Excuse me, but I must ask you what you are drinking? I’ve never seen anything like it before!
Those are the kinds of questions a girl gets asked when she’s toting this drink to a spin class. You get stares, sideways looks, and nervous smiles. The people out there are curious and they need to know that you aren’t drinking little black bugs. They need to be able to sleep at night. For goodness sake, tell them what you are drinking so they can get back to their workout!
So I tell them with a big smile, Chia bugs. Then there’s an awkward pause and even more confusion.
Ok, ok, it’s actually a healthy beverage called Chia Fresca which has been a popular drink in Mexico and Central America for many years. I’m sure many of you have heard of it before or even made it yourself. It’s made up of water, chia seeds, lemon or lime juice, and sweetener.
When chia seeds are soaked in water a gelatinous coating forms around the seed very similar to a tomato seed. This makes it very easy to swallow so the seeds don’t get stuck in your throat. Chia Fresca probably isn’t for people with texture issues (cough, cough husband), but I’ll leave that up to your discretion. I recently brought it back into my life to get a boost of Omega-3 fatty acids in my diet. It’s so much more fun than drinking plain water! Plus, it’s a total conversation starter much like bringing a Green Monster into the work place. I know you’ve been there. Well, why not bring Chia Fresca and show them just how crazy you can really be?
Here’s a quick refresher on chia seeds:
- Chia seeds are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seed
- Chia seeds do not need to be ground to be absorbed by the body and they can be stored for long periods of time without going rancid
- They help with hydration due to their ability to absorb up to 9-10 times their weight in water
- Chia seeds also contain fibre, protein, calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc among many other nutrients
- Chia seeds like to get stuck in your teeth. You were warned.
Chia Fresca is said to boost energy levels too. I’m not really sure if it boosts my energy or not, but I sure feel happy and hydrated when I drink it. When I have some on hand, I like to pair it with coconut water for a natural potassium boost after a tough workout, but water is just fine too.
Edited to add: Some of you were asking me about the thickness of this drink so I thought I would add a few words on this. I wouldn’t say it has a smoothie-like texture, but it’s more like a water consistency just with a whole slew of gel-y seeds in it. Does that make any sense? You just have to try it for yourself. My guess is you will either love it or hate it.
Chia Fresca
Yield
2 cups
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
Ingredients
- 2 cups water or coconut water
- 1.5 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice, or to taste
- Sweetener, to taste (I like 1/2 tbsp maple syrup)
Directions
- Add chia and water into a jar or glass and stir very well to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow the chia seeds to swell up. I like to use a jar with a lid so I can shake it up really well and break up the clumps of chia.
- Add lime or lemon juice and sweetener to taste. Stir (or shake) well to combine and enjoy!
Tip:
Chia seeds will sink and collect at the bottom of the glass quickly. Give it a good stir as needed.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)Wishing you a very happy (and hydrated) weekend!!
Coolest.images.ever.
Nuff said. :)
Do you remember Orbitz? That drink with the tapioca balls from the 90s? This reminds me of that drink! I find it so hard to stayed hydrated in the winter…I find water so blah. I’ve been drinking water with lemon a lot, but I will have to try this for sure. Thanks!
Haha you are my twin. I was just thinking the exact thing… it reminds me of orbitz!
I also struggle with hydration, especially in the winter. I’ve been filling up a jug of water and putting two bags of decaf green tea in to steep for a while. I find it a lot more tasty than plain water. When I added chia seed to my glass today they all sunk to the bottom and stuck together like frog eggs. Not a good mental image but it tasted good once I got over that.
Ok Ange, now you’ve got me curious about trying this!! I have heaps of chia seeds but haven’t been using them lately because I haven’t been drinking as many smoothies (darn cold weather!!) Now I have a new use for them! The jelliness sort of reminds me of that Asian aloe juice that you can get in the ethnic foods section of the grocery store. I haven’t tried that yet either, but I imagine the textures would be the same. Great idea for hydration!
I was just going to comment that it reminds me of Aloe juice. I LOVE aloe juice but usually it has grape juice in it so I always keep in mind that it’s probably the grape juice flavour and sugar that I like haha but the texture is so cool!
Looks interesting! I like chia so I bet I would like this. I’m not a huge fan of boba but any way to get a bit more omega 3’s in, I’ll try!
I just made this with fresh lemon and agave and it was the weirdest yet best thing ever haha! Thanks for a cool new idea :)
I think I’d really dig this because I love Mama Chia drinks, they are just so expensive!
I make these with 100% fruit juice! My usual favorite is a mix of Passionfruit, Orange, and Guava — 16 ounces of juice, 2 tablespoon of chia seeds. Use a jar with a lid, and shake it like mad. :D My husband calls it “swamp water.”
This looks crazy! I will be trying it haha
[I doesn’t haz texture issues:p]
In the pics it does kinda look like some little numerous black worms are swimming in there, but I’m Indian and a lot of Indian food looks totally weird yet is very delicious. So can’t judge on how things look, I don’t think :D
I love it! Last weekend made a chia seed drink using my raspberry iced herb tea – delicious~~
Ahhh… I love chia…. Thanks for the great idea! I didn’t have any lemon or lime, so I used the juice of a clementine and it was fantastic!
Totally my favorite summertime drink! I am not a huge fan of stevia, but this is one application where I really like a few drops of the liquid. It mixes in so easily. Maybe I’ll actually want to whip up a chia fresca soon, if winter finally ends. :-)
How ironic! I just saw a recipe for chia fresca on my new package of chia seeds yesterday and had meant to look into it more. Now I don’t have to! Thanks!
I threw chia seeds into my ritual warm lemon water this morning. It was so good! Kinda like a bubble tea. Thanks for the idea :)
I use the same ingredients but put them in the vitamix to make a “gel” for my athlete hubby to take for bike races. Same great benefits, no texture issues and you can use it with standard squeeze gel containers.
I just made this and it’s actually quite yummy! I was pleasantly surprised! I add chia seeds whenever I can so this is great! I am a big fan of green monsters too :)
What kind of chia seeds do you use?
I read about this and tried it a few months ago. Didn’t add citrus though – that would be really “fresca!” I like the consistency of those little seeds. You can kind of crunch them in your teeth. And there’s no doubt they add great health benefits. Another interesting Mexican drink is Horchata. Their version of rice milk, with a sweet and spice twist!! I was hesitant to try it in San Diego at Cinco de Mayo in the Old Town, but the man beside me told me I just had to! Here is to embracing foods (and drinks) of the world!
But if you do not chew them you won’t get the benefits of the seeds, right?
I have heard that they are like linseeds and will go through your system without being digested, if they are not ‘cracked’ open first.
Hey Jeanne, Chia seeds don’t have to be ground to be absorbed (at least that’s the consensus I’ve read from multiple sources), so I would assume they don’t have to be chewed either (however making chewing movements while drinking things like smoothies apparently helps release digestive enzymes?) I’m not an expert on this, so it’s worth reading up more on if you so desire.
I’ve heard that chia seeds (along with aloe) can also act as a natural detoxifier because the gelatinous-fun has a way of pulling things that are difficult to digest through your body. Anyone able to corroborate?