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Basic Chia Recipes for Plant Based Runners

by Dave Wise

Published by Trek and Run

London – Toronto 2015

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Introduction Early in 2015 we at Trek and Run set about searching for the best health food ingredient suppliers, in order that we might find ways of working together in order to try to improve our own, and our readers, health. Two of the companies we decided were leaders in their field replied positively to our approach - Salba Chia and Wholesome Sweet – and as a result we began using their product in our training regimes (any athletic training always begins in the kitchen) and learning new recipes and ways of cooking as a result. Here’s a few of the recipes we’ve uncovered. Obviously the list of things that you can do with chia seed and various natural and organic sweeteners isn’t exhaustive, but here we’ve just included the ones we’ve personally tried and tested and think will be of benefit to the average runner. If you’d like to check out Trek and Run – we review product, film events we take part in, and write about our travels - it’s at www.trekandrun.com To discover more about Salba Chia, please see www.salbasmart.com

And for Wholesome Sweet, please see www.wholesomesweet.com

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Contents Drinks

4 - Chia Fresca 5 – Ultra-Running Juice

6 - Recovery Shake

On the Run 8 - Date and Nut Bars

9 - Sweet Potato Brownie Bars 10 - O-Nigiri Sushi with green onion, miso paste and chia

11 - Humous, Olive and Chia wrap 12 - Power Balls

13 - Cookies

Breakfast/Pre Run 14 - Chia Pudding

15 - Peanut Butter, Banana and Chia Wrap 16 – Breakfast/Pre Run Smoothie

Meals 17 - Varenika/Ravioli 19 - Zucchini Fritters

21 - Sushi 23 - Coconut Cakes with Mango Salad

25 – Pizza 27 – Enchiladas

28 - Bread

Notes;

All photos were taken by me at home without any special lights or setup; they’re not perfect but they do offer a true vision of what the food I’m talking about looks like.

When using chia seeds in your diet be sure to increase your daily water intake by a litre or so, otherwise you may experience cramping or other side effects.

A chia egg is 1 tablespoon of chia seed mixed with 3 tablespoons of water. Let it sit for 5 minutes and the seed will turn to a gloopy mix that’ll act as a binder, the same way an egg does.

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Chia Fresca (iskiate)

This is one of the easiest and most effective recipes an athlete will ever use. If you want to use this drink to help you in a race situation, try this procedure. Make the drink up the night before the race then dispense to a bottle in the morning. Have it with you on the start line then swig it all down with two minutes to go before the starter’s gun goes off. That way the water won't have time to make it into your bladder (so you won't need to stop after a while for a toilet) and your body will make all the liquid available for you to use for digesting your breakfast, and sweating. I usually take a small bottle of this drink with me on longer training runs. It's incredibly refreshing, even when it gets warm. Chia seeds take a few weeks to start to benefit your body so if you want to feel the effects of this drink on race day be sure to incorporate chia into your daily diet, starting a few weeks before any race you want to perform well in. Finally, it’s worth stating that this is not a new recipe, people have been using it for centuries and it's popular with the Tarahumara, the running people of Mexico who are so well documented in the excellent book 'Born to Run'. Ingredients

1 large glass of water, perhaps 500ml. It's up to you how much water you use though, it basically depends on how much you want to drink before running.

1 tbsp of Salba Chia seeds

2 tps of lime juice 1 tsp of Wholesome raw agave syrup

Method

Stir the chia seeds into the water; let them sit for about 5 minutes.

Stir again and then let sit for as long as you like. About 15 to 20 minutes is enough time to let the seeds take on water, although it’s better if you leave it to soak overnight so the seeds nutrients become more bioavailable.

Add the lime juice and, if you like, the agave sweetener to taste. Stir or shake once more and then it’s ready to drink.

