Marvelous Meals with Rachel: Seeded Chia Quick Bread
Wow, what a week we’re having. Things are super-chaotic. Thankfully, Rachel Rodek, MS, RD, LDN, CSSD and NuVal’s Manager of Nutrition Communications, whipped up this delicious Chia Bread in her kitchen before she ran off to get married. Congratulations to Rachel and thank you for blogging for me!
The Newlyweds: Fernando and Rachel
Chia seeds are the new rage in and out of the Blog world. I’ve been resisting this Chia Movement for some time now, but was recently at the Bob’s Red Mill Factory in Portland, OR – and there they were. Beckoning. So I decided to give them a try.
The first time I tried them was in “Overnight Oats.” You know; the kind of oatmeal you put in water or milk and leave ‘overnight’ in the fridge for a cool, refreshing oatmeal breakfast in the morning. But the seeds have soluble fiber that soaked up a lot of water… creating bloated, slimy, larva-like beads floating in my oatmeal.
It was unpleasant, to say the least. *Grimace*
The Chia sat in my cupboard for a while longer until I decided to give them another shot. But this time I soaked up their sliminess in bread. The quickest bread I’ve ever made, actually. And quite delicious indeed!
Nutrition Tid Bits:
- One ounce (about 3 Tablespoons) of dry Chia seeds contains: 137 Calories, 9 grams of fat (most of which is health-benefiting unsaturated), 11 grams of fiber (about ¾ insoluble and ¼ soluble), 4 grams of protein, 18% of your Recommended Daily Intake of Calcium
- Chia seeds contain a good amount of Alphalinoleic Acid (ALA), the plant form of omega-3 fatty acids. One dry ounce serving has about 4900mg ALA – which is a bit “more” than what you can get from a serving of salmon.
- Note: The omega-3 fatty acids found in Salmon are EPA and DHA, which is extremely bioavailable (the body can absorb it very well). ALA, on the other hand, has to be converted several times in the body to be useful. Therefore you need more ALA than EPA/DHA to have the same benefits.
Did you Know: Chia seeds are the same ones that are used in Chia Pets. As in, the fun ceramic animals that grow hair. Yes, it is a little gross. Just don’t think about it…
Seeded Chia Quick Bread
Adapted from a recipe from The Chia Company
Ingredients:
- 2 cups white flour (NuVal score: 77)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (NuVal Score: 91)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/3 cup Chia seeds (Not scored yet …)
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts (Score: 81)
- 14 oz Lowfat buttermilk (Score: 40)
Directions:
Heat oven to 400F. Grease a 3.5″ by 9″ bread pan.
Combine flours, baking soda, sugar, salt, Chia seeds, and walnuts
Mix well, then add buttermilk and stir to create a soft dough. It will be sticky.
Press dough into bread pan.
Bake for 35 minutes. Yes, you read that right, only 35 minutes. You can close your mouth now. I was just as amazed.
And yes, I took it out at exactly 35 minutes… perfectly cooked!
I must say – I was very hesitant to follow this recipe. It looked so… bland (I mean, come on, only 1 tsp sugar?!).
But I was pleasantly surprised at its savory taste and moist, spongy texture – even though the crust of the bread was pretty darn hard.
Very good with jelly or peanut butter – or both!
Enjoy!
Winner of Trade-Up Tuesday Giveaway
Congratulations to Commenter #11 (and #12) Sarah E! Smart Sarah took advantage of the Second Comment Offer yesterday and she has won herself some granola! Sarah, please send me your mailing address at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com. Thanks to all who entered!
Posted by: Melissa 7 comments
Posted in: Marvelous Meals
Tags: Seeded Chia Quick Bread
