Ch-Ch-Ch—remember those tiny seeds that you could spread onto clay pigs and bunnies and they’d sprout into fluffy pat-worthy green “fur”? Yup, chia. Well, did you know that many people consider it be nature’s perfect food?

It’s true. For centuries in the Americas, Chia seed has been a staple for indigenous peoples. Chia fueled Aztec warriors of Mexico during battles and hunting treks and supported endurance for Native Americans that ran from the Colorado River to the Pacific Ocean to trade turquoise for shells. Sustained by chia seed, the Tarahumara of Mexico hunted animals by running so far and long that their prey fell due to exhaustion.

The Tarahumara are a tribe of natural “superathletes” really, running 50 to 100 miles at a time. What’s their energy drink of choice? A mix of of citrus, chia, water and honey. 52-year-old Tarahumara Indian, Cirildo Chacarito, won a Nike-sponsored 100-mile run in California in the late 90s, completing the race in a time of 19 hours, 37 minutes and three seconds—beating hundreds of competitors with more than a half-hour lead. Wow.

What makes this miracle food so special?
Well, chia (a flowering plant from the mint family) is very rich in omega-3s, which as you probably know, are essential fatty acids (EFAs) that our bodies need for optimal health, but cannot synthesize on their own. Chia is also is full of quality protein (a complete source actually, providing all essential amino acids), magnesium, calcium, antioxidants (more than blueberries), iron, folate and soluble fiber. Chia promotes natural detoxification and due to it’s ability to absorb between 10-12 times its weight in water, it creates a sensation of fullness that can help satisfy hunger. This ability to hold water prolongs hydration and retains electrolytes in body fluids, especially during physical exercise. When you soak chia seeds, a protective mucilloid gel (which was useful for protection in arid climates) forms—it is the soluble fiber in the seeds. When consumed, this gel creates a physical barrier between carbohydrates and the digestive enzymes that break ’em down—slowing conversion of carbs to sugar and in turn extending endurance. This slowing of digestion sustains blood sugar levels and allows for efficient assimilation and then regeneration of muscles—listen up athletes, bodybuilders and moms (chia is known to help growth of tissue during pregnancy and lactation).

Chia seeds (a.k.a. salba, mila, Salvia hispanica L) can be used in so many ways—as refreshing beverages, in baked goods, puddings, cooked savory dishes, smoothies and cereals. You can sprinkle them into salads and bake them into energy bars. They have a very mild, barely nutty, almost neutral flavor that works with everything, and I’ll be sharing many of these recipes and possibilities with YU this month.

You can use chia seeds (grey) and/or the heirloom salba (white) variety for any of the upcoming chia recipes. For cost savings, look in the bulk section and remember a little goes a long way with these little guys.

You don’t have to wait for the recipes, go ahead and sprinkle them on everything!

REFERENCES:
Change Your Life with Chia via Huffington Post
THRIVE, Brendan Brazier

I have a few posts on the site that walk you through the benefits and steps involved for soaking and sprouting, but I have a feeling many of you are still intimidated by it, so I made a little video (after the jump) to show you how ridiculously easy it is. 2012 is the year you will take on sprouting! I know YU can do it.

Read more about the benefits of soaking >
Read more about sprouting >
Read more about soaking and preparing legumes >
Sprouting chart >

Remember: Share your pics with us via #YUMadeIt on Twitter and you could win a YU 3-Pack.

This is the last Whole Food of the Month recipe for January, but rest assured, now that YU all love sea veggies and are feeling the benefits—we will keep the recipes comin’. Toasted Sesame Seaweed Snacks are one of my favorite nutrient-powerhouse go-tos. They are easy to make and are great for travel, whether you are going to the office or on vacation far away. They are totally cravable and pretty addicting. My girlfriends and I went through the whole bag I made for us on the plane ride out to California two weeks ago…they didn’t last 10 minutes before they were gone and we were checking eachother for seaweed teeth.

Makes: as much as you want
Takes: 5-7 minutes

Tools:
Cookie sheet(s)
Unbleached parchment paper
Basting brush (or your fingers)
Kitchen scissors (optional, you can tear by hand)
Small dish

Ingredients:
Try to buy everything organic. Here’s why.
Untoasted nori sheets (you can use toasted if it’s all you can find)
Toasted sesame oil
Handful of sesame seeds
Fine ground sea salt
Wasabi powder (optional, you can leave off)

Let’s get started.
Preheat oven to 300°F.

On a parchment-lined cookie sheet lay out your nori. Pour some sesame oil in a small dish. Using your basting brush, or your fingers, paint on a little bit of sesame oil. You want just enough so some seeds will stick, but you want to keep the oil use to a minimum. You can do this to both sides if you like, but I find that one side is perfectly delish.

Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and sesame seeds.

