Monthly Archives: July 2010

On Friday, before heading out of town for a weekend-long camping and hiking trip to the Michaux State Forest in Pennsylvania, I decided that chia seeds had won a few battles, but that they would not win the war—at least not without a fight on my end.

To review: chia fresca tasted like chunky snot; chia in yogurt was OK, but only when masked with fruit and nuts; chia bars were delicious, but left my sensitive stomach feeling kind of icky.

Nina at Transition Multisport posted a delicious-sounding chia cookie recipe on a previous blog post on this topic, so I decided to try my own version, with foods I knew to cooperate with my stomach.

I started with stomach-friendly ingredients.

I combined two tablespoons of chia seeds, half a cup of oatmeal, some Truvia, some vanilla, an egg, and a pinch of baking soda in a food processor.

So far, so good ...

I divided the batter into two globs, then baked in the toaster oven at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. The results were totally delicious—the chia seeds actually tasted like poppy seeds, making me think a bit of lemon juice would make these suitable for a healthy dessert!

Yum!

The jury’s still out on how these sit on my stomach. I’m typically fine with fiber-licious foods, so if there’s a problem here, it’s definitely chia-specific. I’m going to do a few more test runs (literally) before adding these to the repertoire.

As for the long-lasting energy promised in “Born to Run,” the jury has finished deliberations, and has decided that I feel absolutely no different after consuming chia seeds. I discussed this phenomenon with my running buddies on the aforementioned camping trip this past weekend. I was the only sucker—erm, kitchen adventurer—to have tried the seeds, but we all agreed there was a simpler, more sensible way to guarantee long-lasting energy: peanut butter, which fueled our 10-mile hike that day.

What’s your go-to food for long-lasting energy? If you’ve tried chia seeds, how did they work out for you: magical superfood, or just another ingredient?

In a recent “Eat, drink & be healthy” column in The Washington Post, Jennifer Larue Huget wrote about the pros and cons of the Web-based weight-loss site SparkPeople. One of the pros she touched on—the motivation one can derive from reading stories about regular people working toward similar goals—really hit home for me. It’s summed up perfectly in the column by SparkPeople member Lori Gutierrez, 46, of Bakersfield, Calif.: “You can always find yourself in someone else’s story,” she says. “Someone to inspire you to do it for one more day.”

That’s just how I felt a few days ago, while reading Purple Shoes, one of the running blogs I regularly peruse. The post, about a recent half-marathon, included photos of pre-race shopping at Lululemon, post-race pictures with finisher’s tees and medals, and a general sense of joy and fellowship I recognize from my own distance-racing experiences. Reading about someone else experiencing the same thing made me feel so motivated!

You don’t have to read running blogs to feel this way. I get the same motivation when I hear about a friend with a busy schedule waking up before dawn to squeeze in a long run, or when I hear about a lifelong runner trying out a swim workout for the first time. Or, just as motivational, when a runner-friend tells me how hard a recent speed workout was to muscle through (we always think it’s easier for other people!). I find these more motivational than reading about the pros accomplishing amazing things. I love Kara Goucher as much as the next American runner, but seriously, if you have that kind of natural talent, time and coaching resources, why *wouldn’t* you accomplish amazing things?

This week, I’m finding motivation in the triumphs and struggles of other runners, swimmers, hikers, bikers and weekend warriors. If they can do it one more day, so can I.

What’s motivating you this week?

Chia seeds: I’m back. And look out, because this time, I brought my food processor.

After getting lots of tips from readers and fellow runners (thanks, guys!), I decided my next two attempts at enjoying these weird little seeds would involve smoothies and energy bars. So yesterday, I got out my food processor and my chia seeds, and tried the latter.

My bag of pesky chia seeds.

Matt at No Meat Athlete provided this tasty-looking recipe to avoid the “little globs of chia snot” in chia fresca. Also, Nina at Transition Multisport suggested a few bar and cookie ideas in her comments on my chia post earlier this week. I worked with what I had in my cupboard and basically just added the seeds to my own homemade Larabar recipe. Here’s how I did it:

Combine two tablespoons of almonds or cashews, dried cherries and chia seeds, plus five or six dates, in a food processor. Grind into a meal-like consistency. Form into bars. Freeze for a firmer consistency.

Ingredients in my yummy, homemade chia-Larabars.

I’m pleased to report that these were a major success, taste-bud-wise! Chia seeds almost taste like poppy seeds when they’re mingling with their nutty, fruity friends. The bad news: I had a bit of a stomach disaster while running last night—though it’s not clear whether the chia seeds were to blame, or if this was an unhappy coincidence. Next up: a chia-oatmeal “cookie,” with only stomach-friendly ingredients, so I can figure out once and for all whether chia seeds are my friend or foe.

Does this look tasty, or what?

Do you have a tasty bar, cookie or smoothie recipe that incorporates chia seeds? My food processor and I want to hear them!