Three Chias for Hodmedods!..

..Well, only one chia actually, but they're the first ever British-grown chia seeds, so worth shouting about. These versatile and nutritious seeds are delicious sprinkled on salads, added to smoothies or in baking. They make a great vegan egg replacement too.

Grown by Peter and Andrew Fairs in Essex, these chia seeds are the result of five years of crop trials and developments. The tiny oil-rich seeds are harvested from the Salvia hispanica plant, a member of the mint family originating in central America, where chia was a staple food in Aztec cultures, alongside beans and corn.

“We believe we have successfully harvested the first commercial crop of chia seed in the UK” said Peter Fairs. “The crop received no pesticides and both yield and quality far exceeded our expectations – and the bumblebees loved it too.”

£2.49 for 200g

Advised maximum daily intake: 15g

Cooking instructions:

As an egg substitute
Soak 1 tablespoon of seeds in 3 tablespoons of warm water for 30 minutes to replace one egg in vegan baking.

In baking
Add whole or ground chia seeds to bread mixes at up to 5%
Add whole chia seeds to other baking mixes at up to 10%

Other uses
Add whole chia seeds to breakfast cereal at up to 10%
Add whole chia seeds to fruit, nut, and seed mixes at up to 10%
Add whole, mashed or ground chia seeds to fruit juices or smoothies at up to 15g/day

Chia Seeds are high in dietary fibre and Omega 3 ALA oils, and a source of protein.