Toast for 5 minutes max and remove from oven. You’ll notice that they went in purple and come out green. At this point if you’d like wasabi (which I recommend) sprinkle on as much as you like. You don’t want to add wasabi before baking because it will burn (if you like the taste of burned popcorn, add it before baking, it’s exactly that).

Once cooled, cut your Toasted Sesame Seaweed Snacks into rectangles, triangles, hearts, little fish or any shape you’d like. Enjoy!

Store in an airtight glass container in the pantry.

Psst: if you’d like to prepare these “highly raw”, use raw nori and a dehydrator. Dehydrate for 4-6 hours.

Have you tried our other recipes that use sea veggies?

Almond Butter Kelp & Kale Noodles

Lemony Powerhouse Dulse Spread

Gluten-Free, Dairy Free Vegetable Lasagna

Brendan Brazier’s Lemon Lime Workout Recovery Drink

Raw Carrot Almond Crunch Maki

Also, when cooking grains, legumes or seeds, put a piece of kombu in the cooking water. It will not only expedite the cooking process, but will improve the digestibility, without adding any sea flavor to your dish. I keep a pack of kombu in my pantry at all times.

Seaweed is our Whole Food of the Month and one of my missions was to pull together a simple seaweed salad recipe for YU.

I love seaweed salad now—wait, hear that?—I think everyone who knew me from childhood just fell over in shock. See, I am the girl who ate her first salad at 19 and even then it was iceberg lettuce. Vegetables were not something I was interested in at all, and SEA VEGGIES? Forget it. Never. Well, you know what cliché I could use here, but I am happy and confident to report that obviously the palette does change (it can in a matter of weeks, actually) and foods that may seem impossible for you to add to the rotation will become something you crave in time when you switch to a clean, whole food, plant-based diet. So if sea veggies scare you, step out of your comfort zone and give this recipe a try. It tastes just like a toasted sesame noodle salad with very little, to no sea flavor and it takes 10 minutes max to prepare. I promise you’ll love it whether you are a newbie to sea veggies or if you are one of those long-time seaweed salad junkies.

Makes: 2-4 servings
Time: 10 minutes

Tools:
Medium glass bowl
Small glass bowl
Small pan
Spoon, whisk or blender
Towel (paper or cloth)
Strainer

Ingredients:
Try to buy everything organic. Here’s why.
4-5 pieces whole or cut wakame
Warm pure water (enough to fill medium bowl)
1 scallion, sliced
1 tbsp cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 carrot, shredded (optional)
1/2 granny smith apple, cored and shredded (optional)

Dressing
1 tbsp rice vinegar/Mirin
1 tbsp coconut aminos (gluten-free/soy-free) or nama shoyu
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp sucanat
1/4 tsp minced ginger
1/4 tsp minced garlic
Pinch salt

Let’s get started.
Select your dry wakame pieces.

Soak them in warm water for about 8 minutes.

While wakame soaks, mix dressing ingredients by hand, or in the blender, and set aside.

Toast sesame seeds in a small pan over medium heat 2-3 minutes and set aside. Wash and chop cilantro leaves. Set aside.

Drain and rinse wakame in cold water. It’s pretty amazing how large the leaves become when hydrated. I can’t help but think of summer at the beach.

Press/squeeze out excess water with hands and/or a strainer. Pat dry with a towel.

Roll leaves lengthwise and slice thinly—chiffonade-style.

You are creating long noodles. Just set them aside until all leaves are chopped.

Don’t forget to slice some green onion.

Place sliced wakame in a glass bowl and toss with dressing. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, cilantro and onion.

Store leftovers in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to one week. Enjoy!

. . .
Extras/Tips: Add some shredded carrots and/or shredded granny smith apples if you have some. If you are not someone who manages chopsticks, or long noodles in general very well, chop up your chiffonade strands into smaller bites so you can skip the twirling with your eating utensils.
. . .

Have you tried our other recipes that use sea veggies?

Almond Butter Kelp & Kale Noodles

Lemony Powerhouse Dulse Spread

Gluten-Free, Dairy Free Vegetable Lasagna

Brendan Brazier’s Lemon Lime Workout Recovery Drink

Raw Carrot Almond Crunch Maki

Also, when cooking grains, legumes or seeds, put a piece of kombu in the cooking water. It will not only expedite the cooking process, but will improve the digestibility, without adding any sea flavor to your dish. I keep a pack of kombu in my pantry at all times.

I came across this video recently and think it’s one that I should share with YU. It’s an important presentation given by the founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), Neal Barnard MD, that discusses the science behind food additions—like the top dog I always hear about, and one we’ve discussed on YumUniverse—cheese. What was my biggest battle when I transitioned? Sugar.

