Chia seeds have become quite the hype in the health food world. While I don’t think they’ll give you ancient superpowers, I do think they make a great addition to a well-rounded keto-paleo diet.
Mayan and Aztec cultures were cultivating chia seeds long before health gurus began touting their health benefits. Chia seeds were so valuable at one point, they were used as currency!
Granted I may not be able to trade my chia seeds for a million dollars, I do value them for their nutritional qualities. Here are just some reasons why I love to include chia seeds on keto-paleo.
Helps to Regulate Blood Sugar Levels
Studies suggest consuming chia seeds may help in improving glucose metabolism and reducing insulin resistance (source). Consequently, the more steady your blood sugar, the more steady your energy and mood levels.
Rich in Fiber
Around 83% of the carbs in these seeds are made up of fiber (a large portion of which is insoluble fiber). This is important because fiber helps regulate insulin levels, promotes a healthy gut by providing prebiotics and is associated with lowering the risk of many chronic illnesses (source).
Excellent Nutrient to Calorie Ratio
Chia seeds are indeed little nutrient bombs. A 100g serving would satisfy your recommended daily intake of the minerals phosphorous, copper, manganese and selenium. Furthermore, they provide a hefty dose of many more micronutrients such as calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc (source).
High in Protein and Fat
One ounce of chia seeds (about 2 tablespoons), contain 4g of protein and 4.9g of omega-3 fatty acids. Coupled with their ability to soak up water and fiber content, they’ll help you feel fuller for longer!
How to Use Chia Seeds
When left to soak in a liquid, these little black and white seeds turn gelatinous. Hence they make a great substitute in keto-paleo eating for recipes like pudding, porridge, smoothies and baked treats. In this particular recipe, the chia seeds take on the flavor of the vanilla and coconut. Furthermore, baking allows you to make a shelf-stable snack to take on the road. Finally, the cashew nuts give it that extra creamy, crunchy surprise. What is there not to love?
- Serves: 6 bars
- Serving size: 1 bar
- Calories: 164
- Fat: 14 gr
- Carbohydrates: 3.5 gr NET
- Fiber: 6 gr
- Protein: 4 gr
- 4 tablespoons chia seeds
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup shredded dried coconut meat, unswetened
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon confectioners Swerve
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup cashews
- Soak the chia seeds in the ½ cup of water for about 15 minutes, until they become gelatinous.
- Now pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the soaked chia seeds with the shredded coconut, coconut oil, confectioners Swerve and vanilla extract, until all ingredients are well blended. You can use a spoon or your hands.
- At the end add the cashews and mix in.
- Line a 9"x9" oven pan with parchment paper.
- Place the chia coconut mix on the parchment paper and flatten with your hands until it fills the whole space. Should become about ¾" thick.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until golden at the edges and dry in the middle. You can insert a toothpick in the middle to check dryness.
- Let cool in the pan, then remove and cut into 6 bars or 9 squares.
These do look really fun and easy and I suffer from energy in the mornings a lot so I think this might help to perk me up!
Hi Melissa, thank you, sounds like your adrenals might need help though 😉
Any suggestions for a swerve replacement? I’m hoping to substitute with an easily accessible ingredient
You can use powdered Stevia, it should be easily available anywhere!!
Yes but do not use the same quantity it will be inedible as Stevia is much stronger. You should be able to find the conversion online. An alternative is another natural sweetener like XYlitol
I was just wondering what other nut I could use in replace of the cashews? I don’t want to change the nutritional information too much. Something that would be as close as possible, just because I don’t have cashews on hand.
You can use almonds!
Great recipe!! I’m wondering how long can I keep in the fridge? Or is it possible to freeze. I will be the only one eating at my house. As much I could eat the whole thing I shouldn’t;)
Thank you
You can totally freeze it….It will probably keep at least 2 weeks in the fridge 🙂
thank you
Vivica
Is the dried coconut the same as toasted coconut in the grocery store? I got just shredded unsweetened (not toasted), which I guess has a lot more calories. 🙁 But they were still great! Thank you!
Yes, it is untoasted coconut with no sugar – is that what you got?
could i use Macadamia nuts in this?
SURE!!
I have had good experiences with allulose as a sugar replacement. It is not as sweet as sugar, but sometimes that works in my favor for binding and bulking.
These look nummy! I have put my chia to the back of my mind and just started putting it in smoothies with greens this week again, so this is timely.
it’s good to rotate foods anyways, so it might be the right time to bring it back now 🙂
Hi! I’m so excited to find your recipes & posts on Pinterest😁 After entering my e-mail to sign up to receive more of your wonderful recipes, I got a message saying my e-mail was invalid :/ I re-entered and received same message. Is there any way to add me on your end? Here’s my addy:
susan_whipple@yahoo.com
I sincerely hope to hear from you soon with more deliciously healthy recipes 💕
Thank you!
Susan
Sorry Susan you have too sign up yourself 🙁
I made these tonight, they came out amazing!!! I toasted my cashews a bit before, and all came out wonderful. Thank you for the recipe
Awesome!! Thank you for trying the recipe 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have been on the lookout for great chia seed recipes. They are so good for you.