Lemony Avocado Oil Salad Dressing

This simple salad dressing is the perfect accompaniment to a fresh spring variety of lettuce and herbs. Our avocado oil is famous for its smooth, light texture and clean, buttery flavor. Mixed avocado oil with fresh lemon juice creates a bright, pop of flavor that perfectly highlights the freshest ingredients.

Lemon Avocado Oil Dressing

Ingredients:

2 tbs of avocado oil

1 tbs of lemon juice

pinch of sea salt

pinch of pepper

pinch of chili powder

Directions:

Select and wash your favorite greens. We like a variety of lettuce – arugula, red and green lettuce and some kale. Mix in a few herbs. Try chives, cilantro and basil for a pungent kick. Mint and oregano would be great additions too.

Drizzle your salad with the avocado oil and lemon juice. Salt, pepper and a touch of chili powder come next. Toss until the oil looks to have coated all your ingredients. You can top your salad with grilled chicken, fish, skirt steak or even roasted sweet potatoes for a more hearty meal.

Chia Seed Margarita

A Chosen Foods customer sent us a picture of their “chia-rita” to celebrate National Margarita Day. We thought that was just too cool not to share! Here’s the recipe:

Chia Seed Margarita Recipe

2 oz lime juice

2 tbs of chia gel

2 tbs of honey, agave or palm sugar

2 oz water

2 oz tequilla

1 oz triple sec

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a mason jar so you can shake it around. Add more sugar to taste and a salty rim if thats your thing! Enjoy & Happy Margarita Day!

Strawberry Coconut Chia Truffle

This little morsel of raw, sweet, no-bake goodness will satisfy the sugar craving for sure. Ground chia help keep the mixture moist and we actually really dig the texture. Dried strawberries and coconut are what give the coating that pretty pink color. You can easily make your own by throwing some sliced fresh berries in a 125° oven for about 2 hours.  More »

Vegetable Oil Free Baking: Avocado Oil Bundt Cake

Polyunsaturated seed oils are the enemy of healthy cooking and sadly, most baking recipes require the use of the stuff. There are plenty of healthy alternatives, like olive or coconut oil, but only Chosen Foods naturally refined avocado oil will give your baked good the true to recipe taste AND the health benefits! Using avocado oil eliminates the trans fats, free radicals and oxidized acids found in vegetable oil, and adds a healthy dose of monounsatured fat. Try this simple avocado oil cake recipe today! More »

Heart Healthy Raspberry Coconut Chia Seed Pudding

It feels like the we just rang in the new year, but Valentines day is quickly approaching. Soon the grocery store shelves will be flooded with heart shaped chocolate and candy, big bouquets of red roses and boxes of Valentines day cards to send to school with the kids. But there is another special celebration of the heart going on in February – National Hearth Health month.

Sadly, the chocolates and candies we associate with Valentines day are the reason we need a Heart Health month in the first place. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. Stroke, another heart related illness, is the number #3 cause of death in both men and women. Total, more than 865,000 Americans will die this year from heart disease.

In honor of both holidays, we thought it would be fun to come up with a heart healthy, fun, festive and yummy dessert to serve instead of all the candy junk! Here’s to a heart healthy February, and a great start to 2013! More »

Cauliflower, Chia and Caramelized Onion Soup

Creamy cauliflower, sweet and pungent caramelized onions and a bit of crunch from the chia seeds make this soup one of our new favorites. Its easy, healthy and packed full of vitamins and nutrients. It would be the perfect lunch or first course. Sprinkle some bacon crumbles or a little shredded chicken and you’ve got a full-meal-deal. Cauliflower is cheap and in season right now, so take advantage. Its high in folate, loaded with potassium and has 6x as much vitamin C as broccoli! Pair that with omega 3 rich chia seeds, and you’ve got an immunity boost in a bowl. More »

Meyer Lemon Chia Seed Muffins

These delightful Meyer lemon muffins are the perfect dessert following a large meal. Fresh and light, they’ve got just the right amount of sweet and tangy to feel like dessert, but with out leaving you so full you can’t move! These could easily be a healthy mid-morning snack too. There is about a 1/2 TBS of chia seeds in each muffin if you use a standard muffin/cupcake tin, packing in  extra fiber, protein, omega-3’s and loads of antioxidants. Meyer lemons are a bit sweeter than regular lemons, and in absolute perfect form in the early to mid winter months – even sweeter than usual right now, and easy to find at your local supermarket. More »

Chia Seed Oatmeal with Berries

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. Adding 2 tablespoons of chia seeds to your oatmeal in the morning can add 10g of fiber, 4g of protein, and almost 5000 mg of omega 3!