The “sugar demon” was joked about quite a bit on my recent trip to California. Even though my vegan tripmates and I know about the opiate-like effect certain foods can have, we indulged under the convenient vacation excuse. Eating Apple Cinnamon muffins by the fire, under twinkling stars is pretty magical, but I knew that even though we located gluten-free and vegan treats to enjoy, that the sparkly, crunchy topping was definitely sugar. And I think we all knew that it would be a tough week post-vacay when the vacation pass wasn’t there. That sugar demon is strong, and as I sit here sipping some apple cider vinegar and water (a great way to curb cravings btw), I know that what I am feeling is not necessarily a lack of willpower, it’s my body asking where the heck are all the vacation treats? I’m exaggerating a bit to make a point. We weren’t going cookie-monster-crazy, but we tend to eat a very clean diet and even a little bit of indulgence here and there is very noticeable now. And for that I’m grateful. This plant-based diet is a journey and I’d rather be here than where I was years ago when sugar not only was consumed daily, but it made my eyes spin like starlight mints.

Back to Dr. Barnard. He is someone you should know more about if you don’t already, and this video is a great introduction. He discusses, in a humorous, simple way, how chocolate, cheese, meat, and sugar release opiate-like substances that hook us—from our very first days in this world (and even before that). He also discusses how industry, aided by government, exploits these natural cravings, pushing us to eat more and more unhealthy foods. A plant-based diet is the solution to avoid many of these problems and the more YU know, the more strength you can build to help you achieve your goals. So take the time to watch this vid (instead of a show on tv tonight), you’ll feel pretty inspired and empowered afterwards.

What do YU think of what Dr. Barnard has to say?

- – -
This is Dr. Barnard’s complete presentation from the 2003 VegSource Healthy Lifestyle Expo. To get a copy of this talk on DVD and many others, visit the VegSource store.
- – -

There’s a really yummy comfort-food vegan restaurant in Chicago that has a version of this wrap, only it’s filled with tofu, a soy-based dressing and wrapped in wheat. It was my “junk-food” vegan fix until I finally kicked soy and gluten (almost) for good. I have missed that little wrap so much. The cooling ranch dressing paired with the spicy kickbutt Jamaican Jerk tofu. I decided that it was high-time that I come up with a nutrient-rich, soy-free version for myself, and I have to say that this recipe is better than my old flame. You can use lightly steamed (or raw) collard greens for a wrap instead of the sprouted grain tortilla that I use, and you can also dump all of the fixins in a large bowl and have yourself one of the tastiest salads around. All options are delish.

Tools:
Steamer*
2 large pots
Large plate
Large glass bowl

*If you don’t have a steamer, you can place diced sweet potato in a glass casserole dish with 2 tbsp water in the bottom and roast the potatoes about 20 minutes until soft.
Ingredients:
Try to buy everything organic. Here’s why.
Sprouted grain tortillas (or collard greens raw or steamed or gluten-free tortillas to make this recipe GF)
Mixed greens
Fresh lentil sprouts (optional)
1-2 tbsp clean gluten-free jerk seasoning from a jar (not a dry rub)*
Creamy Dairy-Free, Soy-Free Ranch Dressing (homemade is best)
2 cups cooked chickpeas (try your best to soak them overnight and prepare them yourself instead of eating the aluminum-soaked ones)
1 1/2 cups cooked buckwheat (here’s how)
2 cups sweet potato, diced and steamed
3-4 large kale leaves, chopped and steamed for 2 minutes, until they wilt.

*Make sure that if you are not making your own jerk seasoning, that you buy a clean one where you recognize all of the ingredients. It really should be onion/scallions, Scotch Bonnet peppers, sea salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, thyme and maybe a smidge of sugar. That’s it. Jerk seasoning is very spicy and I am the type to put enough in to start a fire, so please start with small amounts. Stir in 1-2 tsp and taste, add more if you want more kick and remember that the ranch dressing is cooling and will be a terrific accompaniment when all wrapped together.

Let’s get started.
I prepare sprouted buckwheat and chickpeas for this recipe and then cook them. Here’s how to cook chickpeas and here’s how to cook buckwheat. Place together in a large glass bowl when done.

Take your diced sweet potato and steam for 15-20 minutes until soft—a fork should go in easily, but not so much that they are mushy. Once cooked, toss in the bowl with your buckwheat and chickpeas. Add the chopped kale to the steamer for 5 minutes, or until soft.

Add your steamed kale. Stir well.

Now, stir in the jerk seasoning. Start with less and slowly add more as you go, and remember that the ranch dressing is very cooling when paired with the spice.

Lightly steam a sprouted grain tortilla for about 2-5 minutes and lay flat on a large plate. Spoon in some of your jerk veggies and legumes. Add some lentil sprouts and mixed greens.

Top with Creamy Dairy-Free, Soy-Free Ranch Dressing and wrap it up!

You can skip the tortilla all together and make a ginormous salad. This recipe is a great one because all week you will have fixins in the fridge to play with. Make wraps, make salads…have fun.