Pin-Spirational: Chia Juice.

Welcome back to Pin-Spirational!

The Pin: Make Your Own Chia Drink

The Reason: I started drinking a big scoop of chia seeds in a tall glass of water every morning after reading about all the benefits of doing so from Kris Carr. I've been trying to get Rhyno on board with doing the same since we decided to get healthier before we become parents. I started with stirring the seeds into orange juice but he said they clumped up unless he stirred the whole time (high maintenance breakfast drinker, that one). During a grocery run at Target he picked up some of those Mamma Chia drinks--he loved them, which is great for his digestive health but not so great for our wallets. Those suckers are expensive and rarely do I find a coupon! So I set out to see if there was a way I could get the same gel-like texture at home.

The Process: I apologize in advance for the blurry photos...

Gather your supplies. In this case that means juice of your choice (we only had orange), chia seeds (I used black), a bowl, measuring utensils, and warm water. Easy enough!

 Put 2 tablespoons of chia seeds into a bowl--sorry I didn't use some cute, thrifted, twee bowl. I just used plain, ol' Tupperware.

Pour a cup of warm water over your seeds.

 

Stir it up! Make sure all your seeds are coated with water.

 

  Cover your seeds and leave in the fridge overnight.

The next day, remove your seeds (which will have a total jelly texture) and pour a nice, big glass of your juice of choice. Um, not too big though...I poured too much OJ and then had to gulp some down to make room for the seedlings.

Mix together! Stir it well. I noticed right away the texture is much different when you soak the seeds over night. I typically put a raw spoonful in water and it clumps together and stays at the top of the glass. After soaking, these were pretty evenly distributed and didn't seem to require constant stirring.

The Verdict: A winner! Though next time I might make the juice at home and try different flavors, Rhyno said the texture was spot-on and BOY does this save money! Mamma Chia can cost about $4 or $5 at our Target whereas I can get seeds in bulk for about $5 (and it'll last me weeks) and a carton of orange juice is only a couple bucks. I'm a hoarder of glass containers so this would be easy to pour into a recycled bottle and grab on the go.

Rhyno and I are already dreaming up other flavors to try--homemade grapefruit or cherry juice with a bit of coconut water? Carrot juice with kale? Watermelon juice with a little mint? The possibilities are endless!

Have you tried any great pins lately?