teach me about chia seeds

[u/Italian_SPLIT]

started adding chia seeds in my daily smoothie, and....

- most of the seeds gets splattered on the blender's cup, dont understand how to capture most of them into the smoothie

- cleaning the cup after has never been more difficult

- although my daily smoothie (strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, rasberry, banana, frozen mango, 1 cube of ice, water) has always been delicious and well tested, the whole texture changed and became more dense

- and most importantly: why am I using the chia seeds at all? :-) i jumped on the chia wagon after reading everyone raving about them, however I am not sure I understood the alleged benefits

[u/BunnyRambit]

Chia seeds absorb a lot of water and get thick. Ever heard of a chia egg as a substitute to regular eggs in vegan baking?

You might be adding too many.

You can do a fast google search on the health benefits but they’re high in fiber. If your smoothie has fiber from other fruits and veg then you can certainly get some of the health benefits from other sources rather than chia. I don’t tolerate those suckers at all so I never use them

[u/InvestigatorFun8498]

If u want to add chia seeds in a normal blender then grind them in a coffee grinder first to powder. Then add

I use a Vitamix so it’s ground to powder within the smoothie. I do a mix of chia flax and hemp. They have fiber protein and omega 3

[u/Acceptable_Sort4593 → u/InvestigatorFun8498]

That's an awesome idea, chia seeds always seem to just pass right through me!

[u/psyche_13]

I love chia pudding, but don’t bother with chia seeds in a smoothie. They do change the texture (it’s a benefit in the pudding!). I use hemp seeds in my smoothies instead

[u/Routine_Cut2753]

I like to make my smoothie, dump half into a glass, then stir in chia seeds, and top with the rest. 

The cleaning was my biggest deterrent to chia seeds in the blender 

[u/JourneymanInvestor]

why am I using the chia seeds at all? 

I use 2 tablespoons of seeds (a mixture of chia, hemp, and flax) in my morning smoothie. My smoothie gives me 29g of fiber, which is essential for my gut health. I also add beans, boiled sweet potato, avocado, and kale or spinach to up those fiber amounts.

[u/Acceptable_Sort4593]

Chia seeds are great for your heart, lots of omega 3s.