These satisfy so many fixes: chocolate, chewy, snacky, and spicy. So many that they’re beginning to sound like the seven dwarfs of Snow White snacks.
Satisfying a craving is one thing, but they also provide sustenance for a long hike or bike ride. They are light and sturdy, perfect for the job. Even though they are light, you’ll find them rich in nutrients, protein, and fiber. Are you sold yet?
Chewy Chocolate Chili Chia Jerky
These are a great chocolaty protein snack. They keep well on the counter in a tightly sealed container. Ours only lasted a few weeks.
Nutritional Facts per serving: Calories: 43 - Fat: 1.4g - Potassium: 45.7mg - Fiber: 8g - Protein 1g
Ingredients
- 1 cup chia seeds
- 2 cups water
- 1 apple, cored and rough chopped
- 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
- 8 dates, pitted
- 2 tablespoons raw agave nectar or sweetener of your choice
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- dash - 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Place chia seeds in a large bowl with 2 cups of water. Whisk them around and let them soak for 30 minutes.
- To a blender add: apple, cacao powder, dates, agave, orange juice, cinnamon, sea salt, and cayenne pepper. Blend until smooth.
- Add blended mixture to chia seed mixture in bowl. Mix well and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Divide mixture over 2 dehydrator trays lined with teflex. Spread evenly into a thin layer with an offset spatula.
- Dehydrate at 145F for 1 hour
- Continue to dehydrate at 105F for 8 hours, flip onto dehydrator screen, peeling/removing teflex sheet.
- Dehydrate another 6-10 hours until desired jerkiness is reached.
- When done place on a large cutting board and cut into desired shapes using a pizza cutter or sharp knife.
- Enjoy!
You can see from the middle photo above that I tried to score these before dehydrating. The chia is pretty thick and it just settled back together for the most part. That’s okay. I like what I ended up doing. I broke the sheet into chunks and used the pizza cutter to slice nice even lines. I did this more for pretty photos and a dessert jerky look. You could easily just break apart the pieces too. The extra pieces from the trimmings – I saved to sprinkle on banana ice cream.
I have bought chia seeds at Nuts Online, Amazon, and Navitas Naturals.
Have you tried ch-ch-chia seeds? and How do you use them?
xoxo