Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Honey Lemon Chia Seeds Drink


In Penang, with the tropical weather throughout the year, there are no Tulips on the street, but we have Malaysia Sakura, beautifully grown pink Sakura flowers that lasted for only a week.... I strolled around the neighborhood and managed to take a shot of the blossom season... ;)

As part of my job, I need to brainstorm new recipes that are easy to made, healthy and most importantly taste good. After receiving feedbacks from the public at various campaigns and roadshows,this is the top favorite recipe: Honey Lemon Chia Seeds Drink. It's refreshing and can be one of the best replacement option towards your coffee. Give it a try! 

Ingredients needed are pretty simple: water, lemon, honey, chia seeds. Yes, you might heard about chia seeds. It's in the trend. But what exactly it is? Chia Seeds are tiny black seed from the plant name Salvia hispanica, originated from South America. You can get Chia Seeds from any organic store nearby or at organic department at Aeon Jusco. Start preparing your ingredients!


Ingredients: (Prep for 2 pax) 
1. 750ml of drinking water 
2. 1 1/2 tablespoon of chia seeds 
3. 1/2 lemon (squeezed into juice)
4. 2-3 tablespoon honey (to taste)


Get ready with the ingredients? Let's start making the drink that refresh you anytime throughout the day and provides a powerful nutrition punch. It hydrates your body and it's so much better compared to a cup of Coke/ Teh Tarik. The directions as below:

Directions
1. Add chia seeds, lemon juice, water and honey into a jar.
2. Stir very well to combine.
3. Let it sit for 1 hour to allow chia seeds to swell up.
4. Chill it in fridge and serve it!

Both honey and sugar has calories in it. But which is more nutrient dense? Honey. Sugar is commonly man made sweetener, whereas honey is a natural sweetener that contains minerals and also antioxidant, antibacterial properties. Hence, honey is known to help cough and sore throat. However, diabetes patients need to be aware both honey and sugar, as they raise up blood glucose level, moderation is the key. 
Instead of drinking a bottle of sugar- dense orange juice, why not just squeeze 1/2 a lemon in your drink. I admit that some of the days when I am busy, I will take Vit-C supplement. Yet, lemon is still the best of all, which provide high amount of Vitamin Cs that increase our immune system. 

Lastly, we need only 1 - 1 1/2 tablespoon of the nutritional booster chia seeds. Don't put too much of it, you don't want your esophagus being fill up with chia seeds capsules. Chia seeds are high in soluble- fibre, which help our gut health as chia seed smooth digestion; they are also high in Omega-3 (ALA form) which prevents heart disease. Besides these 2 nutrients, chia seeds are good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, highly recommend for vegetarian.
Dada, this is how it looks like. Stir before serve. Enjoy your drink!


Love, 

Yvonne