Super Foods: Hemp Seeds

Hemp Seeds (shelled)

This is the first in a series of posts that will focus on several popular and trendy (but not always well understood) super foods.  The “super food” term is bounced around plenty these days, used to label foods that are particularly nutrient rich.  A few ’super foods’ include hemp seeds, gogi berries, salba (or chia seeds), dark chocolate, dark leafy greens, and acai berries.

To begin, I must note that there is no one true “super food”, in the sense that there isn’t one food that will meet all of your nutritional needs, and it is best to eat a variety of whole foods for optimal nutrient intake.  But, certain foods are more nutritionally dense than others, and are brilliant to include in our regular diet.

Hemp seeds are definitely mighty little foods, delivering complete protein, essential fatty acids, chlorophyll, antioxidants, and other vitamins and minerals.  Hemp offers an almost perfect balance of the essential fatty acids, with a 3.75:1 (omega-6 to omega-3) ratio (compared to the recommended 4:1 ratio).  Hemp seeds also offer complete protein, with a mere 2 tablespoons dishing up 11 grams of protein!

Hemp seeds resemble sesame seeds, but with a rounder shape, greenish tint, and with a much softer texture.  They taste somewhat like sunflower seeds, but with a slight earthier and sweeter flavor.  From hemp seeds, hemp nut butter can be made (just as almond butter is made from almonds).  The nut butter has a distinctive greenish color (from the chlorophyll), and again has a taste somewhat similar to sunflower seed butter.  Hemp oil, flour, and protein powders are also produced from the seeds.  I’m personally not a fan of the protein powder, and have never experimented baking with hemp flour.  While I have used (and like) hemp seed oil, I prefer consuming hemp in their whole seed form (or as nut butter), since the protein from the seeds is lost in oil form.

Hemp nut butter also makes a simple substitute in nut butter/jam sandwiches, and is particularly helpful for school lunches where nut and peanut allergies are present in schools (hemp has a very low allergenic risk).  Since hemp butter is not as naturally sweet as a nut butter like almond or cashew butter, try stirring a few shakes of cinnamon into your jar of hemp butter as well as a drizzle of agave nectar or maple syrup.  Then, it is already sweetened to add to sandwiches.  

While I use hemp nut butter occasionally (and also in recipes), I use hemp seeds quite regularly since they can be conveniently added to our daily foods.   Some of the simplest ways you can add hemp seeds directly to your foods include:

• stir into non-dairy yogurt
• add to cold cereals and granola
• stir into warm oatmeal
• add to batters for pancakes, muffins, quick breads, and even cookies!
• sprinkle on salads
• blend into shakes and smoothies
• toss into cooked grains and/or grain and bean salad mixes

Oatmeal with hemp seeds and also almond butter and fresh fruit

Most often I use hemp seeds in daily smoothies for hubby and I, and for our kids, I work the hemp seeds into their oatmeal.  Usually I first stir almond butter (or cashew butter) into hot cooked oatmeal, and once it’s melted and incorporated, I add the hemp seeds (as well as some cinnamon for flavor).  The addition of nut butter and hemp seeds really boost the nutritional value of this breakfast.  Add some fresh fruit, a few splashes of non-dairy milk, and top off with a sprinkling of unrefined sugar, and the kids are ready to dig in!

Hemp-anana Smoothie

Our morning smoothies are also a cinch to whip up.  I don’t usually follow an exact recipe,  but here is one that you can use as a guide :

Hemp-anana Smoothie

1/2 cup hemp seeds

1 cup plain or vanilla almond milk (I really like almond milk in this smoothie, but you can use another non-dairy milk if preferred)

1 cup water (or more non-dairy milk)

2 cups frozen sliced banana (fairly ripe/overripe is best)

1/2 tbsp whole salba seed (or 1/2 – 1 tbsp ground salba seed), optional

1/4 – 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Add all ingredients to a blender and puree for a few minutes to ensure the hemp and salba seeds are pulverized and well incorporated.  Frozen or fresh strawberries are also excellent in this smoothie, try adding 1/2 cup or more.  If using frozen strawberries, you may need to add extra non-dairy milk or water to help loosen the mixture to puree it fully.  Makes 2 medium-large smoothies.

Finally, here’s a recipe from my cookbook eat, drink & be vegan, that uses hemp seeds as well as brown rice as the base for a delicious – no, make that “totally rad dude” – veggie burger!

 ’Spicoli’ Burgers

2 tsp olive oil

1¼–1½ cups onion, diced

1/8 tsp sea salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

¾ cup red bell pepper, diced

3 cups cooked short-grain brown rice (reserve 1 cup, see note)

1 cup shelled hemp seeds

2 medium cloves garlic, quartered

2 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp tamari

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried thyme

¼ tsp dried ground sage (or ½ tsp dried sage leaves)

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ cup white rice flour (to coat patties, may use another flour)

1½–2 tbsp olive oil (for frying)

In a frying pan on medium heat, add oil, onions, salt, and black pepper and sauté for 3–4 minutes until onions start to soften. Add bell peppers, and sauté for another 5–6 minutes, until onions are fully softened. In a food processor, combine 2 cups rice, hemp seeds, garlic, ketchup, tamari, mustard, oregano, thyme, sage, and salt and purée until fairly smooth, scraping down sides of bowl if needed. Transfer to a bowl and stir in remaining 1 cup of rice. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up. Remove from fridge and form patties with your hands. Place flour evenly on a plate and lightly dust both sides of each patty, shaking off excess. In a frying pan on medium-high, heat oil. Add patties, 3 or 4 at a time, and lightly flatten with a spatula. Cook for 6–9 minutes on each side, until golden and a crust has formed.

Notes:

1) You need 3 cups total cooked brown rice for this recipe. I like these patties tender, but you can make them firmer adding oats or breadcrumbs after chilling if you prefer.

2) Don’t know what to do with leftover cooked patties? Refrigerate for a sandwich filling; mash and stir in chopped fresh veggies and vegan mayonnaise to taste.