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Hemp Seeds Recipes

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?

Strawberries ‘n’ Cream Chia Oat Pudding

(Firstly, sorry for the late posting. I’ve been away for 2 days moving all my belongings into my new flat. I’m not actually moving in for 2 weeks as there are a couple of things to be done before then and I don’t need to be there until the end of the month when I start my Masters…I said this would be a busy month! Anyway, just wanted to fill you in. Back to the matter in hand…

Chia Seeds!

Image Credit: timesunion.com

This magical little seed isn’t that new to me and likely not to you either as it’s been prominent, particularly on the vegan “scene”, for a couple of years now. Even so, I wanted to feature it as it’s only recently that it has earned a firm position in my pantry and I’m using it almost daily.

It’s not just fantastic for its versatility in the kitchen but has a whole host of health benefits too. It’s very rich in omega-3s, which as you probably know, are essential fatty acids (EFAs) that our bodies need for optimal health. Chia is also full of quality protein, magnesium, calcium, antioxidants (more than blueberries), iron, folate and soluble fibre.

So, what did I make with it? I’ll share a few other chia recipes below but this time around I opted for a simple Strawberries ‘n’ Cream Chia-Oat Pudding for breakfast. If you’ve been around Coconut and Berries a while you’ll know of my endeavours to get up earlier in the morning, and I’ve found making interesting and tasty breakfasts helps entice me out of bed! This pudding needs mixing up the night (or a few hours) before you want to eat it so it’s all ready to eat in the morning, even more encouragement to jump up immediately when the alarm sounds instead of hitting the snooze button…

Strawberries ‘n’ Cream Chia Oat Pudding:

1/3C Oats
1T Chia seeds
1/2C Almond milk (add more in the morning to thin if desired)
70g/2.5oz (approx 1/3C) Strawberries
A few drops of vanilla stevia (to taste) OR sweeetener of choice

In a short-cup blender, blend together strawberries and almond milk. Add stevia to taste. Add oats and give a quick pulse to break the oats up a little bit. Stir in chia seeds, pour into a jar or bowl, cover and let sit overnight in the fridge, or for at least 1 hour for the pudding to thicken up.

Serves 1

Top with nut butter and fresh fruit if desired. I went for my current favourite combination of cashew butter and sliced banana

Chia seeds’ ability to soak up liquid is what makes them really versatile in the kitchen.

I recently made a healthy no-cook jam using chia seeds and blackberries which was fantastic with my lemon coconut milk scones.

For a dessert or snack you can nix the oats and just stir in chia seeds to non-dairy milk and add fruit, cacao/cocoa or other flavours for a tasty and satisfying ‘pudding’ of sorts. If you saw my green tea ice cream post you’ll know I’m a matcha fan, so this Matcha Chia Pudding from Gena at Choosing Raw is on my to-make list.

Ground chia seeds work well as an egg replacer in b)aked goods, an alternative to ground flax which is what I usually use. See these Banana-Walnut-Chia Muffins (GF).

It adds bulk to smoothies too. This Cacao- Maca-Date one is my favourite indulgent breakfast smoothie.

Finally, I still haven’t made but must make Angela’s Super Power Chia Bread (GF). It uses buckwheat too! (See yesterday’s “B” post)

That’s all I can think of right now but if you use chia seeds for anything else please do share in the comments below.

I’m off to catch up on all your MoFo posts, see you all tomorrow for the letter “D”.

Cherry, Pistachio Cream & Oat-Flax Crumble Parfait

On my nectarine salad post I promised another stone fruit recipe, but other things came up in the meantime so I hope you’ll forgive me for only just getting to it now. I promise this one’s worth the wait.

This recipe actually caused me some grief, not the actual making of it but deciding what to call it! Parfait? Verrine? Crumble? Trifle? Mousse? Cream?

“What’s in a name?” was pretty much the attitude I took in the end when I came back to “parfait”. Besides, I think all of those names could apply to this yummy dessert. 3 layers- creamy, crumbly and fruity, layered up in a glass.

Cherries and pistachios are such a delicious duo that I knew I wanted to bring them together for a dessert. I’d initially wanted to make ice cream but my freezer is currently a little full (!) and will need some reshuffling to be able to fit the ice cream maker bowl in…(though stay tuned as I’m determined to make homemade ice cream happen this summer) I also didn’t want to have to wait until the following day to enjoy my creation.

I’ve made a lot of raw nut creams recently and although I love them I wanted to go a little lighter with the cream layer here and so turned to my old friend silken tofu. I always keep a couple of the shelf-stable packages on hand for whipping up smooth sauces, dressings and desserts as it’s such a versatile ingredient. Its neutral base allowed the flavour of the pistachios to really shine.

I could have stopped there and just layered up fresh cherries with the cream, maybe added a few chopped nuts, but I was feeling more ambitious than that and decided on a third layer. Definitely a good move. This oat-flax crumble is a very tasty topping and works equally well without the cream too, to make a raw fruit crumble of sorts. I ate the leftovers over a juicy diced peach which was wonderful.

