This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Chicago Jogger!

Learning how to cook with chia seeds is on my to-do list for this year. These are the same type of seeds used to grow your Chia Pet – I remember my grandma had a chia sheep that I felt a little creeped out by as a child. I think this Chia Kitten would have been a better choice:

Nutrition Stripped has an excellent overview of the health benefits of eating chia seeds. I learned that chia seeds are a great source of soluble fiber, protein, and calcium, as well as a few other beneficial minerals. WebMd also has an interesting article, The Truth About Chia. The seeds are unprocessed and can be absorbed by your body as seeds {unlike flax seeds which require grinding}. Some people claim there are weight loss benefits to eating chia seeds due to their expansion properties, but it hasn’t been proven yet.

There are recipes popping up everywhere using chia seeds – in pudding, smoothies, and other breakfast-type recipes, especially on Pinterest. I searched for 10 recipes that look like a good way to incorporate chia seeds, 5 for breakfast and 5 for dinner. It was much harder to find recipes to incorporate chia seeds into dinner {besides sprinkling them on top of a salad}! The chia chicken strips are first on my list.

Breakfast…

Vanilla-Almond Chia Breakfast Pudding ~ daily burn 

Lemon Chia Seed Bread ~ Making Roma Roma

Cinnamon Chia Seed Granola ~ Peanut Butter Fingers

Banana Peanut Butter Chia Seed Muffins ~ tablespoon

Strawberry Banana and Peach Chia Seed Smoothie ~ sweet remedy

Dinner…

Cornmeal & Chia Seed Crusted Tilapia ~ Savoring the Thyme

Spinach & Quinoa Winter Salad ~ Recreating Happiness

Chia Chicken Strips ~ Savvy Mom

Berry Almond Salad with Chia Seed Vinaigrette ~ Dinners Dishes & Desserts

Eggplant Parmesan with Chia ~ Blue Apron