Super Foods: Hemp Seeds

I talk about hemp seeds in my current T/S post, and include cooking tips and two recipes using hemp seeds - one for a Hemp-anana Smoothie (a current morning fix for me!) and "Spicoli" Burgers.


Go get your hemp on!

(p.s. Millie, I haven't received an e-mail from you about the Xan Confections giveaway. If I don't get an e-mail from you by Wednesday the 19th, I'll have to draw another winner... so please e-mail soon if you're reading!)

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!

Pancake Day!

It's Sunday, and once again "pancake day" in our house! Though, this photo is from several weeks back when I was testing out another newbie - Apple Spice Hemp Pancakes.

I've created both a traditional whole-wheat flour version and also a spelt flour version of this recipe. These pancakes required quite a few trials, because I wasn't content with the texture in the early tests. Probably because there is a hefty measure of hemp seeds added (2/3 cup), and they affect the consistency of the batter. But, after enough tweaking the recipe is complete! And, they are tasty, and light and fluffy... but, the true taste testers are... the kidlets!

With that dose of hemp seeds you wonder... will the kids notice them, and more importantly, will they eat the pancakes? Maybe it's the diced apple that distracts them - or maybe the combination of sweet spices does the trick - 'cause our girls gobble these pancakes up in a flash! At one point I asked our older daughter what she thought was in the pancake (we sometimes do this with recipes, she likes to try and guess the ingredients). She questioned the small greenish flecks in the pancakes after investigating them a little more closely. "Ahhh", I said, "that's your mommy getting sneaky and adding some hemp seeds to your pancakes". Didn't seem to phase her much - unlike when I revealed that the Vegveeta Dip had a smidgen of mustard in the recipe... "ewwwww, mustard?!!", she exclaimed, with a gag! Hah, well I'm glad that wasn't the reaction with the hemp seeds. Really, both girls didn't seem to care much as they drizzled on the maple syrup and chowed down....

(Yeah, maybe the maple syrup deserves all the credit for disguising the hemp seeds. Credit well deserved, in my opinion!)