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Ultra Running Juice During Ultras I find it hard to take on sufficient calories after a couple of hours when I start to lose my appetite. And I mean, decent calories that will help me run, rather than junk calories that’ll perhaps momentarily taste good but ultimately slow me down and hinder performance. I’ve found a way of working around this is drinking a high calorie drink of my own making. This works best during 24 hour races when I have a home base to check into every hour or so, a tent or car where I can store my materials and collect new supplies. Although it’d also work on an ultra where pacers are allowed, or there are bag drops where I can pick up my own pre-mix. The idea is to find the highest calorie mixer juice that you enjoy, cut it with water (if I don’t do that I find it gets too sweet to drink after the first few litres) and then stir in some chia for extra nutrition and calories. Ingredients (makes 3 600ml bottles)

1 litre of pineapple juice (not from concentrate if possible) 3 tbsp of chia seeds

1 litre of water Method

Pour a third of the bottle of pineapple juice into the mixer bottle. Stir 1 tbsp of chia seeds into the juice then top the bottle up to almost the top with

water. Give the bottle a good shake for a minute or so. Ideally, you’ll make this drink an

hour before you need it (if you’re doing laps in a 24 hour race, you should be planning for the next time you check back into camp, each time). And don’t put more than a tbsp of chia in or it’ll be too thick to get down.

If you drink one of these bottles every hour you’ll get about 200 calories in. You’ll still be running on a calorie deficit but it won’t be as bad as it could be and if you’re feeling ill or off your food, this should go down nicely.

If you can’t stand pineapple juice then perhaps think about grape juice, or apple juice, or apricot, or a mix of cranberry and apple. They’re all also very high in calories.

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Recovery Shake This recipe will get a little wordy at times as I feel it's important to understand why the ingredients are there in order to impress upon you their benefits. Before I start, here's two pieces of vague but, I think, essential advice which apply for all recipes, whoever gives them to you. Firstly, leave yourself open for new discoveries as nothing is set in stone, certainly no recipe. A few years ago science told us that if we didn't eat our meat we wouldn't get our protein and if we didn't drink our milk we wouldn't get our calcium. We think now that neither of these things are true. Who's to say that in the coming years turmeric or bananas won't be proven to be bad for us or new combinations of foods or superfoods will be proved to be beneficial? Keep your ears open; we are humans and as a species we are still learning what's good or bad for us. Secondly, eat organic as much as you can. Yes it's sometimes expensive and you might not be able to afford as much of it as you're used to but you're paying for your food to be free of chemicals and poison. For instance, regular potatoes are grown using up to twenty pesticides, six of which are proven to be potentially cancer causing. How and why this is allowed to happen is a subject for another debate about a lust for profit and population pressures but you'd do well to accept that if you want to do your best to avoid food that is bad for you, you need to buy organic (or grow your own food if you can!). Unless science pops up with excellent reasons why organic isn't good any more, of course, or we're sold another line by the marketing men... As this is a recovery shake it's full of anti-inflamatories, good fats and a zingyness that's just what I need after a hard running-based workout. Ingredients

A couple of cups of water or almond/rice milk. I use this as I don't do dairy and even if I wasn't vegan, I still wouldn't do dairy. Dairy gives me a lot of phlegm and causes me to cough and spit a lot when I'm running. Now I've stopped consuming it I perform a lot better. Rice milk is easy to make. You just put 1 cup of cooked rice in the blender, then add 4 cups of water, a quarter teaspoon of sea salt and some olive oil if you like it thicker and agave syrup if you like it sweet. Then blend until smooth - a couple of minutes maximum - and it'll keep in the fridge for a week. Far cheaper than shop milk and just as good and tasty in its own way.

A quarter of a fresh pineapple

Several strawberries and/or blueberries (optional)

A half inch chunk of ginger chopped up Basically pineapple, ginger and all berries have excellent anti-inflammatory properties, which you'll need to keep your joints in good shape. You can add more berries - up to a cupful in total - if you can afford it. It's a great idea to use organic berries (it doesn't matter so much to use organic pineapple or bananas due to the way they're grown) and organic is not cheap, so I limit my usage to make a small pack lasts four or five days.

One frozen banana. The older the better as the darker the spots, the more powerful the banana at killing cancer cells. Also, a ripe banana is eight times more effective in boosting the body’s immune system than a fresh banana is. A frozen banana will add

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a nice chill to the drink so try to freeze a batch of peeled bananas so you always have one ready for when you want to make your shake.

