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!!
Absolutely love this stuff but I do have one question, Angela…I seem to have to pee excessively when I drink the chia and I’m wondering if this is a good or a bad thing. I’ve been drinking your chia fresca on a daily basis. Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?
Hi Jocelyne, Hmm I am not sure…maybe you are consuming more water than usual and just not realizing it? If it bothers you I suggest speaking with your doc about it.
Hi Angela,
now I have Chia seeds at home. I put them into water – like you suggested – I put them into my smoothie, my pudding… Is there a maximum of teasponns a day I should take?
I’m sorry but I’m not sure Natalie
Hi there,
I couldn’t find an e-mail to send this to, but I thought I’d let you know I had a dream about your blog last night. I check your blog daily and since I do have vivid dreams, I’m not surprised.
In my dream, I checked your blog and you had a chia seed vanilla (vegan) milkshake posted. Thought you should know as I usually tell people I dream about them (unless it’s REALLY weird, in which case, I don’t)
Have a good day!! :)
Syd (from Halifax)
I donated blood today and so I just made this because I need to sty extra hydrated. I did honey instead of maple syrup and some lemon juice . Really refreshing!
Hmm, I just made my first batch and my chia seeds aren’t evenly distributed/suspended like in the photo. I used lemon juice, filtered water, the seeds, and a bit of sweetener. It’s been ‘brewing’ for about an hour, and I shake it every 10 min. or so. About 2/3 of the seeds are floating at the top, the rest are still at the bottom of the pitcher. Is it ‘done’ when all the seeds have floated to the top?
Hi Laurie, This sounds normal – the chia seeds can float or sink. For my photos I gave it a good stir right before shooting. 10 mins is plenty to soak in my experience. enjoy!
This is one of those rare times when I see an OSG recipe I don’t have to take a trip to the grocery store for :) I had everything on hand and made it right away!
I LOVED the chia fresca. The texture doesn’t bother me…just let everything wash over your palate. And, I actually think I preferred the second version I made, which was without lemon juice and sweetener. Just straight-up water + chia does it for me.
my daughter and I always add chia seeds to our fruit smoothies. Love it!!
I always buy the drinks with chai seeds already in them, but I’ve never made my own. Seems easy enough…thank you!
I’m not usually a texture person as you say but I’m not sure if I could drink this haha
OK. My eyes bugged out reading this. How cool! I was already in bed, exhausted and cozy warm while reading blogs but I this MADE me rush downstairs to the kitchen ! It is pretty neat! Yeah, there’s clumpiness but I sooooooo love the texture of this beverage! How awesome! I’ll try making a cherry-chia drink next. Thanks for all your great work!! Silvia
Chia drink sounds interesting. Does it feel weird to drink since it’s all little seeds?
Love this with pineapple coconut water. I drank it everyday since I read the article. I even made on and gave it to a friend of mine! She loved it as well. Thanks. BTW…I always make mine the night before and it works great!!!!
Thanks!!! :)
Jami
The drink looks so strange, but at the same time I am very curious to try it out. Thank you for the post.
Making this right now! So excited to try it! :)
Your blog is so adoreable! I simply love it. Just bought Chia seeds, will make the Chia Fresca as my post-run drink tomorrow. I am obsessed with your cookie dough ball recipe..added it to vanilla ice cream…oh.my. best ice cream ever. So glad I found your blog, I follow many, but all I can say is – yours is the best!
I will definitely have to try this. A friend of mine just came down from the Dominican Republic and specifically made a large purchase of Chia seeds before going home; I never realized that this country was a large exporter of chia seeds! Looks like I will have to go down to the local agroshopping this week and take advantage of that :)
I made this today — with stevia for my sweetener. It is so so yummy! …but my husband said he thinks I don’t know how to drink it yet — I guess I have trouble knowing whether its liquid or solid, lol!
I drink chia fresca everyday, and I have to say that besides all of the other health benefits I definitely feel an energy boost. I have even began skipping my morning coffee (some days). However, I do get bored with it once and a while so sometimes I switch out the lemon/lime juice and sweetener and go half and half with water and grapefruit juice/OJ. Also, I’ve found if you can’t handle the texture, you can reduce the amount of liquid and the seeds will create a gel (think Gu Gel) with the same benefits.
xxoo – jessica
I used to work at a natural foods store and we sold kombucha with chia seeds in it. When people asked, we likened the texture/consistency to “drinking tomato innards”. I loved it, but some people can’t handle the sliminess.
My boss and I just stumbled on this from pinterest and immediately made it. We both find it delicious with a little lemon juice! Love your blog too :)
xoxo Lorelai