Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Crackers

Have you ever noticed that you can live your whole life without ever hearing a certain term, or about some product, or car, or movie, or book - and then, all of a sudden, BOOM, its everywhere?

Case in point: chia seeds.

Other than those freaky little Chia Pets, I've given zero thought to anything chia over these past 40-whatever years. Now chia seeds are everywhere, including my fridge.

It all started with this post on ChezWhat?, announcing the grand opening of his new store on OpenSky. I like to be a good neighbor, so I clicked over and started browsing around - lo and behold, I see he's offering chia seeds. Wait, what?! And beside the description, there's this mysterious comment: "What is your favorite way to add chia seeds to your diet?" Wait, what??

Not more than 24 hours later, I'm standing in the shallow end of the pool with my pal, Becky, and as we don our flippers, she asks me if I've heard about chia seeds. I laugh, then almost drown. Clearly the universe is trying to tell me something: I need more chia in my diet.

Turns out that chia seeds are kind of a super-food. They're high in fiber, protein and calcium; and they pack a powerful Omega-3 punch as well. Chia seeds have been shown to lower blood pressure, stabilize blood sugar, and slow the breakdown of carbohydrates in the body due to their remarkable ability to absorb water. The list goes on and on.

Becky suggested a product called FitFlax - a blend of roasted flax and chia seeds. I wasted no time in hunting them down. So far, they've made their delicious way into my oatmeal and yogurt, dusted the top of a few salads - I'm tempted to put them in everything. They're wonderful! Not content to stick with the ordinary, this past weekend I turned them into crackers.

I used Joy Manning's cracker recipe, found on her blog, The Oyster Evangelist. I used 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour and added 1 1/2 tablespoons of FitFlax to the mix. Other than that, I followed Joy's recipe - though prior to baking, I dusted the top of my crackers with a bit of Fleur de Sel and some sweet paprika. The results? Magnificent! These crackers are crisp, crunchy, and thoroughly delicious. Frankly, they're addictive - I could probably polish off the batch in one go.

Joy suggests pairing them with some creamy, runny cheese ... drool ... but I'm here to tell you they're amazing all on their own. The roasted flax has a nice, nutty flavor and the chia seeds offer a flavor similar to poppy seeds. Winning combination to be sure and perfect for a cracker/flat bread. They're a terrific vehicle for hummus as well. I'm baking another batch today. Honestly, I can't recommend this simple and simply delicious recipe highly enough ... with or without the chia seeds. They're just.that.good.

The crackers take all of 15 minutes to make and the results are so much better - and so much better for you - than any store bought brand. Bonus - they're South Beach Friendly too. I hope you'll try them. Pop on over to Joy's blog and you'll find the recipe here.

So, what about you? Are you adding chia seeds to your diet or do you prefer to grow them on the terra cotta head of a former US President? Crunchy Diva wants to know.

Bon appetite!

p.s. - Please note that the seeds found in Chia Pet products are NOT suitable for eating.