A few walnuts and almonds. These add a little protein and good fat. If you want to add a scoop of protein powder as well as/instead of these nuts then go ahead, although that could be prohibitively expensive if you get the good stuff (and I really don't advise getting anything but the good, organic stuff as the cheaper powder can be ridden with chemicals, and you're not making a healthy shake in order to fill yourself with poison).

A teaspoon of turmeric powder

A quarter teaspoon of black pepper

A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. The vinegar has good anti-inflammatory properties and, like the lime below, is something that's rather a cure all for colds. If you're feeling clogged up at all, this will help, as well as easing your joints. Turmeric has been known for years as the number one anti-inflammatory in the world, it's also regularly touted as the best thing you can take if you've got various types of cancer and want to try to cure it the natural way. Of course, nobody wants to make light of cancer or pretend that there are cures that are 100% certain, but there is some scientific evidence that suggests that turmeric can potentially heal those with some illnesses, and prevent other illnesses from occurring.

Juice of a quarter wedge of lemon or lime. For Vitamin C and to combat the taste of the turmeric.

2 tbsp of chia seeds

2 tsp of miso paste. This will help replace electrolytes lost during sweating. You can find miso paste in a shop's Asian/Japanese section.

A small pinch of black cumin seeds. Black cumin are also known as nigella seeds or kalonji seeds and are a powerful anti-inflammatory and also a well known ancient cure for many other problems. Take care only to add a small amount. Many web pages advise taking tablespoons each day but my wife's family have been using them in their home cooking for generations and it's well known among people of eastern origin that you need to treat these seeds with respect. A little are very good for you, too many can have bad consequences.

Method

Whizz the mixture up (except for the black cumin seeds, you add those after you pour the mixture into your glass). Try to mix it on low speed to preserve more of the nutrients and blend for as little time as possible. Basically, if you don’t mind your shake chunky then blend for 30 seconds, but if you like it smoother, go for 90 seconds.

Add an extra cup of water halfway through the blending process to thin the mixture if you like it that way. You can leave the extra cup of water out to give you less fluid if you like a thicker shake. But I run hard and sweat a lot so I need to replace liquids, hence I add it.

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Date and Nut Bars Dates are an excellent running food. I’ve run marathons on only them and water and not suffered a loss of time. I don’t like to eat them for several hours as they are nowadays though, they get too sweet for me after a while, so I started making these bars to take with me on longer runs (2 small bars of this power me for a 3 hour training run). They’re cheap and very quick to make (there’s no baking involved) and each bar is tasty and gives me lots of energy. Ingredients

12 dates

3 tbsp of crushed nuts (almonds are good)

4 tbsp of cacao powder 2 tbsp of chia seeds

1 tbsp of agave syrup A dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Method

Cut the dates up into very little pieces with a sharp knife and put them in a bowl.

Throw the other ingredients into the bowl and start to mix with your hands. Keep mixing and squeezing the ingredients for about 5 minutes until they are fully integrated.

On a chopping board press and form the mix into an inch thick square. Put it into the fridge for a couple of hours.

Cut the now firm square into smaller, rectangular bars and store in the fridge in a airtight container. They’ll keep for a week or so.

Wrap them in greaseproof paper, or put them in a paper bag, when you go running. I keep them in my jacket pocket, or waist bag, and they hold their shape well.

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Sweet Potato Brownie Bars

Sweet potatoes have great anti-inflammatory properties, as does cacao (as long as you don’t peel the potatoes, so much of the goodness is in the skin!). The potatoes and chia also release their energy slowly and don’t give you that awful GI crash that so many running foods do. Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes ½ a cup of ground/slivered almonds

3 chia eggs

½ a cup of brown rice flour 18 pitted dates (or 14 pitted medjool dates)

2 tbsp cacao nibs 4 tbsp of cacao powder (or 6 if you have no Cacao nibs)

3 tbsp of raw agave syrup ½ tsp cinnamon powder

½ tsp vanilla essence a pinch of salt

Method

Pierce the sweet potatoes and put them in the microwave for 10 minutes. They’re done when you can put a knife straight through them with next to no resistance. Chop the potatoes up and put them in a food processor along with the dates. Whizz them up until they’re a creamy mixture (it’ll take about 3 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Put the other ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the potato and date mix

to the other mix and mix once again until all is combined. Spoon it out of the bowl and into a baking tin lined with baking parchment. Put

it into the oven and leave for 20 minutes. It’s done when you can put a knife into it and draw the knife out clean.