Cherry, Pistachio Cream + Oat-Flax Crumble Parfait

Yield: 2 parfaits (with leftover crumble)

Ingredients

For the Pistachio Cream:
1/4 C Pistachios
1Tbsp Agave nectar
175g/6oz silken tofu ( I use Clearspring organic )
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4Tbsp Lemon zest
1 tsp Lemon juice
pinch salt
For the Oat-Flax Crumble
1/4 C Oat groats
1/4 C Flax seeds
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Agave nectar
1/16 tsp Salt
To Serve:
1 C Halved & pitted fresh cherries
Chopped pistachios

Instructions

Make the cream first: I toasted my pistachios briefly just so I could remove the skins, but if yours are already skinned then there’s no need.
Blend all cream ingredients in a high-power blender until smooth, scraping down the sides so everything is incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to assemble parfaits.
In a food processor/spice-grinder jar, process the oat groats, flax seeds and salt to a flour. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the olive oil and agave. It should form clumps as if you were making granola. Set aside in the fridge to firm up.
Shortly before serving (you can prep in advance but the cherry juice may tint the pistachio cream a little) assemble the parfaits. Start with a layer of the pistachio cream, then the cherries, then another layer of the cream and finally top with as much of the crumble as you like, chopped pistachios and a cherry for good measure.

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2013/07/18/cherry-pistachio-cream-oat-flax-crumble-parfait/

I’m submitting this recipe to the weekly blog-hop Healthy Vegan Fridays. If you haven’t checked it out yet, click on over now. I can guarantee you’ll find something to swoon over.

Any fun foodie plans this weekend? I’m off to Wales to stay with a friend- walking, chatting, beach and I’m sure plenty of good food!

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Blueberry-Orange Buckwheat Waffles

Hello, hope everyone’s had a good weekend!

Before I get to today’s recipe, just a reminder that Coconut and Berries is now on Facebook AND Instagram. Head on over and join in the fun!

I sadly didn’t grow up eating waffles and even pancakes were limited to holidays abroad with those extravagant American-style hotel breakfast buffets I loved so much. I almost always went for pancakes with lashings of maple syrup and especially loved watching the chefs cook them in front of you . Occasionally back at home my Mum would buy a container of Betty Crocker “shake to make pancake” mix and treat me and my brothers to a special Sunday breakfast. Anyone else ever have that stuff? It’s probably filled with nasty ingredients, but we certainly loved those pancakes!

Waffles are basically pancakes in a funny shape so I knew I’d like them, so much so that I bought myself a waffle iron a few years ago despite never having tried them. But my iron has only ever been used a couple of times since these past few years I’ve been living in university accommodation (and abroad) where kitchen space is rather limited…

Uni finished, waffles are back in my life! Hurrah! These Blueberry-Orange Buckwheat Waffles are reasonably healthy too. I incorporated buckwheat flour, oats and fruit, reduced the oil with unsweetened apple purée and didn’t overly sweeten the waffles…a generous drizzle of maple syrup sorted that out instead!

They turned out perfectly- crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The citrus and berries made them feel a little more summery and the buckwheat flour and oats give them a nice nutty flavour as well as making them super filling. I’ve shown two in the pictures below but it was a case of my eyes being bigger than my stomach and after one I admit I was pretty stuffed!

Naked waffles, hot and crispy.

If you don’t plan to eat all the waffles in one go, I recommend leaving them to cool on racks rather than stacking them so they stay crispy . They freeze really well too. When completely cool, wrap them up individually in foil or plastic wrap and pop them in the freezer. You can just pull one out when you fancy a special breakfast. I put them in the toaster to defrost and they get nice and crispy, just as good as fresh.

Pre maple syrup drowning…

That’s better!

I use a Cuisinart Belgian Waffle Maker and love it!

Blueberry-Orange Buckwheat Waffles

Yield: 5 large Belgian waffles

Ingredients

1 C Buckwheat flour
1/2 C Plain/all-purpose flour
1/2 C Rolled oats
2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
3/4 tsp Salt
1-3/4 C Almond milk
1/3 C Unsweetened apple purée (apple sauce)
2 Tbsp Coconut sugar (or cane sugar)
2 Tbsp Oil-
2 Tbsp Ground flaxseed
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large orange
1/2 to 2/3 C Frozen blueberries
I served mine with sliced oranges and more blueberries and topped with maple syrup but a berry sauce and non-dairy yogurt is another tasty option.

Instructions

Combine buckwheat flour through to salt in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl thoroughly whisk liquid ingredients, almond milk through to orange zest. Stir liquid ingredients into dry, just until combined.
Leave batter to stand for 5 minutes while you preheat the waffle iron.
Preheat the waffle iron for a few minutes while the batter is standing. Wipe or spray both grids of the waffle iron with oil.
Ladle the batter onto the centre of the iron, making sure not to cover more than 2/3 of the iron’s surface (They will spread!). Close the iron and bake for 3-5 minutes (will vary with waffle irons- mine beeps when they’re cooked and is fairly accurate) or until the waffles can be removed easily.
Remove to cooling rack and repeat until batter is all used up.

Notes

*I haven’t tried it out myself, but I imagine you could use this batter to make pancakes too if you don’t have a waffle iron. You could probably reduce or remove the oil too as it’s what gives waffles that characteristic crispy exterior and so is unnecessary for pancakes.

*To make these gluten-free sub a gluten-free all purpose flour for the 1/2 C wheat flour and use certified gluten-free oats.

*If you’re not a fan of buckwheat then try another whole grain flour: spelt, barley, wholewheat, teff etc.

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2013/07/15/blueberry-orange-buckwheat-waffles/

Do you have a waffle iron? Any favourite recipes or topping ideas to share?

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