Goji Berries and Chia Seeds

I’ve been on an oatmeal kick this winter, usually mixing in flax seeds and canned pumpkin. It’s been hard to find canned pumpkin this side of Christmas, so I needed to find something new to add to my oatmeal. Recently I feel like I’ve been reading about chia seeds and goji berries everywhere, so I decided to give them a try.

I love the chia seeds! They make the oatmeal nice and creamy, and taste kind of nutty. The goji berries add an interesting flavor, but mainly I just love the color. Just from looking at them you know they are healthy!

Goji berries

What’s now generally called the goji berry is actually the wolfberry, Lycium barbarum L., a tart, reddish-orange fruit grown in central China (not, it appears, the Himalayas) for more than 2,000 years. It has exceptional nutrient density, and is especially rich in carotenoids including beta-carotene and lycopene. (from Dr. Weil)

Goji berries

Chia seeds

Chia is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seeds. And it has another advantage over flax: chia is so rich in antioxidants that the seeds don’t deteriorate and can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid. And, unlike flax, they do not have to be ground to make their nutrients available to the body. Chia seeds also provide fiber (25 grams give you 6.9 grams of fiber) as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc. (from Dr. Weil)

Chia seeds

It’s not very often that we eat something new, that we’ve never tasted before. Sure, we make new recipes and combine ingredients in a new way, but a completely new food? I think I want to make an effort to try new foods. Who knows what I may be missing! What’s your favorite unusual food or ingredient?

This entry was posted on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 6:59 pm and is filed under Food for Yoga. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Goji Berries and Chia Seeds”

  1. I keep hearing about chia seeds too! One of these days I’ll save up and buy some. It’s good to hear that they are worth the price! It’s probably not unusual, but my favorite not-so-usual food is dates. I have one or two every morning, stuffed with pecans. Yum!

  2. Now I see why Ogden (aka The Inappropriate Yoga Guy http://bit.ly/ctH52R) had such an unusual fascination with goji berries. Thanks for putting a new twist on an old favorite.

  3. Love both the GOJI berries and the CHIA and I really feel its benefits and when I´m down I also take GUARANA poweder and gives me more energy too
    Alice x

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