuts.
Unfortunately we didn't have any quinoa flour at home today, but I will definitely be trying it next time!
Happy Baking :)
Hey peeps!
I want to share how important Vitamin D is for us. One of its primary functions is to help the body absorb calcium from food and supplements. This ensures our bones remain strong- without the two working together you have the possibility of developing weak bones. Rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults are very serious repercussions of vitamin D deficieny. Vitamin D has a number of other benefits than just helping bones; it has been shown to have positive effects with cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression, memory, and fatigue. Lack of vitamin D shows an increase in the symptoms of these diseases.
So the best place to get vitamin D from is the SUN!!! This is why so many people are vitamin D deficient...they simply don't get enough sun. Essentially, when our skin is exposed to the sun the UVB light is converted to vitamin D. It is stored in our bodies as it is a fat soluble vitamin. Once this stored vitamin D is processed by the liver it becomes active and starts working in our bodies!
The darker someone's skin, the harder it is for them to absorb enough vitamin D. Other groups also have trouble absorbing vitamin D and need more to reach normal levels. These include breastfed infants, elder individuals, people who have trouble absorbing fat, people who have had gastric bypass surgery, and obese individuals.
There are not very many food sources of vitamin D- some fish like salmon, mackerel and herring contain it. The only vegetable that has it are mushrooms. Mushrooms contain ergosterol which is a precursor to a form of vitamin D. Cooked mushrooms provide more vitamin D.
Taking vitamin D supplements is an excellent idea. If your diet does not include foods that contain it, or you do not get enough sun it is necessary! I went to a nutrition conference last year at UofT last year, and one of the main topics was vitamin D. One of the doctor's speaking said it was safe to go up to a maximum of 4000 IUs per day. A certain story from this conference that has stayed with me was about a patient this lady had. Her bones and muscles were so weak that she was unable to climb stairs, her figure was bent and had suffered from bone fractures. Within half a year of intensive vitamin D treatment this lady could walk straight and climb stairs- something she had not been able to do for many years.
While recommended daily allowances suggest 400-800 IUs per day studies have shown that greater levels provide the extra benefits that help the diseases I've mentioned above. My personal vitamin D supplement is D Drops. They literally have no flavour and you can put them on food, in a drink, or just on the back of your hand! There are also a number of pills you can choose from. I have tried a few and find them to be very chalky so I prefer the drops. You can also get chocolate vitamin D chews which are tasty but add unnecessary sugar to your diet.
It is important to remember that life stage, your own personal health status, and what/if you have certain diseases play important roles in figuring out how much vitamin D you need. Also while the sun is the best place to get your vitamin D from this does NOT mean I would suggest tanning beds AT ALL! Those are 100% linked to skin cancer and should not be used as an excuse for getting vitamin D. Furthermore, while skin without sunscreen is the best way to get enough vitamin D from the sun, you only need about 20 minutes without it and I would definitely suggest putting some on after that.
So guys, start getting enough vitamin D. Get out in the sun, and make a delicious meal of lemon-dill salmon with some stuffed mushrooms ;) and hit up the natural health food store to get your supplements when you know you're not getting enough.
If you were curios about your vitamin D levels, there are tests your doctors can do...some clinics cover it, but the majority have it as an extra test you need to pay for.
I've included some links here for your benefit and to increase your knowledge about vitamin D!
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3356951/
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/79/3/362.full
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-QuickFacts/
http://www.dietitians.ca/Nutrition-Resources-A-Z/Factsheets/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Vitamin-D.aspx
http://www.mushrooms.ca/nutrition/vitamins.aspx
Salvia hispanica, more commonly known as chia seeds, is an ancient seed and traditional food originating from Central and South America. More recently it has been dubbed as a "super food" with a number of health benefits associated with it. Chia has an excellent composition- protein, omega-3s (even more than flax seed!), carbs, plus a lot of fibre. The ratio of omega 3 to 6 fats is an excellent one. Furthermore it contains no gluten and an expanse of phytochemicals giving it antioxidant activity. 
I use ChiaNutra and I like to put the seeds in my smoothies (about a tablespoon), and from experience they really do fill you up! Something I'd like to try is creating a chia gel- you soak the seeds in water for about half an hour and you can add it to your cooking, baking, etc. You can easily toss them in your cereal or oatmeal, or on salads. 
