Recipes with Chia Seeds - Healthy and Filling at the Same Time!

Ever heard of chia seeds? They come from a mint related flowering plant from Mexico and Guatemala. Apparently, in the 80s, they were used as "pets." You grow them and they look like cute turtles, hedgehogs or even afros on a bust (they have a Barrack Obama one, lol):

A Chia Pet.  The seeds have emerged as the newest health craze.

But these past few years, chia seeds have also emerged as the newest health food, an excellent source of omega-3 fats and fiber. More here about chia: Chia Health Benefits. It's a very versatile, healthy food, because it is practically tasteless (and thus, doesn't interfere with the flavour of the food that you're adding it to) and expands when you mix it with liquid, making you feel fuller.

Here are two recipes of chia which we regularly eat in the family.  You will find that chia keeps absorbing the liquid it's in, so when you set aside the food and eat it later, the liquid might be gone. Just add more liquid (milk, coconut milk, broth...whatever it is that you used in the recipe) to dilute it. And for recipes which are soupy like the two below, stir the chia in the liquid from time to time after a few hours, because it will get clumpy if you just leave it untouched.


MANGO "SAGO" CHIA
Serves 4 people

Mango "Sago" Chia. Healthier than the original and just as refreshing!

Chicken & Bacon Puff Pastry Empanada, a Leftover Victory

Does this look like it's made from leftover Jamie Oliver chicken???

I made Roast Chicken in Milk, Sage & Citrus, last Christmas Eve, based on a Jamie Oliver recipe. See my recipe here.

The chicken was so tender and succulent! We still had leftovers a week later and by that time, it had turned to some kind of pasty, disintegrated chicken.

Jamie Oliver chicken does not look appetising as a leftover....

I hate to throw away good food, so I decided to "re-fashion" the chicken into a light lunch of Chicken & Bacon Puff Pastry Empanadas, served with a side salad of spinach, cherry tomatoes and croutons, in a honey balsamico dressing.

The recipe is easy to make, and I relied on my trusted assistant, my teenaged son, to do this. No one will believe that you made these beautiful empanadas from the picture above!

Roast Chicken in Milk, Sage and Citrus

Jamie Oliver is one of my favourite chefs because I find his recipes very practical and "homey." This recipe is adapted from his Chicken in Milk recipe, which he describes as "with sage and a delicious lemony kick. Trust me, you're going to love this one---the milk creates the most amazing, flavoursome sauce."

I tried this recipe for the first time on Christmas Eve Dinner, but I found it to be quite bland. There was hardly any taste and none of that "flavoursome sauce" that Jamie was talking about. So midway through the recipe, I added half a bouillon, a teaspoon of chili flakes, the juice of one lemon and orange, as well as the rinds. In addition, I found out that I had run out of cinnamon sticks (%$#!!??) so I substituted that with star anise and cloves. Thus, I have adapted this recipe as "Roast Chicken in Milk, Sage & Citrus."