Let the brownies cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into blocks. The block needs this 1o minutes to gel together. Then eat a few, for enjoyment, and store a few for your running.

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O-Nigiri Sushi with green onion, miso paste and chia

This dish is an ancient Japanese way of carrying rice around in convenient packets (made from seaweed) that has been used by Samurai going into battle, everyday folk as packed lunches and also, of course, Japanese ultra runners. I first heard about these via Scott Jurek and now make my own. It’s very easy to do and the rice, seaweed and filling make for a tasty snack (the salty miso will also replace lost electrolytes). Ingredients

1 sheet of nori seaweed ½ a cup of cooked sushi (sticky) rice

½ a tsp of miso paste

½ a chopped green onion (spring onion) 1 tsp of Salba ground chia seed.

Method

Using scissors cut the seaweed sheet into 2. Place 1 piece on a flat surface.

Put a tbsp. of cooked rice into the centre and squash the miso and a little of the chopped onion into the centre of it. Sprinkle the chia on top.

Wet the outside of the seaweed and immediately fold the corners of it inwards so that it covers the mound of rice and sticks onto itself, making a rough sort of rectangular, sealed packet. It probably won’t be a perfect shape but as long as the seaweed sticks to itself and the rice and other ingredients are contained inside it, that’s all that matters.

Repeat the process with the other sheet of nori seaweed. Put the 2 packets into the fridge and after an hour, move them into a sealed

container. When you need them I find that they tend to keep their shape well if stored in a waist bag or backpack. I like to eat them several hours into an ultra to give me a break from sweet stuff and also to replace lost salt.

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Hummus, Olive and Chia wrap

A great running food! It’s tasty and it keeps its shape well after being stuffed into your backpack or waist-bag, even in the heat of summer when many others foodstuffs become a mushy mess. It’s also a savoury alternative to all the sweet foods we tend to eat whilst on the trail or road. Ingredients

2 or 3 tbsp of hummus

4 or 5 Kalamata olives 1 wholemeal wrap

1tbsp of ground chia seed Method

Spread the hummus all over one side of the wrap, leaving a cm wide gap all the way round the edges.

Sprinkle the ground chia over the hummus, then chop the olives in half and arrange them down the centre of the wrap.

Fold over two opposing sides of the wrap so that they almost touch in the middle then roll from a third side inwards, so that when it’s all wrapped up you can’t see any of the filling except if you really try and look from the top...

If you want to use different fillings you can, although I’ve found that these are the most easily digestible and tasty.

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Power Balls

This was the first running recipe I created using Salba chia seeds. It’s a little extravagant but if you have the money to buy the ingredients it’s very tasty and powerful (I’ve run several marathons on just 3 of these power balls each time). Ingredients (will make about 16 balls)

½ cup of raw cacao nibs

½ cup of raw cashews

12 medium pitted dates

¼ tsp of cinnamon

½ tsp of vanilla extract

¼ tsp of red pepper

¼ tsp of salt

2 tsp of melted coconut oil

½ cup of goji berries

¼ cup of coconut flakes

1 tbsp of agave syrup. Start with this and see how the mix comes together. Some dates are more juicy than others and if your mix is too loose it might not hold together as well when you take it with you running. But if your mix is too thick and could do with a bit of sweet then add another tbsp. of agave.

¼ cup of chia seeds and more ground chia for rolling the balls in

¼ cup of hemp hearts

1 tbs of orange zest Method

Mix all the ingredients together in a food processor.

Take the mixture out when it looks well mixed up and mould by hand into about 15 balls. Roll the balls in some ground chia. Refrigerate for 20 mins, then transfer to an airtight container and use within about a week.

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Cookies

If you get tired of the power balls, these are a simpler substitute and they hold together well when running. You’ll get more of a sugar rush and crash, but as long as you’re aware of it coming you should be able to anticipate and handle the mental and physical effects. Ingredients

½ cup of coconut oil

1 cup of Wholesome organic palm sugar

¼ cup of almond milk or water

1 tbsp of vanilla extract

1 cup of quinoa flour

1 cup of plain flour

1 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of baking powder

½ tsp of salt

1 cup of vegan chocolate chips

1 chia egg

A dash of cinnamon

½ cup of dry cranberries Method

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Thoroughly mix together the coconut oil & palm sugar, then add the almond milk/water & vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Combine the wet & dry ingredients, then fold in the chocolate chips.

