The Joy of Chia Seeds

Last year I followed the Zoe dietary programme for two months.

I learned to love nuts and seeds – they are good for my digestion.

Of especial importance is chia seed. A bit like with lentils, I have no idea what a chia plant would look like, nor where it would grow (although I did once run into a magnificent quinoa plant at the Eden Project).

However, the tiny chia seeds themselves, about three times the size of a poppy seed are smooth and mottled grey.

When soaked in water or milk, they develop a gelatinous coating which can stick to anything.

No doubt it is this special property which makes them beneficial in the digestive tract.  However, it is also this which is their greatest drawback.

When I smile at you, don’t blink – you haven’t developed spots before your eyes – those are chia seeds stuck firmly to my teeth.

If you see my toothbrush in the bathroom, that polka dot pattern is not the work of a designer – it is a testimony to the adhesive powers of chia seeds.

I’m glad that chia seeds have proved good for my digestive tract because now, even if I wanted to give them up, it appears I can’t.  I am quite literally stuck with them.