journey
Travel, especially long-term travel with frequent changes of scenery and living conditions, is a regime of constant change. And that makes it a great opportunity to introduce as many useful habits into your life as possible and cement them for years to come. And the first thing I decided to focus on, literally as soon as I found myself in a country on the other side of the ocean, was nutrition.
Nutrition is a significant part of life — we do it at least every day (unless we’re fasting, of course), so why not strengthen this brick, make it solid, stable, capable of giving us a lot of energy?
In this post, I want to share with you some knowledge about one useful superfood product that you’ll always find on the shelves of VkusVill — Chia Seeds. I discovered it not too long ago, and the magical and wise Valentina Chumakova initiated me into this knowledge when she once prepared a dish from it that tasted like red caviar and treated me to it. Thank you, dear, this post is in your honor 🧡
===( Now is a good time to say that this version of the article, though self-contained, is still incomplete; you can read the full version by following the attached link to my blog on Yandex Zen )===
Let’s continue. Historically, Chia Seeds are a Central American product and came to us from there. Here, on the territory of the ancient Aztecs, Toltecs, Olmecs, and Maya, the indigenous people of these lands have always consumed these seeds.
What’s so valuable about them? Personally, I’m drawn to the enormous calcium content in these seeds (6 times more than in milk).
Next:
• Antioxidants — 2-3 times more than in fresh blueberries (!);
• Protein — 6 times more than in beans;
• Magnesium — 15 times more than in broccoli;
• Potassium — 2 times more than in bananas;
• Iron — 3 times more than in spinach;
• Omega-3 — 8 times more than in salmon;
• Fiber — 2 times more than in bran.
Not bad, huh? That’s the life hack — use it in good health. If anyone still doesn’t eat chia seeds, that’s a real shame; besides, they’re not so expensive that you’d need to skimp on them. But if someone has trouble with that, there’s also our Russian equivalent (just like in a pharmacy) — flax seeds. They’re also packed with stuff, in some ways even outperforming chia seeds, and they cost about 50 rubles (5 times cheaper than chia).
Now, about how to prepare them. They taste bland, and for most people, just pouring water over them and eating them would obviously be a bad idea — it won’t work. New habits need to be introduced with pleasure, so you enjoy them. Add fruit. I add bananas. But you can use kiwi too — it’ll be just as tasty. Some people mix them with strawberries, blueberries, and other berries and really like it; it turns into something like a pudding, pretty cool.
But before adding fruit, you need to make the chia seeds digestible so that consuming them actually does some good. To do that, either pour water over them and let them steep for 8-12 hours (leave them in the evening and you’ll have breakfast in the morning), or grind them in a coffee grinder if you need it done quickly. I prefer the first method — chia absorbs moisture beautifully, and when you eat it, it might even seem like you’re eating some kind of red caviar.
The maximum daily dose of these seeds is 2-3 tablespoons. Don’t overdo it. :) In 2-3 tablespoons, you get the entire daily dose, and there’s no point in eating more — your body will still absorb exactly as much as it needs and is capable of. Better eat something else, don’t just eat chia, leave some for tomorrow — you’ll go to the store less often. :)
I really love life hacks like this — when it’s simple, fast, and effective with a 10x multiplier. You could add amaranth, bay leaf, cinnamon, and other underrated products to this list, which are also definitely worth adopting. I could talk about them too, if anyone’s interested. I never thought I’d ever start writing about nutrition, but chia forced me to. :) And since we’re on the topic of chia, why not write about other superfoods too?
#ArthurOHarra #ChiaSeeds #Superfood