New Chia Cookbook to Offer Recipes for Vitality

Sept. 27, 2013— -- Chia continues to be the little seed that could.

After the superfood exploded in popularity earlier this year, the Aztec staple has been making its way into beverages, baked goods, snacks, restaurant dishes and more. And the number of cookbooks devoted to the benefits of adding the omega-3 rich seed to your diet are steadily growing too.

Janie Hoffman, a San Diego avocado farmer turned founder and CEO of Mamma Chia fruit juices, is currently writing recipes for "The Chia Cookbook," which will be published by Ten Speed Press in Fall 2014.

"I was hit early on in my life with really severe autoimmune disorders," said Hoffman. "So I've always been searching for that perfect diet and lifestyle for me to move into remission. Up until a few years ago, eating organic had made the biggest difference in my life. But chia was the missing link for me. Very soon after incorporating it into my diet, I began to see changes and within a few months I was in complete remission. I have not had a flare up since."

Previous cookbooks published on the ingredient have focused on its ability to encourage weight loss by making the stomach feel full for longer periods of time. Others have touted it as a boon to keeping up energy in endurance running.

Hoffman, who is also a self-described meditator and yoga practitioner, seeks to share the "vitality" dishes that she created for herself with other home cooks.

"There isn't anything that chia doesn't work well with," Hoffman enthused. "It's very neutral in flavor and because of its gel qualities when combined with water, it became this magical part of recipes: moist baked goods, salad dressings, even as an egg replacement."

To toast the coming book, Hoffman offered ABC News her recipe for an easy chia-based libation: Mamma Chia's Raspberry Passion Cocktail, which combines 1 ounce of Grey Goose vodka with 3 ounces of sparkling water and 3 ounces of Raspberry Passion Mamma Chia Vitality Beverage.

Whether the drink will feature in the pages of the cookbook is still unknown, but Hoffman did promise to include sustainably raised meats, organic foods and a spirit of "mindfulness" that contributes to what she describes as her "lifestyle of gratitude."