Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Drinks Head-to-Head

Because yesterday’s healthier nacho-cheese chip head-to-head was so much fun, we’re doing another one! This time, it’s ch-ch-ch-chia style. Chia seeds seem to be everywhere these days, and in healthy foodie fashion, we FBGs kind of adore them (especially Tish!). So when we had the chance to try two chia seed drinks, Tish and I happily took on the challenge. She tried Drink Chia, and I tried Chia\Vie. Let’s see which one is best when it comes to nutrition and taste!

Drink Chia

I love me some chia seeds, so you KNOW I jumped on the chance to review the new chia seed drink Drink Chia. A bottle of Drink Chia has 40 calories and four grams of sugar. There are no refined sugars, no cholesterol, and they are rich in omega-3 goodness. Sounds like the perfect energy drink, right? I wish it would have been, but sadly, the chia magic didn’t happen for me in the taste department.

I made sure to shake the shat out of the bottle to stir up the goodness, but the drinks still ended up tasting like a watered-down medicinal tapioca drink. (Say that five times fast.) I tried the “B Meyer” Lemon, Mango Tangerine, Honeysuckle Pear and the Strawberry Citrus, but none of them really tickled my fancy. I also didn’t feel of rush of energetic oomph after drinking them, so I can’t really give this drink solid Fit Bottomed Girl approval. If it’s not going to taste super good, then it has to power me for a good workout—otherwise I’ll stick to my good old-fashioned water.

Chia\Vie

I usually put whole chia seeds in my smoothies, so drinking ground ones was a fun departure for me. Unlike Tish’s experience with Drink Chia, I found Chia\Vie by Bare Nutrition to go down pretty easy. Too easy, in fact. Made of chia and fruit, one 10-ounce bottle has 160 calories, three grams of fat (2,000 mg omega-3s), 32 carbs, 4 grams of fiber, 27 grams of sugar (holy cow!) and two grams of protein. Each drink is vegan and gluten-free and comes in Acerola-Piña Smoothie, Mango-J Smoothie and Banapple Berry Smoothie.

I tried the Acerola-Piña Smoothie, and it was pretty tropical tasting. Kind of like a vacation in your mouth— pineapple-y. Just a touch gritty going down (the ground chia), this drink is super sweet. Although there’s no added sugar, the second ingredient is apple juice and you can definitely taste the sweetness from the fruit. For me and my taste buds, it was too sweet. In fact, the only times I’d probably drink this is if it was my dessert or I’d just run (which is actually when I taste-tested it—after running three miles). So, again, filled with lots of good chia-goodness, but we’d rather eat our calories in this case.

Our conclusion on this one? While Drink Chia won out in the nutrition department (Chia\Vie just has too much sugar and calories for our drinking taste), Chia\Vie won in the taste category. So, we’re calling this one a draw. Our best advice is just to get some regular chia seeds and add them to your usual oatmeal, smoothies or even coffee (my father-in-law does this and swears by it). That way you control the ingredients, plus you get as much or as little chia seed as you want!

Have you ever tried any chia seed drinks? Or do you incorporate it in your own drinks? Sound off! —Jenn & Tish