This chia seed citrus cooler reminds me vaguely of bubble tea, but it gets its sweetness from juice instead of refined sugars.
Chia seeds are getting a lot of attention lately as a superfood. Not surprising, since they’re loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They also happen to be super delicious! Chia seeds have a lot in common with flax seeds, but unlike flax you don’t have to grind them up to get the health benefits.
I’ve seen folks use them in muffins and bread, but the most interesting use for chia I’ve come across is the chia tangerine drink at Arden’s Garden. Chia seeds plump up when you soak them, and this drink is sort of like an all natural bubble tea. So freaking good!
We didnt have any tangerines in the house, so I just juiced pretty much every piece of citrus in our produce drawer. This juice was a mixture of red grapefruit, blood orange, mineola, and navel orange. The chia seeds plump up nicely but maintain a little crunch, so this is somewhere between juice and a smoothie. This recipe makes 4 servings of chia cooler:
Chia Seed Citrus Cooler
Ingredients
- 2T chia seeds
- 4c citrus juice (your choice!)
Cooking Directions
- You can either use a one quart mason jar or two pint-sized jars. If you go with the latter like I did, just divide the chia seeds between the jars. For a quart, just put all of the seeds in one jar.
- Pour in the juice and stir well. Chia seeds love to clump when you get them wet, so stirring is really important. You might also want to give the jars a good shake once you close them and before you drink.
- Chill in the fridge, letting the seeds soak for at least a few hours before you drink.
Have you guys done any cooking with chia seeds? I’m always looking for more ways to eat mine! Apart from this juice, I’ve mostly been using them in smoothies.
Becky Striepe
Hi there! My name is Becky Striepe (pronounced “stree-pee,” like “sleepy”), and I am a freelance writer and vegan crafter living in Atlanta, Georgia. My life’s mission is to make green crafting and vegan food accessible to everyone! Check out my new book: 40 Days of Green Smoothies!
4 Responses to Chia Seed Citrus Cooler
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I had to laugh as I just mixed up a glass of Chia Fresca just now to have with a little bit of blog reading.
What we do:
Mix 1TBL of Chia seeds in 1 Cup of water, let stand for about 10 minutes.
Add ice, juice of 1/2 a lime, 1tsp of honey or sugar. Stir until sweetener is dissolved. Enjoy cold.
My youngest likes chia pudding which is plumping chia seeds up in milk and then adding in a little sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. I thought it was truly disgusting but he loved it.
Haha that’s awesome, Nicole!
Is the pudding sort of the consistency of tapioca? I might just give it a go! Isn’t it crazy how much chia seeds plump up when you soak them? I was amazed!
This is so simple and sounds so good. Plus it’s citrus season here in LA!
It was so tasty! I’ve got one pint left in the fridge that I’m trying to ration out. We get citrus in our CSA when Margie goes to see her family in Florida, and this used pretty much everything we had in the house.