Consuming grass has never appealed to me. When the juice bar craze arrived in New York City I often started my workday with a combination of beet and carrot but I always cringed at the thought of trying wheatgrass. Drinking a beverage resembling sludge was something I could never bring myself to do no matter how great the health benefits. I recently spent the day in Manhattan and was introduced to the latest food craze there – Chia seeds. Yes, Chia. The same grass seeds that fueled the Chia-Pet craze. I dare you to say the word “Chia” without singing the Chia-Pet jingle. The folks who wrote that tune (as well as the slogan, “The Gift That Grows”), were simply brilliant.
My first experience with consuming Chia occurred while I was lunching in a trendy French cafe. My former co-worker Adam ordered a Chocolate Chia muffin and after I stopped laughing (and singing the jingle) I sampled a piece for the sake of investigative research. It was crunchy and, for the record, I think it was actually a bran muffin. Turns out, Chia is native to Mexico and Guatemala and is part of the mint family. Some of the purported health benefits include high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids (more per gram than salmon), as well as high levels of protein and fiber, manganese and phosphorus.
According to my 10-year-old daughter, you can use Chia seeds to make a facial. I have no clue how she knows this.
Since the likelihood of my finding Chia seeds here in Pennsylvania is as slim as finding a French cafe, I thought I’d bake some good old fashioned molasses bran muffins and give them a much trendier name.
Madame Fisher’s Muffins Au Son Sain
(French for…Mrs. Fisher’s Healthy Bran Muffins)
Ingredients:1 cup all bran cereal
1/2 cup milk1/2 cup dark molasses1 egg
1/4 cup shortening 1 cup flour1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Instructions:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Combine cereal, milk and molasses in a large mixing bowl. Let stand for a few minutes until the milk is absorbed. Add egg and shortening and mix thoroughly. Stir in the flour mixture only until it is combined. Place paper cupcake liners into your pan and fill them half way. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.
Last year we received a President Barack Obama Chia Pet as a Christmas gift. Despite believing the promises on the box, to our dismay, no great transformation ever occurred.
Felicia Fisher is the founder of the Black Buggy Baking Company and lives in Oley, Pa. with her husband and three children who are all willing taste-testers.
For more information on what Felicia’s baking up visit her web page www.blackbuggybakingcompany.com or “Like” Black Buggy Baking Company on Facebook.
