I recently bought my first bag of Chia seeds seeing them at a local grocery store. I don't know too too much about them but their nutritional profile intrigued me. One ounce contains 137 calories, 9g of fat, 11g of fiber, 4g of protein. I'm no expert but that's seems pretty ideal for baby. Especially considering the fat it contains is an Omega 3 Fatty Acid.
I first tried them by sprinkling on homemade french toast. Both kids didn't even notice. Happily eating their boosted breakfast.
Then I added them to a smoothie (this one to be exact) and it thickened it to fun shake consistency.
That's when the baby caught a glimpse.
Side note: He was not only eating them but I also give him a little smoothie mixed with his whole milk. So he was drinking chia, spinach, bananas and blueberries. I sneaky like that. 😉
Anyway, how can I say no to a face like this?
So I put some on his tray.
He played, of course, but more importantly he ate. Or at least tried to eat. Those are small little buggers!
In the end I don't think it's about how much he consumed.
He explored…
Investigated…
And had FUN!
Was there a mess?
Sure.
But he got to experience a completely new texture.
Totally worth it for that and this face alone…
🙂 I love chia seeds. My daughter does too. She's 2. Like your son she will not eat fruit unless pureed. But anyways, we add chia seeds to everything! I even add them to oatmeal cookies, along with hulled hemp seeds. Those are super nutritional too!
Very Cute! I'm thinking about using these with my 3 year old and just started using them myself. Only thing I would be careful of is that I have been reading about these for a while, before trying them for myself, and they can cause stomach cramping if they do not fully absorb water (about 20 minutes) prior to consumption.
Be careful with its use in kids. Although constipating, it can also cause diarrhea especially in the initial stage.
Chia seeds really need to be soaked in water to make a gel around them and you also need to be sure you consume plenty of water throughout the day; otherwise, they can be constipating. I know this through my 5 year old's experience with them. I was sprinkling them in his yogurt, on his pancakes, on salad, etc. I didn't know about gelling them at the time. I also didn't know that an adult shouldn't consume more than 2 TBSP per day, so I would think a small child shouldn't consume more than 1 or 2 teaspoons per day. Some people claim they did not gel them, but they did drink plenty of water, yet still got constipated. So, to be on the safe side, I would gel them in addition to drinking more water throughout the day. I still sprinkle dry chia seeds on my food sparingly, but I just won't take that chance with my kid anymore, so I gel his. If I feel like it's a little more difficult to "go", I will wait and give it more time. A kid on the other hand is impatient, so they are likely to just give up because they have better things to do than sit on the toilet all day...and so the backing up begins. Chia seeds are high in iron which can be constipating, but they are also high in magnesium, which is suppose to help with constipation. Hopefully gelling and increasing fluid intake allows one to continue enjoying this awesome seed. I do love chia seeds and their nutrition profile rocks!!!
That is incredibly adorable 🙂 What a cute little boy, especially when his face is covered in chia seeds 🙂
I add them to smoothies, yogurt, oatmeal ... and this week, added chia to some almond milk chocolate pudding cups I bought.
So cute! I keep a small container at chia seeds at work and sprinkle it on most everything. Oatmeal, yogurt, peanut butter toast, whatever. I like the crunch it gives.
Cutest pictures on GreenLiteBites ever!
He's 14 months. 🙂
I add chia seeds to my pancake batter. Delish!
How old is he now, I have lost track.
we're egg freaks too 😉 but sometimes when I'm baking I'll run out and need an extra egg. this does the trick! or sometimes I'll replace one egg with flax.
the texture exercise is great though! I know so many kids that freak out when they come across something a little different. I can't believe how big your baby is getting!!
Aside from being nutritious, the seeds are great fun to grow! Remember the Chia pets? As I used my last dozen of eggs, I carefully broke them towards the top, rinsing & saving in the carton.....then sat down with the grands, carefully coloring faces on the shells with markers.....added a little dirt with some chia seeds and watched them grow hair!! The littles LOVED watering & watching their dozen of egg peeps grow green "hair"! Can also give them a hair cut, using those sprouts in salad! Give it a try.....I guarantee you'll have HaPPy kiddo's! 😉
My husband has put chia in his morning oatmeal concoction ever since I read about them online maybe a year or more ago. I sometimes put them into my smoothies or into my morning egg/pancake dish. I just got back from a road trip and brought chia to put into my yogurt that I took for breakfasts, hoping the fiber would, ahem, keep things moving while I was traveling.
Karol - One of the reasons I bought them was because they don't need to be grinded like flax, but even if they did the little bit wasted is still a texture exercise for baby. So many kids are scared or turned off by odd textures, the more they are exposed the better and more willing they may be to try things later in life.
Ah, that would explain how they get digested, Veronica.
Too cute! Glad they didn't freak the baby or kiddo out. Once in your mouth, they get all jelly like and weird, but I think baby was to engrossed to be grossed out! lol
If you don't crush or grind the seeds, do they just pass through the digestive system without being digested? If so, you're wasting all that great nutrition.
I've done some research on these before trying them for myself tonight for the first time. From what I have read, unlike flax seeds, you do not need to grind these seeds for the full nutritional benefit.
That is the cutest. I am going to try that with my 2 year old. She keeps bringing sand in from the sand box. I have Chia seeds already from previous recipes. It looks like he is playing with sand. If you are intersted. Use the Chia Seeds for Flourless banana bread. Her wesite is: spoonfulofsugarfree.com. Some great ideas. Also you can make your own strawbery Jam with the chia seeds. Endless possiblities.
Thanks, Lara
I love chia seeds, and I try to be sneaky when I add them to things so my husband doesn't catch on. My favorite it sprinkling them on top of oatmeal or waffles with almond butter. Love that your little boy loves them as well!
I've heard the flax trick! Didn't think of using Chia. I have to admit though, I don't normally need an egg replacement. I'm kind of an egg freak. 🙂
so cute! fyi, you can also make an egg replacement by using chia (or flax) http://www.realfoodallergyfree.com/2011/05/chia-egg-replacementsubstitute/