Raw chia seeds can be mixed in with prepared oatmeal for a crunchy texture. But we like to gel 2 tablespoons of seeds in milk or cream then add it in. Top with some fresh berries, banana slices, a touch of honey or some sliced almonds for a tasty, healthy and satisfying start to your day!

Chia Seed Oatmeal Directions

1. Prepare your favorite oatmeal as usual – we like steel cut or rolled oats.

2. While your oatmeal is cooking, add 2 tablespoons of chia seeds to a 3/4 cup of milk or cream and stir occasionally until gelled.

3. Once your seeds have soaked up all your milk, fold the mixture into your oats.

4. Top with your favorites! Our favorite is fresh berries and honey.. Enjoy!

Blood Sugar Management Smoothie

Today, we join forces with millions of people around the world who suffer from diabetes to recognize World Diabetes Day. Roughly 180 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, and 24 million of those live in the US. With a number that high, chances are, you know someone who suffers from this sometimes crippling disease. Or maybe you suffer yourself. World Diabetes Day is run by the International Diabetes Federation, an organization whose mission is the prevention, management, and cure to world wide diabetes suffering.

At Chosen Foods, our mission is to provide people with the very best options when it comes to healing disease naturally. We believe that nature holds the key to restoring our wellness and alleviating the explosive growth of disease associated with metabolic syndrome – namely, diabetes and blood sugar control.

Controlling blood sugar is critical for anyone – not just those suffering from diabetes. Stable blood sugar promotes constant energy output, preventing high’s and low’s in mood and motivation. It fosters weight loss or weight management by reducing the need for excess insulin production. For those suffering from Type 2 diabetes or who have been diagnosed pre-diabetic, monitoring and controlling blood sugar can mean reversing or preventing diabetes all together.

Nopal cactus has long been used in Mexico and many other southern hemisphere countries as a natural treatment to diabetes. Recent clinical trials have shown that just 1 tablespoon of nopal added to food can reduce blood sugar by 17-46%! It also has confirmed activity in regulating blood lipid profiles, healing inflammation and oxidative stress, as well as assisting in weight management – all critical for those suffering from diabetes.  Nopal has a low glycemic index of 7 and a glycemic load of 0. Because of this and its amazing ability to reduce both post-prandial (after meal) and fasting blood sugar, if you suffer from type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, or diabetes runs in your family, Nopal fiber should be an EVERYDAY part of your health routine. The smoothie recipe below is an easy way to add Nopal to your diet, today!

Low Glycemic Index Smoothie: Strawberry, Banana & Nopal

• 1 cup of whole milk
• 1/2 tbs coconut oil
• 1/2 banana (frozen if you’ve got one!)
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1 tbs AztecNopal
• 4 ice cubes

Place all ingredients together, blend until smooth and enjoy!

Chia Seed Sloppy Joes

Finding meals that satisfy gourmet taste buds, please picky eaters and pack a nutritional punch is not an easy task. Adding chia seeds is an easy way to beef up the nutrition in any meal, but its especially useful in saucy recipes like this one for Sloppy Joes. Chia seeds absorb up to 12 times their weight in whatever liquid they are soaking in. This little trick makes them a great thickening agent. Use whole seeds in hearty, chunky sauces – like sloppy joes or spaghetti sauce. Need to thicken up a thinner, delicate sauce? Adding a few tablespoons of whole seeds to a coffee grinder creates a chia flour that will still thicken, but you won’t see the whole seeds in your sauce.