Roll into tbsp sized balls & place them on a sheet of parchment paper, then flatten them out a bit with your palm.

Bake for between 10 minutes and 20 minutes. You just have to check as they are baking to see if they're done. Touch the top of one gently and if it's got a little give in it, it's done (they harden up after you take them out the oven so you want to remove them slightly before they're finished).

Store them in the fridge in an airtight container and they should last the week.

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Chia Pudding

One of the simplest and healthiest breakfasts, or desserts, you’ll ever make. I’ve heard of many ultra-health conscious people leave out the agave, or any sort of sweetener, even when they’re eating this as a dessert, but at the moment I like to include it. This recipe will serve at least 2 people. Play around with the ingredients (apart from the chia and water base) as there really is no limit as to what combinations you use to flavour the chia. Ingredients

½ cup of chia seeds

2 cups of water

2 tbsp agave syrup

1 banana

1 tsp of vanilla essence Method

Soak the chia seeds in the water overnight.

Blend the banana, chia mix and vanilla essence and eat!

For variety, I often replace the banana with an avocado, and the vanilla with 2 tbsp of cacao powder (because chocolate for breakfast starts the day off right!).

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Peanut Butter, Banana and Chia Wrap

This is made in the same way as the hummus and olive wrap. I like this one for breakfast on race days as opposed to during an event as the peanut butter is a little thick to be eating during a race for me, and also it’s rather more fatty than hummus and therefore more difficult to digest if you’re on the move and your blood is being diverted away from your stomach to your muscles. It’s got a lot of power in it though, and I find that 2 of these make for a great meal to have a couple of hours before a race. Ingredients

2 or 3 tbsp of peanut butter

1 wholemeal wrap

1 tbsp of ground chia

1 banana Method

Spread the peanut butter all over one side of the wrap, leaving a cm wide gap all the way round the edges.

Sprinkle the ground chia over the peanut butter, then chop the banana into pieces and arrange them down the centre of the wrap.

Fold over two opposing sides of the wrap so that they almost touch in the middle then roll from a third side inwards, so that when it’s all wrapped up you can’t see any of the filling.

Chop it into bite sized chunks if you’ve time to be fancy about it, and eat! This simple wrap provides you with plenty of carbs, fats and proteins. As a vegan, I get asked often about protein. You don’t eat meat, so where do you get your protein? I understand people asking this, it can seem confusing at times, but really, there’s no need to worry about protein. If you’re eating a balanced, wholefood diet you ’ll be fulfilling your protein needs easily. Beans, lentils, leafy greens, nuts, they all have lots of protein in them!

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Breakfast/Pre Run Smoothie

Some days I can’t handle any food. It’s rare, but it happens. And some days I just don’t have time to eat before I go running. If that’s the case this is a decent smoothie to get me up and out the door. I used to put spirulina in it – as recommended by Scott Jurek – but I stopped doing that after a few weeks as spirulina makes me go to toilet lots (at least 5 times in the first 45 mins!) and that’s not convenient if I’m running in an urban area where there are limited public toilets, or a lack of private places/bushes! Ingredients

1 frozen banana

½ fresh pineapple, skinned

2 inches of fresh ginger, chopped

½ fresh lime, with skin on

A pinch of turmeric

2 cups of water Method

Put everything into the blender and whizz on low speed for 90 seconds. Drink!

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Varenika/Ravioli

When I was in Athens, Greece for the Authentic Marathon in 2014 I ate a fantastic meal at a small, traditional taverna called Oinopoleio. The owner, Maria, spoke great English and I was able to get 2 recipes from her, the 1st being for this Varenika, which is basically a Greek version of Italian ravioli. I was intimidated at first to make this – ravioli seems so complicated! But as it turns out it’s a simple meal to prepare, it just takes a little time that’s all. You don’t need a pasta maker to create the pasta either, a rolling pin and a floured worktop will do fine.

