Description
What is Chia?
Chia is Nature's Complete Superfood.
Chia is the highest plant based source of Omega 3, dietary fibre and protein.
Chia is a great tasting seed that is easy to include in the daily diet for improved health.
Chia seeds were first used as food as early as 3500 BC and were one of the main dietary components of the Aztecs and the Mayans.
This is the most common question we are asked about Chia.
The answer is simple. The 'black' variety of Chia naturally contains a combination of black, grey and white seeds. The 'white' Chia variety was formed by specially selecting white seeds from the black variety. We grow dedicated paddocks of black and white seed. Aside from the obvious colour difference, the seed itself is virtually the same in all of its properties - size, taste and smell, with the exception of a few minor seasonal nutritional differences.
Chia is a fantastic way to enhance your daily diet with a bonus nutritious boost. Chia has a pleasant mild nutty taste and can be added to any food or beverage without altering the original flavour.
We recommand a daily serve of 15 grams which is the equivalent of 1 level tablespoon.
Chia can be sprinkled over salads, cereals and muesli or incorporated into breads, muffins, slices, cookies or porridge.
Why not try Chia as a gel? When mixed with water (ratio - 1 tablespoon of Chia to 1 cup of water), Chia seed forms a unique nourishing gel that can be added to smoothies, juices, breakfast shakes, herbal teas, yogurts, soups, salad dressing or sauces.
Chia seeds were first used as food as early as 3500 BC and were one of the main dietary components of the Aztecs and the Mayans. Chia seeds were eaten as a grain, drunk as a beverage when mixed with water, ground into flour, included in medicines, pressed for oil and used as a base for face and body paints.
The Spanish conquests of America destroyed much of the intensive agricultural production systems that were in place however small pockets of producing regions remained in Central and South America.
In the 1990s a research initiative was launched between a North American non profit organisation and a group of South American farmers with the goal of increasing and diversifying commercial production in the region. Chia was selected as part of the cropping program and growing trials proved successful. In the years that followed small scale, commercial production of Chia began.
