Iskiate

I finished reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall while on vacation this last week.  If you enjoy running you have to read this book!  In the story McDougall talks about several foods, eaten by the Tarahumara Indians, one of which is a drink called iskiate (pronounced iss-key-ahh-tee).  It outlines a simple recipe in the book, and I found more info at the No Meat Athlete.  This drink is supposed to be nature's Gatorade, times 10, and it's very simple.  It consists of chia seeds partially dissolved in water.  Now after a tall glass of it, on a sleepy Saturday afternoon, it certainly has my attention.


Though, this was not all success.  I was unsure as to if I would prefer the more or less gelled version so I did my best to split the difference.  I flavored the drink with a little lemon juice, let it sit about 8 minutes, and then down the hatch.  The flavor was lacking to say the least.  I had only the slightest hint of lemon to start, and nothing after the first couple of gulps.  The more gelled the chia seeds became the less palatable the texture was.  I was unable to finish the whole glass, however, I made it through all but the dregs.  I think in the future it may be better as a smoothie.  Frozen strawberries, yogurt, and chia seeds all blended together, this sounds like a better plan.  I also just found a post out in the inter-tubes suggesting a substitution of lemonade/limeade instead of water.


I'll experiment further and report back with my findings.  Tomorrow, I plan to attempt the pinole recipe.  We'll see how that goes *crosses fingers*.