Vegan Chia Seed Pudding: Gluten-free, delicious and affordable

Vegan chia seed pudding is good for you

Before talking about vegan chia seed pudding recipe, I would like to tell you about the health benefits of chia seeds, classified as “super food” for the human body.
The plant, although native to Latin American countries, with its characteristics of needing little care and little water (it even loves deserts and high altitudes) is also successfully cultivated in Asia, Australia and even in Europe. Moreover, it seems that there is (still) no risk of encountering GMOs and nothing that contradicts its sustainability. It contains 12 grams of carbohydrates per 100, and 11 of these are just dietary fiber, which sounds very good to my ears: but precisely because of the high fiber content, you have to drink a lot of water when you consume it: these seeds can absorb water about 12 times their volume.
They contain very high levels of manganese, phosphorus, copper, selenium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron (although zinc and iron are not absorbed effectively due to the presence of phytic acid, as well as the considerable content of calcium); consider that in 25 grams (or two tablespoons), chia seeds contain 157 mg of calcium, practically more than what is present in 100 ml of milk!
They are also very rich in protein, about 19%, which means much more than staple cereals such as wheat (14%), corn (14%), rice (8.5%), oats (15.3%) and barley (9.2%)(1); besides, we are talking about a source of high quality protein, since it contains 18 of the 22 existing amino acids and all of the 9 essential amino acids. And they are gluten-free!
However, as every rose has its thorn, unfortunately, that rich protein content is not properly digestible: roasted seeds have a very low digestibility of about only 10%. In the same way, toasted flour and unprocessed seeds have also unclassifiable levels, respectively 29.01% and 34.18%.
Only unprocessed flour is considered ‘acceptable’ with a digestibility rate of about 80%, which is defined by FAO/WHO standards as a low protein digestibility.
Another contradiction comes from the fat content. The precious omega-3 fatty acids, although present in chia seeds in considerable quantities, are found mostly in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), and only a small part in EPA, which means that our body must convert them into the “currencies” accepted for metabolic processes, such as EPA and DHA, the latter being the most important of the group; unfortunately, the dedicated conversion process is far from being efficient(2).
So here’s my conclusion: Chia seeds are like a treasure chest full of precious jewels, but we don’t have the key to get them at the moment. They undoubtedly have enormous potential -not for nothing, chia seeds had been the staple food of the Aztec warriors– and I am sure that with technological development, we will soon find a way to make that key.
So till that day let’s use them for their surprising properties and versatility in the kitchen: among them the ability to form a gelatinous structure if combined with water, a valid alternative to eggs in many recipes. To have the same quantity of an egg it is recommended to add a tablespoon of ground chia seeds to three tablespoons of water and wait about 2 hours.
As always my advice is moderation, we should not consume abundant quantities (max 25 g per day) because they are very close to a superfood! Let’s not forget that chia seeds are making part of our lives from a short period and their original consumers certainly were not fans of food madness like many in western part of the world.