With this sincere, if cockamamie, objective in mind I read through yet another superfood article this weekend. Every day, a new list of top 10 overlooked superfoods pops up and nudges the previous list of top 10 overlooked superfoods out of the way. Basically, this list had everything my grandmother used to eat plus a few very dark horses. So, there were dandelion greens (check, many a dandelion green I dug out of the lawn and ate at the dinner table), dried plums (they're PRUNES, baby, PRUNES--don't mess with me), beets (starring in red flannel hash, featured in Wednesday night supper with macaroni and cheese and applesauce), and a whole bunch of stuff, and then...then there was...
CH-CH-CH-CH-IA
Okay, okay, okay. There was actually this:CH-CH-CH-CH-IA
And, of course, this (doesn't that chiabunny look wrathful--it kinda scares me):
Chia seeds are a "superfood." WTF! Chia seeds are a "superfood." What's next, library paste is a superfood? Sea monkeys are a superfood? Yet, there it is in black and white: They're good for diabetics, they're good for heart patients. They have more antioxidants than blueberries. They have more Omega-3 fatty acids (a good thing, I assure you) than flax seeds--which I've been intending to start eating some day, but why bother? The mighty chia out-omegas them.The obvious questions:
1) HOW DID THEY FIND THIS OUT? Was a hungry lab tech sitting sadly in his lab one night waiting for the overdue Domino's guy, gazing into his microscope, idly stroking his chia pet (not a euphemism), when he suddenly got an urge to TEST his chia pet's nutritional VALUE? Or, he just started grazing on handfuls of chia?*
2) WHERE DO I BUY CHIA SEEDS? Am I going to have to go to a discount store and buy 45chia pets to secure my MDR of the vital nutrients provided by the magical chia? 'cause I'll do it. Yes, I will--if it gets me any closer to superherodom, I'm there.*
Bottom line: It's Chiasaur Casserole this week and official Chia Week. At my snail-like blog productivity rate, this likely means one more chia-related post. Yet: Emperor Chia Seed, I salute you! Even as I wonder if I will grow fine, green hair all over my body if I eat you, I salute you!
(*Actually, chia is the "forgotten crop of the Aztecs" and is commonly eaten in Mexico and South America. It has a fascinating history that you can learn more about through the supersearchengine the google. And, of course, you can buy it online--as well as at health food stores, I betcha. Cake: Zzt...it's gluten-free.)
