Ch-Ch-Ch Chia

Did you think I could name this post anything else? :)

Today's healthy eats are chia seeds.

They seem to be all the rave lately….

And I have totally joined the band wagon! After reading all about the benefits of Chia seeds, J & I picked some up at a local health food store about a month ago (these ones). We’ve been consuming them almost daily in either smoothies or overnight oatmeal.

Why chia seeds you ask? Well they are very rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc to name a few. Yep, a boatload of goodness!

And another advantage that this old lady really loves, they help relieve joint pain! Wahoo! Freshman year of high school I had to have surgery on both of my knees. At first, we were told I couldn’t/shouldn’t continue playing sports. We gave that doctor a big ‘ol YEAH RIGHT! Just kidding...sort of. More like we proved him wrong. But part of the deal was custom orthotics shoe inserts and a daily glucosamine supplement. Guess how long those items lasted? Ya, not long.  When I left for college, so didn’t my daily routine. 

I am horrible at taking a daily supplement. Horrible. Probably haven’t taken even one pill of glucosamine in the past year and certainly wasn’t taking it even close to daily, or even weekly, over the past 8 years. Since leaving home, I just cannot seem to rely on myself for these things.  (Update- going a week strong on glucosamine and a daily vitamin. Hoping I stick with it this time!)

But, I have to say that over the past 4+ weeks of taking chia seeds 4-5 times a week, I have had close to zero knee pain. Or any joint pain for that matter. Last summer, any run of 5 miles or more left me feeling like the Tinman by the end. Somebody seriously needs to figure out a way to make WD-40 for humans! Oh wait, that’s what chia seeds are for! :)

In all seriousness, they really have seemed to make a difference for my 80 year-old knees.

So you don’t have joint issues? Here are some other GREAT benefits of these little guys:

1. They help balance blood sugar
2. They help lower blood pressure
3. Ounce for ounce, these seeds have more omega-3 fatty acids than salmon
4. 11 grams of fiber per ounce keeps you feeling full much longer
5. 18% daily value of calcium per ounce (3x more than skim milk!) helps fight osteoporosis
6.  Absorbing 12 times its weight in fluid, they prolong hydration
7. May help with such health issues as IBS, celiac disease, and thyroid conditions

Have I convinced you yet? While visiting my mom this past weekend in Florida, I was telling her all about them and come to find out, one of her friends in FL has been using them in smoothies too! And another had read all about them recently. She picked some up this week so we'll see what she thinks of them in a few weeks.

Looking for a little help on ways to consume them, Shape Magazine published some fun ways to incorporate chia seeds into recipes here.

Let me know if you try them and what you think. :)

Cleansing

I've spent a lot of time debating whether or not to try out a cleanse. Nothing too crazy, but just enough to clean out the system, maybe lose a pound or two, and change a few eating habits. Thanksgiving through Superbowl Sunday kill me in terms of diet. J&I both come from families who love to get together whenever possible, and there is always something great to eat. Healthy? Maybe. But there is always plenty to snack on, and desserts? Forget about it. We don't keep sweets in our home so come the holidays, its bad. Indulge may not quite cover it.

So, in total Tracey fashion, when a reputable cleanse was offered on Rue La La (need an invite? Rue invite) in January, I jumped at the opportunity. Cleanses can definitely be expensive so I figure, why not try it at a discount first? And J was sweet enough to agree to do this with me. Poor guy.

What does a cleanse involve you ask? Well the one J&I have decided to try is a 10-day cleanse. The first 3 days involve cutting out caffeine, alcohol, sugar, dairy, and gluten while still eating 3 solid meals. An example breakfast they provided was steel cut oatmeal with a small banana. And luckily, as discussed here, I had already stocked up on steel cut oatmeal! So this is what breakfast has looked like over here...

I have to admit, it was delicious! Sunday we opted for 2 eggs and a banana. It's all about portions. A certain amount of protein, fat, starch, and vegetable or fruit. So it really hasn't been too bad. Dinner Saturday involved salmon, spinach, and quinoa. Sunday dinner was lamb (yep, lamb is a lean protein apparently!), brussel sprouts, and brown rice. Not too shabby. 

The hardest part so far has been the no caffeine. Apparently I had quite the addiction to it! A typical day at work involved one cup of coffee in the morning on my commute in, and one around 3pm to help me get through the rest of the day. And on weekends, J&I always stopped to grab a coffee when out running errands. It's one of those things we both really enjoy, a good cup of coffee. So no caffeine has meant I've had some pretty bad headaches. I'm hoping once we get to Day 5 or so, my body will heal. Hopefully I'm not asking for too much.

Today is our 3rd day, and therefore last day of 3 solid meals. Days 4-10 involve smoothies for both breakfast and dinner. Still a solid meal for lunch, but other than that we'll be drinking smoothies, "snacking" on water with detox drops twice a day, and drinking only water, herbal tea, and broth (if we wanted, never thought of it as a drink though...). 

Here's a look at the detox package that was shipped to us - 

Detox pills, detox drops, magnesium gel, Meta-DX protein mix, epsom salt for baths

Here are some of the grocery items we picked up/prepared in to order to support this cleanse - organic hardboiled eggs (protein source), raw sunflower seeds (fat source), ground flaxseed (fat source for smoothies), unsweetened coconut milk and almond milk (smoothies), herbal tea, bananas, liquid aminos (all natural soy flavoring for salads, etc), and a freezer full of organic fruit (smoothies).

While we'll certainly be eating, it is a bit different than our normal routine. No more mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks for me is going to be real tough. But I am determined to prove to myself that I can do this.  

Wish us luck on this journey! Especially J, who is doing this merely to support me in my crazy health decisions. Gotta love him.