Holy moly! I’ve only recently heard about chia seeds and their alleged health properties, but I am now a full on believer! Packed with protein and aiding hydration, these little guys are a wonderful addition to your diet, particularly in the hot summer months when it’s hot and you need all the water retention you can get.

While at the local farmers market, Whole Foods was set up promoting healthy eating and this amazing raw cherry chia seed crisp recipe. It was so delicious I ended up coming back for seconds, and because they were strategically placed right next door to a farmer selling Rainier cherries, you better believe a pound of those things came home with me. I promise that this recipe is not a labor of love, even though it does involve a food processor. You’ll have it whipped together and served to delighted friends in T-20 min or so.

Cherry, Peach and Raspberry Chia Seed Crisp

Adopted from Whole Foods recipe; serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup pitted, halved cherries
• 3 chopped peaches or nectarines
• 1 pint of raspberries
• 3 tablespoons orange juice, separated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup pitted and halved dates
• 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 3/4 cup slivered almonds
• 4-5 mint leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

So, I didn’t have the full two pounds of cherries recommended for this recipe, hence why it turned into an assortment-o-fruit crisp, but I have to admit, I like it better than the original! The range of the raspberries are a beautiful compliment to the peaches and cherries, and the mint subtly rounds out the dates’ sweetness. If you’re apprehensive, I won’t be offended if you take them out and go traditional.

In a medium bowl, add cherries, raspberries and peaches, and mix together with vanilla and 2 tablespoons of orange juice. Set aside.

In the food processor, blend together almonds, dates, chia seeds, mint and cinnamon until coarse and starting to combine to each other. Now, here’s where there’s a next step option. The original recipe calls for adding one tablespoon of orange juice into the date mixture and blending, which will make the blend sticky and have almost a molasses texture. The first time I made this I did it, and it was delicious, but the second time I left it out and found I enjoyed the rough texture better. Here’s a side by side of the orange juice/non-orange juice mixture. You pick:

With orange juice

Without orange juice

Now that you have your mixture all done, combine with the fruit and toss well. If you went with the orange juice date mixture, you’ll have a little extra work, but it’s worth it! Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Happy 4th of July!