As bad as it may seem for a personal trainer to say this…I am not a breakfast person. The most important meal of the day, and it is often a battle not to skip past it.
Whether it be the lack of time because I’m flying out the door while desperately trying to get my other shoe on, or simply not feeling hungry, I have often found it difficult to get a decent breakfast in my tummy before the day begins.
Recently I was sent some Chia Seeds by a Nottingham based nutrition company called The Natural Health Market. Now I confess, I knew very little about Chia seeds. I knew they were from South America, had something to do with the Incas, and that’s about it.
I did a fair bit of reading up on them, and looked at several recipes and ways in which to eat them.
They are tasteless and odourless, and while that might seem a bit pointless, it is actually one of their finest qualities. It means you can add them to anything. Add them to your protein shake, pop them in a smoothie, mix them in humus, or even stir them into mashed potato. Easy.
Nutritionally (See the values at the bottom) they can turn any basic meal into a massive fat burning, muscle building banquet.
For me, I found a very simple solution to my morning breakfast issue. Normally I skull a large glass of milk as I frantically grab my coat. While milk is a great source of protein and calcium, nutritionally, there are many black holes in which a glass of milk doesn’t fill. Throw in 15g of Chia seeds and you have yourself a breakfast of breakfast avoiders. Simply spoon in the Chia seeds and after a minute or two, they have dissolved. Give them a stir as they do go a little gloopy, then get it down the hatchet!
Quick, easy, and packed with nutrients, anti-oxidants, Omega 3, 6, & 9, and fibre by the bucket load.
The seeds expand in the stomach too, which makes you feel fuller for longer. Exactly what you want from a breakfast.
Just make sure you drink plenty of water as they are a fibre machine!
Oh, did I mention they are cheap as chips?!
Enjoy!
They recommend that you have 15g a day of Chia seeds. Here is the nutritional values:
- Energy – 79 Kcal
- Protien – 2.8g
- Carbohydrates – 6.5g
- of which;
- saturated – 4.7g
- monounsaturated – 0.4g
- omega 9 – 0.3g
- polyunsaturated – 3.9g
- omega 3 LNA – 3.0g
- omega 6 LA – 0.9g
- trans fat – 0.00g
- Fibre – 5.6g
- Sodium – 0.00mg
- Calcium – 92mg
- Iron – 1mg
- Zinc – 1mg
- Magnesium – 50mg
- Selenium – 8mcg
- Folate (Folic Acid) – 7mcg
