What’s the latest in superfoods?

Go retro and get yourself a Chia Pet®, the clay figures that would sprout “fur” as  advertised on TV in the 80s. It would not only be fun for your soul (think ironic centerpiece) but good for your well being: Chia seeds are being touted as a new superfood.

Navitas Naturals, located in Marin County, Calif., has introduced the Chia seed as a high-energy ancient food that was revered by the Aztecs, Mayans and Incans. These certified-organic Chia Seeds are a robust vegetarian source of omega-3 and protein that is easy to digest. The functional “super-seed” provides more bio-available essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals than most supplements and chemical extracts. (These seeds have much in common with flaxseed, another highly regarded omega-3 source, except Chia has the distinct advantage of containing natural antioxidants that make it more stable.) Try sprinkling these mildly nutty seeds with your breakfast cereal, mix into a salad dressing or dip, or soak them in water or juice to form a gel and use as a natural thickening agent for soups and other recipes. A pack of Navitas Naturals Chia Seeds is $7.99 for an 8-ounce bag.

Chia seeds are just one of the highly nutritious products that make up the Navitas Naturals’ line. Owner Zach Adelman started the company in 2003 by importing maca root powder, made from a nutritiously rich root vegetable growing in the Peruvian highlands. At the time, he was already running a successful manufacturing business in Los Angeles, but his goal was to search the world for functional foods that have been used by traditional cultures for both medicine and nourishment—while limiting environmental impacts and giving back to communities here and abroad. You can find Navitas Naturals on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.—Denise Shoukas

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the author of foodspring’s food forager blog.