Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Hemp-y Yogurt

Here's a quick food idea for you that is very nourishing. I've been eating it most mornings recently, after having my green smoothie. As with my last post, hemp seeds are the star here. This time, it's as simple as topping some non-dairy yogurt with a whollop of those nutritious hemp seeds!

I use a soy yogurt, since that's the only non-dairy yogurt available in my area, but if you can try it with coconut or rice yogurt, I'm guessing it might be even better! My mornings are hectic, and breakfast is the only meal that I eat "on-the-go" during the week (well, some weekend mornings as well). Yogurt + hemp seeds is about as quick as you can get!

And, honestly, I don't think I'd bother eating the yogurt if it wasn't for the hemp seeds. I realize I speak about hemp more than other vegan cooks, and really, it's not like I eat hemp foods all day long (really, I don't)! But, it has its place in some recipes (especially healthful baked goods), and also for quick snacks through the day - such as this one. And, I really enjoy the slightly-sweet nuttiness that the hemp seeds bring to the yogurt. In fact, I can eat far more hemp seeds in proportion to the yogurt. Two tablespoons of the hemp seeds offers up 11g of protein, along with essential fatty acids. I tend to go generous with the hemp seeds, and it's easy for me to use 3 or 3 1/2 tablespoons. Pair that with a small amount of soy yogurt and you have a very nutritious bite! Admittedly, after taking this photo, I realized that this was much more yogurt than I usually eat and I couldn't finish it all... but, as for the hemp seeds, I sprinkled on a lil' more!

Guess it was that parfait glass throwing me off. Whoops.... I mean the size of that parfait glass. I always use a parfait glass... you do too, right? ;)

Tips:
- try a sprinkle of cinnamon with the hemp seeds too!
- also, if you find hemp seeds expensive in your area, consider ordering them directly in a larger quantity, such as the 5 lb container - if you have somewhere cool to store the seeds!

17 comments:

The Voracious Vegan said...

Wow what a great idea. I've never tried hemp seeds, in fact I doubt I would be able to find them in this country. But I'm sure they are healthy and delicious!

Sarah said...

wow!! thanks for the link!! $10/lb is not nearly as scary as the $17/lb at my health food store!

hope you're doing well :)

Ricki said...

Sounds yummy! I just put them on my oatmeal. :) I'm glad you mentioned storing them in a cool place, though--there's nothing on the bag to indicate that they need to be refrigerated once opened, but I always assumed they did because of the fragile Omega 3's and 6's!

Anonymous said...

Great idea!

Marianne said...

I often add hemp seeds to my yogurt, but usually not in the quantities you do. And I'll probably add other things, like peanut butter or fruit :D I think they taste quite similar to sunflower seeds.

Laci said...

I'll have to try hemp seed on my yogurt! I found many non dairy yogurts are a bit sugary- except for wild wood, which is like a watery sour cream... which brand do you prefer? I like the so delicious coconut milk kind in addition to whole soy and co. and occasionally wild wood. I finally found hemp seeds and they're not like flax, like I expected! :-)

Anonymous said...

Mmm, I love this idea! I have some hemp seeds in the fridge that I had no idea what to do with, thanks for the ideas ;)

t-man said...

That looks awesome! I rarely prepare my own food, but I will try this one. I’ve actually found a vegan delivery service, it’s in CA but you might want to check it out. It’s called Vegin’ Out.

t-man said...

That looks awesome! I rarely prepare my own stuff, but I will try this one. I’ve actually found a vegan delivery service, it’s in CA but you might want to check it out. It’s called Vegin’ Out.

Rose said...

What a great idea! Unfortunately, I find hemp to be pretty pricey, but when I can, I buy a little bag and use it to sprinkle on just about anything!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the lovely and mouth watering tip. I've never used hemp (they've always had a burlap-y connotation for me). However, tomorrow I shall procure hemp seeds! Thank you for your constant creativity. You make the vegan journey an incredible (and absolutely delicious) one. -Stacey

Sarah said...

ahh the 5lb container was $50 yesterday and today it's $60! unless i'm losing my mind.

Dreena said...

Sarah, yeah, if you can buy in bulk there is definitely a saving - plus it's convenient not having little bags around but a big bucket - that is good to reuse too!

Ricki, I've had a large (5lb) bucket in my pantry through the winter, and the seed has been absolutely fine, but for warmer months, I think it's wise to store it somewhere cool. I keep smaller amounts of it in my fridge (scooping out a small container for handy use out of the fridge). Now that the weather is warming, I'm going to put the remainder of the seeds in the fridge/freezer, since once July hits, there won't be any other cool place in the house!

Hiya Laci! Well, we don't have either of those brands in Canada (or at least in BC). And, our soy yogurts are not the best... we have three brands "So Nice", Olympic "Soygurt" and a newer brand called "Solgurt". This new brand is the one I've been using, the vanilla flavor. I like it better than the other two brands, but I've sampled US soy yogurt brands, and the ones I tried were much better!

Thank you motherhoodtales, that's so kind of you to say. When you're looking for the seeds, be sure to get ones that are "shelled". Most are, but sometimes you come across some seeds that aren't. But, at least a couple of brands (including Manitoba Harvest) sell the seeds bagged labelled as "shelled hemp seeds". Good luck, and hope you like them!

Sarah, I thought it was $50 yesterday too...??? what's up with that???!!!

Tanya said...

Your hemp seeds plus yogurt sounds and looks wonderful. I'll have to try the brand of soy yogurt you mention as all I've tried here (in Victoria) is soygurt (and it isn't my favourite).
Reading back a few posts...congratulations! We had our third baby nearly 8 months ago and though it has been busy, it has also been wonderful. My boys are 9 and 4 and they were very excited to have a baby sister. :o) All the best throughout the rest of your pregnancy. (I had the all day morning sickness with our oldest...not fun.)
Zipping off to the recipes for the newer ones :o)

Dreena said...

Hi Tanya, thanks for the note. It's going to be an adjustment for sure with the third, but we are really excited, as are our girls. I popped onto your blog and what a cutie your baby girl is!! :)

Crystal said...

I just used up the rest of my hemp seeds doing this...I usually add hemp seeds, wheat germ, or sunflower seeds. I've even been known to grab the wrong container and add steel cut oats (yeah, that combo is no good btw)

Must buy more hemp seeds!

Anonymous said...

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