Ingredients For the dough:

1 cup of plain flour plus additional for kneading and rolling

2 chia eggs

½teaspoon of salt

½ cup of water

A drop of olive oil

A pinch of sugar For the filling:

600g of vegan cheese

¼ cup of almond milk or water

1 chia egg

A pinch of salt OR

Instead of vegan cheese and almond milk, use a mix of cooked butternut squash and herbs, or spinach and soft, uncooked tofu.

For the tomato sauce:

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6 large tomatoes

4 tbsp of olive oil

3 crushed garlic cloves

1 chopped onion

A few Rosemary leaves sliced, or any Italian or Greek herbs Method

Put the flour into a bowl. Make a well in the flour and add the 2 eggs, salt, sugar and water, then stir together with a fork without touching the flour.

Continue stirring, gradually incorporating the flour until a soft dough forms.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead, adding only as much additional flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. (Dough will be soft.) Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature at least 30 minutes.

While your dough rests prepare the filling by combining all filling ingredients together and whisk and knead into a homogeneous whole.

Heat some olive oil and stir in the onion and garlic for a few seconds. Chop the tomatoes and put them into the pan. Simmer for a few minutes, add the rosemary, remove and set aside.

Next, prepare your clean surface and flour it, divide your dough by 4, take a rolling pin and spread your dough as thin as 1cm, cut the dough in even squares 4x 4cm.

Place a tea-spoon of filling in each one of your little squares, brush the edges with water and seal them carefully in little square or triangular shapes.

When ready, boil lots of water into a pot and add the Varenika one by one carefully in the boiling water, let them boil undisturbed. They’re cooked once they start rising to the surface (about 5 minutes).

Scoop them out one by one and throw them in the pot where you have your prepared the tomato sauce. Or, serve the Varenika and pour the sauce over the top.

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Fried Zucchini Balls (my ‘Treat’)

Every time I would go into Oinopoleio in Athens I would order these Kolokithokeftedes, or Fried Zucchini Balls. They weren’t vegan – they had eggs and cheese in them – and I was just starting out on my vegan journey at the time so should have passed them over really yet still I ate them as much as I could. I wasn’t used to being vegan, being confident that I could find anything but boring salad or whatever in place of what I was used to, and on top of that they were just so tasty and so unlike anything I’ve had anywhere else. Something like felafel, maybe, or pakora, but not really. These had Greece written all over them thanks to the ample use of greens and simple herbs. Now I make them often, but I stay vegan and substitute the eggs and cheese for other things. I’m very loose with quantities as I don’t have scales so I guess everything. So in this recipe, Maria’s guidance comes first, then what I use is in brackets. Ingredients

1.5 kilo of grated zucchini (I used 6 zucchini)

100gr of chopped shallots (I used a small bunch)

15gr of chopped spearmint (I picked a fistload from the garden)

40gr of chopped dill (about a chopped cupfull)

4 eggs (4 chia eggs. I also put a tbsp of psyllium husk to help bind)

70gr of corn flour (quarter of a cup)

320gr of all purpose flour (I used 3 cups total of regular flour)

130gr of olive oil

5gr of ground black pepper (about a minute of grinding the pepper into the bowl)

850gr of feta cheese (I used about 500gr of daiya grated mozarella, this is vegan cheese)

Method

First you grate the zucchinis and place them in a large strainer adding pressure with your hands at intervals and drain as much fluids as possible.

Then, combine the grated zucchinis and herbs together in the strainer and let them rest together.

Next, in a separate bowl, combine the flour, corn flour and pepper and put them aside.

Take a large bowl and begin whisking the eggs (or in my case, chia eggs) and then add in slowly the flour mixture trying to avoid lumps.

Then combine all ingredients in the egg and flour mixture and give them a good kneading with your hands.

Once you have created a nice creamy dough, heat up your frying pan and add lots of olive oil (alternatively any kind of oil you prefer for frying) and cover the surface of the frying pan as high as 10cm (I did it to about 2cm). Once your oil gets really hot turn it down and take a table spoon of mixture and pour it into the pan forming donut-like shapes. Turn them over a couple of times during cooking; they’ll take about 10 minutes in total.

