Eat your Chia Pet: Health Warrior's Dan Gluck betting on Chia seeds, interview

By April MacIntyre Jun 26, 2011, 20:24 GMT

Eat your Chia Pet.

You heard me, the beloved Ch-ch-ch Chia is the biggest waste of nutrition according to the founders of Health Warrior, an American company that is hoping you will junk your candy bar fix for their new dark chocolate Peanut Butter Chia bar, a delicious chewy treat that packs a powerhouse of nutrients like Omega-3s and antioxidants.

Shane Emmett, Nick Morris and Dan Gluck mined the nutritional use of Chia seeds after reading in a book about Aztec warriors and super-marathon runners.

These former college athletes began consuming the seeds before workouts and marathons and became convinced that they could market it as a health food.

Their Health Warrior brand capitalizes on the seed’s history as a “warrior food” of the Aztec Empire.  The Chia seeds boost energy and are jam-packed with brain loving antioxidants and Omega-3s, minerals and vitamins.  Even more than salmon.

The product is available at the Health Warrior website and on Amazon.com.

Dan Gluck, one of the co-founders of Health Warrior who is a marathon runner, Ironman triathlete, surfer, yogi, climber and mountaineer, took time off from his workouts to speak with me about my new favorite health food snack.

Monsters and Critics: What is your own favorite way to enjoy Chia seeds daily?

Dan G: My favorite way to Chia is to add Health Warrior Chia seeds to my morning smoothie: Two tablespoons of Chia, soy milk, 1 banana, strawberries, honey and cinnamon.

M&C: The new bars you are launching, what other flavor combinations can we look forward to?

Dan G: Health Warrior's first flavor is a 100-calorie Chia chocolate peanut butter energy bar. Our second bar is berry flavor and will be available very soon.

M&C: Have you thought of expanding into a line of raw food puddings with Chia seeds? I spoke to vegan author Mimi Kirk who has a recipe for Banana Chia pudding and it seems that you could do easily do a raw food Chia pudding line. Will it be something to look forward to?

Dan G: We are diligently working on and brainstorming Health Warrior Chia product 3.0 - whole seeds being number 1 and bars number 2. We have some very exciting ideas brewing - and we are working with some experienced food manufacturers to help develop new products.

All our products will be true to our philosophy of offering healthy, natural products enhanced by the healthiest food in the universe - Chia!   And who knows, various flavors of Raw Chia Pudding could very well be in Health Warrior's future as we work to determine what tastes best and what our customer wants, so please let us know!