Chia Goodness? More like Chia Weirdness!

Product: Ruth’s Foods Apple Almond Cinnamon Chia Goodness – $7.99+

Fact: I never would have even looked twice at this product except a co-worker of mine picked it up for me as she spotted the gluten-free label on it and it made her think of me.

So, with that disclaimer put out there, yesterday I finally got around to trying this product out, manufactured by Ruth’s Foods.  It’s called Chia Goodness and it comes in a variety of flavors.  For me, yesterday, it was lunch.  Normally I’m a (gluten-free) oatmeal at lunch kind of girl.  Especially during the winter.  But what I love about oatmeal is that it’s filling without being too heavy.  It’s the perfect lunch to enjoy in the comfort of my work cubical.

But, as I was in the midst of opening up a new box of oatmeal, I spotted this in my pantry and decided now was as good a time as any to try it.

It’s bizarre.  Two tablespoons is all the package calls for.  What you dish up is a strange mix of little black seeds and whatever dried fruits is combined to flavor it.  Mine is Apple Almond Cinnamon.  So I had dehydrated apples, almonds, and raisins throughout mine.  This is a raw food, so you can ‘enjoy’ it either warm or cold.  Cold kind of freaked me out, so I heated up some water, poured the required 1/4 cup into the bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes.  This is all per package instructions.

The result?  Well, it smelled fantastic…like apple pie.  Yum.  However, it had become a gelatinous bowl of…black seeds and dehydrated fruit.  Honestly, it had this slimy film that no amount of stirring or allowing it to sit and absorb helped.  It looked unappetizing.  The weird part was…it actually tasted good.  It had really great flavor and was seasoned perfectly so that the cinnamon didn’t overpower it and the dehydrated fruits were a key to the texture.

BUT…the sliminess killed it for me.  You see, apparently when chia seeds (yes…like those you put on a Chia Pet) get wet, they get gelatinous, taking on a slimy, wet texture.  That’s fine…if you’re growing a Chia Pet.  If you’re trying to enjoy a lunch, that’s not so fine.  It was really, really difficult for me to get beyond the look of this product to eat it.  I was hungry, so I did.  It smelled and tasted good, which is a plus.  It looks like that Shrek Chia Pet you’ve been harvesting on your windowsill regurgitated in your bowl, which is bad.

I definitely see the draw to chia seeds, though.  Chia seeds have some of the most nutrition packed into them.  They are not only lactose free, but naturally gluten-free as well.  These little seeds are a powerhouse for calcium, containing more than five times that in milk.  Even more impressive is that these little wonder seeds contain more Omega 3 than flax or salmon.  That’s perfect for a vegetarian like me.  Except…I can’t stomach the sight of this stuff.

So, if a bowl of goo doesn’t set your stomach turning, you might really like Chia Goodness.  It’s available in four flavors: Original, Cranberry Ginger, Apple Almond Cinnamon, and Chocolate.  It really smelled and tasted good.  I just can’t handle the slimy consistency.  It just turns my stomach.  While Chia Goodness is a superfood in a simple package, it’s just not for me.