H is for…Hemp Seeds!
We’ve had Chia seeds already and today I’m featuring another nutritious little one- Hemp seeds. No, you won’t get high from eating these I’m afraid! Hemp seeds and marijuana do come from the same plant, cannabis, but different varieties with different properties.
Just like chia, hemp seeds are packed with protein, EFAs, Vitamin E and minerals, not to mention they’re really tasty. They have quite a distinctive flavour, slightly earthy and sweet.
I frequently use them in my meals but almost always just sprinkling them on top of whatever it may be. From salads and soups, to porridge, non-dairy yogurt and fruit. I’ve also recently discovered these flavoured hemp sprinkles from the UK company Good Hemp. They come in 3 flavours: Asian Spice, Italian Herbs + Sweet Cinnamon and are extra tasty. I can especially vouch for the Italian Herb being good on pesto pasta 
.
For my A-Z challenge I decided I had to incorporate them into a recipe like I did for my Cheesy Tofu Scramble + Chipotle Sweet Potato Tacos. I left it to the experts to come up with the recipes though and made 3 hemp recipes from 3 of my favourite bloggers.
First up was these Happy Hemp Two-Bite Brownies from Ricki Heller. They’re grain-free and also don’t contain any refined sugars. I use coconut sugar in my baking already but hadn’t found a good brand of stevia until recently so had avoided stevia sweetened desserts. I won a giveaway for some NuNaturals products and have to say these are unlike any others I’ve tried. Stevia can often have a bitter aftertaste but this one is completely undetectable.
Back to brownies. Ground almonds and hemp seeds are the main ingredients leaving them with that perfect fudgy brownies texture- a slightly squidgy middle whilst still being crisp on the outside.
Especially good with a tall glass of ice cold almond milk. I couldn’t decide if I liked them being small or not. Mini treats are fun but 2 bites of these was not enough!
Next, I made Gena from Choosing Raw’s Beet and Hemp Granola. This was my first time making granola of any kind and I was so pleased with how it turned out. Gena gives either the option to dehydrate or oven bake but as I sadly don’t own a dehydrator I had to go with the latter. I’m sure it didn’t compromise the taste but it might have resulted in the darker colour of mine, not quite the pretty beetroot pink it was before baking.
I don’t buy store-bought granola as it’s far too sweet for me but this had just the right amount of sweetness- all natural from dates. The goldenberries (Incan berries) added a nice chewy, tangy contrast too.
I served mine with almond milk and berries (N.b My blackberries were from the freezer which is why they look a little icy still!) . I’m excited to try out a bunch of other granola recipes now I know how easy it is to make, and far healthier and cheaper than buying it.
Hemp recipe number 3 was another breakfast recipe. Dreena Burton’s “Hempanana Smoothie” from her latest book Let them Eat Vegan (See this post for my review).
This is a super simple concoction but needs no adornment. Just frozen banana, almond milk, a generous helping of hemp seeds and a dash of cinnamon. Hemp seeds are very soft so they blend down easily and leave the smoothie dreamily creamy! I ran out of straws ( I need to get myself a reusable one….) and slurping this from the glass left me with a thick milk moustache. I’ll definitely be making this again and again.
I enjoyed this for breakfast alongside one of my Strawberry-Almond Muffins. (Oh, and that’s the Good Hemp Sweet Cinnamon variety sprinkled on top of the smoothie)
Incidentally, I just came across this recipe for Chocolate Hemp Banana Ice Cream the other day, which, along the same lines, uses hemp for richness. Can’t wait to try it out.
Have you tried hemp seeds? How do you use them?
Hemp seeds have actually never made an appearance in my life! Need to change that big time.
Definitely need to change that!
Those are some pretty interesting ways to use hemp. I usually buy the unshelled seeds and use them in bread. They add so much great crunch.
I have some of the unshelled variety but didn’t know what to do with them. I was thinking I might be able to make milk from them in a high-speed blender..?
Hi Emma
Yes you can. Soak them overnight to help them release phytic acids etc. Then, after rinsing, using one cup of unshelled hemp seeds to 4 cups of water, plus any sweetener you want to add (I also use lecithin granules to help the milk bind together and thicken up) blend this mixture on high until all the seeds have broken down and the mixture looks greyish. Then strain through a muslin cloth. This makes a lighter milk than using pre shelled seeds and water.
