Honestly, I’m almost ashamed to use this title  because I’ve never had a Red Bull,  Monster or 5 hour energy drink, and I won’t.   But let’s face it, I do have years days that I need more energy to drive my mom taxi, do laundry, work,  hit all the practices and performances and still get dinner on the table. It would be so lovely if I could drink some extra energy on the way to everywhere, but I have looked at their ingredient lists and it literally makes me shudder. I can’t do that to my body, even for a boost of energy.  Energy drinks, while a genius idea, are probably one of the worst food inventions ever.  They are loaded with as much sugar as soda, plus added artificial sugar on top of that, and one 16 oz can has as much caffeine as 2-3 cups of coffee or 5 bottles of Coke.  Then there are all the preservatives, chemicals, and other processed ingredients. Complete ick factor!

But lately I have needed some serious energy help.  In addition to my regular mom life we’ve had freshman basketball practice.  Freshman, who can’t drive themselves, have to be at practice at 4:45 A.M! (if I knew how, that number would be blinking every color and font to express how I feel)  Are you hearing me here?  Every school day for 4 months my alarm has gone off at 4:00 A.M. That’s 2 hours earlier than normal and you moms know that there’s no way I’m getting 2 extra hours of sleep on the other end of the day. I can just see it now: “Good night family, I realize you need help with homework, that I’ve not seen you today but it’s 8:00 and I’m going to bed.”  Ha!!

Needless to say I’ve been dragging badly by about 4:00 p.m., imagining long naps and late mornings and footie pajamas and soft snuggly quilts and fluffy pillows and well anything and everything that promised me more sleep.    Then one day I was reading an article extolling the benefits of chia seeds.  One of those benefits was increased energy, that magic E word that was sadly lacking in my life. I started mixing soaked chia seeds into my water kefir mid morning and suddenly I was functioning all day at my pre-4:00 a.m. levels. It worked! Without the additives, the caffeine, or the sugar I was feeling my energy levels rise.    (cue lovely choir music, or better yet cue some really good 80’s music and we’ll use our new found energy to dance in our  kitchens)

Here’s the Why: Chia seeds are nutrient dense, high fiber, high protein, omega 3 fatty acid containing seeds that can give you a boost to make it through an extra long life day. I love the texture of chia seeds (think tapioca like) so whole chia works great for me. If that’s not your thing, you can grind them and hydrate to use.

To soak chia seeds mix 1/3 c. seeds to 2 c. water and place in the fridge for at least 12 hours. Once the seeds hydrate I  leave them in the fridge to use as needed. I add 2 heaping spoonfuls of hydrated chia seeds to 1-2 cups kefir soda and drink.  Healthy probiotics, some fiber, healing fat and lots of great nutrients to help me get through the day.

For workouts and sports you could add hydrated chia to coconut water to replenish electrolytes and give an added energy boost. The electrolyte content of coconut water is more than double that of traditional sports drinks, without all the junk. It has lots less salt than traditional sports drinks so if you are really working up a sweat add a pinch of sea salt or Real salt for the perfect after work out pick me up.

I’m so happy it’s almost baseball season because it’s dark at 4:00 a.m. so I know practice will be at a more humane time.  But if not, at least I know how to add a little energy to my day.

Mellonee