Tag Archives: chia seeds

A Healthy Grocery List for Gourmet Tastes

pile of seeds on an orange fabricWhen we think of items that delight the the foodie palate, things like cheese, wine, chocolate and pastries are often first to come to mind. These decidedly high calorie items must be enjoyed in moderation to maintain a good health, but there are a number of exotic tastes that are also very healthy. Assembled below is a list of epicurean delights that are also nutritionally sound.

1. Expeller Pressed Olive Oil. An expeller press mechanically extracts the oil from seeds or fruits like olives. This traditional method doesn’t require chemicals and produces a better product. “When the first press happens, all the nutrients come out in the oil and that’s the highest quality,” says Chef Marcus Guiliano, owner of Aroma Thyme Bistro.

2. Bulgur Wheat. This nutritious wheat has a low glycemic index and is high in fiber. Made from a pre-cooked wheat berry, serve it as you would cous cous or rice.

3. Coconut Milk. Gaining recent traction as a dairy substitute, coconut milk adds a sweet note to all kinds of recipes. Although it’s high in fat, it’s also a good source of lutien, a key nutrient for eye health.

(more…)

17 Healthy Carbohydrates You Should be Eating

The 17 Day Diet seems to be all the rage these days. Created by Dr. Mike Moreno, the diet was recently featured on The Doctors and the Dr. Phil Show. To go along with this “17” craze, we’re featuring a list of 17 healthy carbs that you should be eating for overall health.  With so many healthy options, you’ll never fall into a food rut again!

1. Oatmeal. It may seem boring, but oatmeal is such a delicious and filling breakfast choice. With lots of fiber, five grams of protein, 27 grams of carbs, three grams of fat and only 150 calories, you get a lot of nutritional bang for your bite!

2. Barley. Also high in fiber, barley is great in soups, as a whole-grain side or even as a healthy rice replacement in risotto!

(more…)

Flax and Chia Seeds Pack Nutritional Punch

Flax seed oil and chia seeds are filled with nutritional benefits that are essential to your overall health. They are filled with both omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids that our bodies cannot make, so we have to get them from food sources.

There are some cautions to consider with flax seed oil, however. Because it is a fat, it can go rancid, and you must take the necessary precautions to avoid that. You need to make sure that exposure to heat, air and light are all minimal or avoided.

(more…)

Chia Seeds: The New Super Food?

You may not know what chia seeds are, but you’ve probably heard of the sprout, famously grown and marketed as the Chia Pet. For our sake, we want to concentrate on the seed, because that is where you will find some pretty amazing health benefits.

photo: sweetbeetandgreenbean.net

photo: sweetbeetandgreenbean.net

Chia is an edible seed that comes from the desert plant salvia hispanica, a member of the mint family that grows in abundance in southern Mexico. The chia can be traced back more than 3,000 years to Central America when the Aztecs used it as a primary food source, ranked up with corn and beans.

The nutty-tasting whole grain chia seeds are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, they are said to be up to four times higher in essential fatty acids than other grains. For the sake of comparison, chia has a 64 percent concentration of alpha linolenic acid (ALA), while the better known flax (flax seed) contains 55 percent. (more…)