Give it a try!
Kate
Thanks so much for the info Kate! Great news as I still have a large jar of whole hemp seeds. I abandoned them at my Mum’s house but I’ll pick them up next time I visit and give this method a go. Which lecithin do you use? Sunflower?
Yes. I used to use sunflower lecithin granules by Lanes but I am not sure they are making them anymore. Or, you can buy liquid sunflower lecithin by a company called Now which is pricier. Swansons also make the granules but, again, they are not available at the moment… Otherwise, you could try soy lecithin granules which seem to be more readily available if you do not have any issues with soy products..
Thank you. Will have a look online and see what I find.
Hemp seeds are awesome garnish, especially in smoothies! Great pantry item choice for letter H! How funny, I also won the giveaway for NuNaturals products, that was random! I like Dreena’s Hempanana smothie, it looks so good with the hemp seeds on it!
Was so pleased to be a winner! I love giveaways
Great post, I don’t think people realise how healthy these little seeds are! I’ve only just started to use hemp seeds and I made Ricki’s brownies too but I used apple sauce and no stevia.
Everything looks really lovely!
Glad you made and enjoyed the brownies too
Hemp seeds really are fantastic aren’t they? I’m definitely going to be adding them to my smoothies regularly for the extra nutrition and creaminess they bring.
I’m pretty newly acquainted with hemp seeds. I love them on top of smoothies and salads.
Hi,
I’m enjoying your A-Z series. I use hemp seeds in smoothies. I am keen to try the 2 bite brownies. Thanks.
So pleased you’re enjoying the series Ally
Definitely try the brownies!
Hooray for hemp! I usually just sprinkle them over my salads, but I’m also quite fond of turning them into a “Parmesan” sprinkle by blitzing them with nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt.
That’s a good idea too. I’ve done something similar with nuts but like the hemp-y flavour and extra nutrition in hemp seeds.
Yay for hemp! Possibly better than hummus. I have been adding it to everything these days.
I don’t know if they could beat hummus….but they are fabulous. Gena’s hemp hummus is pretty awesome http://www.choosingraw.com/high-protein-hemp-hummus/
Well, I guess you already know that I love hemp seeds! So glad you enjoyed the brownies! I love the description of the “squidgy” middle! And isn’t NuNaturals stevia THE BEST?!! 😀 Gotta get me some of Gena’s granola and Dreena’s smoothie, too! Thanks so much for the shout-out!
Thanks so much for another cracking recipe Ricki! I managed to tuck a few in the freezer for safe-keeping before I ate them all in one go :S I’m sure you can come up with some kind of date-free hemp granola recipe.
looks lovely - I have been catching up on your other posts too which all look great - I think ricki and gina’s recipes look great and it is interesting to hear about nunaturals - I have only just had my first experiments with stevia and am still undecided about it but would be interesting to taste another brand than the one I have
I had mixed feelings about stevia before trying the NuNaturals kind. I could always detect a slight aftertaste…
That’s all changed with this brand though and I’m looking forward to experimenting with it. It seems pretty cool that I can reduce the sugar/sweetener in recipes now without compromising taste.
My first experience with Stevia was a liquid, and it definitely had a flavor of its own, rather like molasses. I have since switched to using the powdered kind. The one I have is mixed with erythritol ( didn’t realize that until just now). I have some that is pure Stevia powder, which I just tasted. It does not seem to have any flavor like the liquid did. I would not recommend the mix with erythritol unless you know your digestive system can handle it (mine can’t - it has not adapted at all). The general instructions for erythritol are to start with small amounts and work your way up, to give your body time to adapt to it, but not everyone does adapt to it.
Love hemp seeds! Those brownies look so inviting!
They were so tasty. Ricki’s a superstar in the kitchen!
I do love hemp seeds. Lately, I just add a big scoop to bowls with grains, veggies, etc.I’ll definitely check out that recipe from Let Them Eat Vegan.
They work with almost anything don’t they?! I added a couple of spoonfuls to a strawberry-banana smoothie this morning and it made it super creamy.