Your kolokithokeftedes are ready when they have a nice golden brown colour. Fish them out and place them on thick kitchen paper so as to soak the excessive oil.

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Serve with a little yogurt on the side if handy. I didn’t miss the eggs or cheese at all, my fritters were crispy on the outside, gooey inside and with that subtle dill flavour that’s a feature of Greek cuisine. This is one of the best dishes I’ve made so far, really pleased with it!

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Sushi There are 5 main types of sushi (and numerous off-shoots) and here’s how to make 2 of them. The main type, Makisushi, is known in the west as California Rolls and involves having the rice on the outside of the round, and the ingredients inside. The 2nd type, Chirashi, is more a way of using up all of your left overs. I’ve given ideas here for fillings although you can really put anything you want inside. Be creative with colours and textures and you’ll have a lot of fun!

Ingredients

2 cups of cooked sticky rice 2 sheets of nori seaweed

Handful of goji berry For the filling

1 chopped carrot Small amount of chopped cabbage

Small amount of chopped green beans Small amount of firm tofu cut into small strips

1 tbsp chia seeds Soy sauce

Miso paste

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Method Put the chopped cabbage, green beans and firm tofu into a frying pan with a little oil

and soy sauce and fry for 10 mins on a medium heat. When the tofu seems well browned, take all the ingredients out and put aside to cool.

Take a sheet of nori seaweed and place it shiny side up on a bamboo rolling mat that’s inside a plastic ziplock bag. If you don’t have a bamboo mat then just put the ziplock bag on a chopping board and be prepared to roll very carefully!

Smear the shiny side of the seasweed with sticky rice, stud it with goji berries and then, very carefully, flip it over so the rice is face down on the ziplock bag and you have plain seaweed to work with.

Smear this side of the seaweed with 1 tbsp of miso paste then sprinkled the miso with chia seed. About an inch in from the edge of the seaweed nearest you, place a line of the filling stretching from left to right.

Lift the edge of the seaweed nearest you and roll it away from you so that it covers the filling and you see just rice. Keep rolling, the sticky rice will bind to the seaweed. Press down firmly as you roll and soon you will have the sushi shape.

When you cut the roll into smaller pieces, wet your knife with water after every slice to wash the starch off, otherwise the cut will not be clean.

With the ingredients you have left over, you can make Chirashi sushi, which is basically the same concept as chow mein, or pizza. That is, it’s a way of using up left overs. Simply place whatever rice you have in a bowl and layer the leftover ingredients on top. I sprinkle mine with a mix of chia and hemp seed.

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Coconut Cakes with Mango Salad These cakes (also known as roti) were something I learnt to make whilst in Sri Lanka for the national marathon. Sri Lankan food is tasty, visually exciting and inventive; it can be very spicy or quite plain according to how you use your side dishes and there’s plenty of texture and variety. Heavy on seafood, there are also many vegetarian and vegan dishes in the cuisine such as these coconut roti. As for the mango salsa, well, that’s not strictly Sri Lankan, I made that up as I wanted something simple and fresh to go with the roti and I had the ingredients in the fridge so I experimented whilst remembering the feeling of the country and it worked out nicely!

Ingredients For the Roti

1 cup rice flour

1 cup shredded coconut

1 tbsp chia seed

Pinch of salt

Water For the Salad

2 cups chopped, pitted and peeled mango, or frozen mango pieces

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 cup chopped green onions

A couple of inches of chopped cucumber

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1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

The juice of 1 fresh lime

A splash of olive oil Method

Place all roti ingredients a large bowl. Using water, bind the flour, chia, salt and coconut into a slightly firm dough. When the dough is done, which takes about 5 minutes, it should not be too sticky.

Form the dough into lemon sized balls. On your chopping board spread a drop of oil. Oil your palm and fingers with a few drops of oil as well. Put a dough ball on the chopping board and gently pat it and flatten it into a 0.5cm thick disc.

Put the flattened roti on a frying pan or skillet on medium to high heat. Put as many rotis as will fit on the skillet. Drizzle a few drops of oil around the rotis.

Cook, flipping a few times till both sides form brown spots, they take about 15 minutes in total. Remove from skillet and repeat for all the dough balls.

Mix all salad ingredients in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Cover and chill if you’re not going to eat it straight away.

