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~ raw, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free ~
I managed to get my hands on some plump, juicy, and organic blueberries and I couldn’t wait to get in the kitchen and start playing around with some new recipes. I love making these chia chews.
My mouth is always in search of different textures, and this one is quite satisfying. Speaking of blueberries and textures… goodness many, many years ago I was working as a checker in a grocery store (I loved checking! odd I know, but that’s another story for another day) anyway, customers kept coming through my line with containers of fresh blueberries.
They were HUGE (the berries not the customers haha)! I made a mental note that for my break I was going to get myself some of them. The break came, and I did that very thing… I couldn’t get to the break room fast enough; I wanted to dive into those blueberries something fierce. As I sat down and kicked my feet up on the chair next to me, I leaned my head back and started popping blueberries into my mouth. They were delicious! When I looked down into the container there, it was… the grand-daddy, the grand-pu-ba of all blueberries.
Forget my mouth-watering; my eyes were watering just taking in the beauty of this massive juicy orb. I picked it up in awe; I had never seen such a large berry. I parted my lips and in it went. Then the oddest thing happened, before my teeth could even cut through the flesh of the berry, I felt a crunch…
A crunch? Yep, my mouth opened quickly so I wouldn’t continue to bite down on it, I pulled the semi-broken berry out of my mouth, I examined it, pulling it apart to see why it was crunchy…. (drum-roll please) inside the blueberry, all curled up in a ball was a bumblebee!! It was dead but a bumblebee? How odd is that?! So for years after, I had a phobia about blueberries, but as you can tell I have shed that phobia and I am back in love.
So that’s my goofy story about blueberries and bumblebees. Now on to the chews! These chews offer up a substantial bite; they aren’t tough, crunchy, or seedy feeling in your mouth. Let’s see, what do they liken to?….(thinking)…Shoot, I can’t think of what they are similar to. All I can say is that it is a fun texture and one that you may not be used to in the raw world of food. So with much excitement, I present to you, Blueberry Lavender Chia Chews!
Oh, one more thing – I wanted to touch on using sweeteners in this recipe and why chose the ones I did. I used maple syrup for its earthy flavor as it balances well with the blueberry and lavender. I then added a small amount of liquid stevia which ramped up the sweetness level without adding flavor. I like having these chews on the sweeter side, but in the end, it is up to you to decide how sweet or not you would like it.
Yield: 1 1/2 cup
Hello, these look wonderful. I was wondering about how long they would stay fresh if I were to store them at room temperature. I am thinking of making them for a friend who lives in London and shipping them to her from America. I hope it works, thanks :)
Hello Gabrielle,
What a wonderful gift to send to your friend. She will appreciate it. :) As far as how they will last…. when you dehydrate them, make sure they get nice and dry and don’t have most moisture in them. That will extend their shelf-life. Also, you can also freeze them prior to shipping and slid them into the box from the freezer and ship. That might help as well. I can’t really say 100% how long they will last but they should be good up to a month. Have a wonderful evening, amie sue
Can I use lavender oil instead of lavender buds? and if I can how much would I use to replace the lavender buds.
Thanks,
Kris
Hello Kris,
I am not sure exactly how much you would use. Oils are much more potent so start with a drop and then keep taste testing as you go. it is easy to go over board so be slow and gentle :)
I literally gasped and covered my mouth while reading that story. That is an absolute nightmare. I would probably never eat a blueberry ever again if that happened to me! I’m going to be very wary of eating large blueberries from now on!
Anyway, the recipe looks very interesting. I absolutely love chewy snacks. I’ll have to try it out once I get some teflex sheets.
Good morning Corey,
Yes, it was an unpleasant experience. :) But so thankful that I once again enjoy blueberries. You can always use parchment paper in the dehydrator if you don’t have the non-stick teflex sheets. Just don’t use wax paper or you will have a very sticky mess.
Good luck and have a great day, amie sue
Amie Sue, how greatly functional “the related post” are, i can say!:) from “Blueberry Lavender Chia drink” i came here…so i can discover more…it is actually NouveauRaw Discovery Channel!!! All Amazing Stuff to read and learn, then to co-create as if we are in your kitchen and we follow step by step Your guidelines…i can see myself just next to you at the kitchen counter measuring cups of blueberries for many delicious recipes…:))
Many Thanks and Blessings :)XXX
NouveauRaw Discovery Channel!! I love it. haha I might have to take that to the Food Network and have a cooking show called that. :P Now if I could just get over being camera shy. You always say the sweetest things. You truly make my day. You are a blessing and I am thankful that you are a part of my life. Even if just through Internet Land. :) amie sue