Serve the warm roti with the mango salsa, or mango chutney if you have it and fancy something spicier.

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Pizza I’ve yet to meet anybody who doesn’t like pizza (except my mum and dad). It’s so easy to make, and if you try to choose healthy ingredients it really doesn’t have to be bad for you. Ingredients For the pizza base

3 cups of bread flour (or regular flour, for a chewier crust) A packet of dry yeast

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 cup of warm water A tsp of palm sugar

A pinch of salt For the sauce

4 or 5 tbsp of tomato puree or passata For the topping

1 cup of chopped bell pepper, 1 chopped onion and 5 chopped button mushroom

3 chopped sundried tomatoes

A handful of black olives, chopped

3 tbsp of dry mixed Italian herbs

Daiya vegan cheese, if you wish (I often don’t use this though, no need if your toppings are juicy enough, as mine were in the pizza pictured below)

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Method Make the dry yeast up according to the packet instructions. When it’s ready mix it

into the flour and water. Add the sugar, chia and salt as you mix the ingredients together with a fork. Kneed it for 5 minutes until it’s stretchy, moist but not too sticky. Then wrap it in clingfilm and put it to one side.

Fry the bell pepper, onion and mushroom for 5 mins, together with the herbs. Then take it off the heat and put to one side.

Turn the oven on to around 425.

Split the dough into 2 pieces and roll each one out into a rough circle. Make each just over a cm thick.

Put each base onto a square of parchment paper and spread each with the tomato puree or passata. Then add your toppings.

Put it into the middle of the oven, on the parchment or on a baking tray, for about 20 minutes. Keep checking it and when the crust looks slightly brown, it’s done.

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Enchiladas Ingredients

4 wholemeal wraps

1 tbsp coconut oil 2 cups cooked beans

2 cups of frozen vegetable of your choice 1 pack of tomato passata

1 small can of coconut milk ½ tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp cayenne pepper A pinch of salt

A handful of crushed nuts, or crushed crackers 1 tbsp chia

Method

Put the tumeric, Jamaican Jerk spice and cayenne pepper in the frying pan with the coconut oil. Let it fry for 5 mins. Then add the cooked beans and frozen veg. Cook until the veg is defrosted (about 5 mins).

Ladle the mixture into the wraps one by one, taking care not to use too much juice.

Fold the wraps over as you finish each one so that the ingredients can’t be seen, and place them into a baking dish.

Heat the tomato passata and coconut milk up a little in a pan. Heat the oven to 400.

Cover the 4 filled wraps with the sauce of passata and coconut milk and sprinkle the top with crushed almonds, broken crackers and chia.

Bake until the liquid bubbles and the top looks well browned, about 30 mins.

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Bread Very little beats fresh bread, for me. I love it heaped with home-made hummus and a side of spinach. It’s simple to make and this preservative free loaf will last around 3 days. Ingredients

2 cups of wholemeal flour

A pack of dry yeast

1 tsp of salt 1 tsp of palm sugar

1 cup of sunflower seeds 1 tbsp olive oil

1 chia egg 1 cup of warm water

Method

Make up the yeast according the packet instructions.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, yeast and sugar.

Mix the chia egg and warm water.

While the dough is still claggy add the oil and knead well until it feels smooth and pliable. This will take about 10 mins (you should aim to kneed the dough about 100 times)

Shape the dough and put it into an oiled bread tin and then leave it covered with a cloth, in a draught free place or on a radiator, to double in size (about an hour).

Bake the bread in an oven at about 400F for about 35/40 minutes (when you knock the bread on it’s top with your knuckles, it should sound hollow).

If you want to experiment with ingredients you can add pumpkin seeds, walnuts and even sprouted lentils (as in the photo below).

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Thanks for checking out this little collection of recipes.

Hopefully it’s given you an introduction of the usefulness of chia seed in your cooking, not only as a health food but as a baking aid and something to add

texture and visual enjoyment. They’ll be another, much more comprehensive recipe book coming out in 2016, there’s so much more to explore (I still

haven’t got the veggie burgers right, the texture just isn’t good enough, more practice needed there!) but until then, remember; your training session, your

race and your personal best all start in the kitchen.

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