Posts Tagged ‘seeds’

For The Birds

October 20th, 2010
From the top, clockwise: hemp, brown chia, white chia, black sesame, white sesame, poppy. Middle: sunflower, pumpkin

From the top, clockwise: hemp, brown chia, white chia, black sesame, white sesame, poppy. Middle: sunflower, pumpkin

 

When most people hear about eating raw, the first thing that comes to mind is probably salad and vegetables, along with some unappetizing connotations. While spinach and carrot sticks are definitely an option, it’s not the only one.

So rather than discussing “rabbit food,” today I’d like to discuss “bird food.”  That’s right:

Seeds

Now I’m sure everyone is familiar with sunflower seeds. What kid hasn’t spent countless hours cracking salted sunflower hulls with their teeth to get at the goodness inside? I’m sure we’re also familiar with sesame seeds, most likely as a garnish on hamburger buns.

But there is more to seeds than that.

My first excursion into the unknown was chia seeds. Yuri has it listed as a Super Food in Eating for Energy, so I gave it a try. They have a nutty flavour, and are a good source of protein, fibre, calcium and omega-3, just to name a few benefits.

My next purchase was hemp seeds. Aside from some good-natured teasing from my family about “hemp” this has been one of my best discoveries. The more I read about hemp seeds, or hemp hearts as they’re sometimes called, the more amazing they are. Hemp seeds are a complete source of protein, contain omega fats, and they taste great.

When I first tried raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds it felt wrong. I was used to roasted seeds covered in oil and salt. Yum. The first few times I ate any I heated them in the oven with salt and pepper, but that was undermining what I was trying to do. It didn’t take long for me to learn to appreciate pumpkin seeds in their raw state and they have become a treat. They are also a good source of protein and iron.

Then I ran across black sesame seeds. They have far more calcium than their white counterparts, along with lots of iron, so I’ve switched to black.

My latest addition is poppy seeds. They have even more calcium per gram than my sesame seeds and a good supply of iron. I haven’t tried them yet, but I’m sure they’ll make a nice addition to my collection.

Now any of these seeds would be a tasty snack on their own, but I’ve come up with a concoction that I love. It’s a mixture of hemp, chia, sesame and sunflower seeds. Somehow, that combination is dynamite. I keep a spoon ready in my desk at work so I just have to bring the seeds in a container and enjoy them whenever I start to feel hungry. It doesn’t take much, just a few spoonfuls, to do the trick and stave off the hunger pains.

So the next time you’re wondering what to eat for a healthy snack, and just can’t handle the idea of another celery stick, try grabbing what I like to call my bird seed.

I’m always on the lookout for new seeds, although I think I’ve exhausted what the local health food stores carry. Does anyone else snack on seeds? Let me know.

Nichole

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Posted in Client Journeys, Raw Foods

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Sprouting 101

June 26th, 2010

When encountering something new, it is sometimes helpful to go through the five w’s to learn more about the subject. Who. What. When. Where. Why. And while How doesn’t exactly start with a w, it is still a useful question to ask. So when it comes to learning about sprouting, these questions can give you a foothold into a new world of raw food management.

To begin with, you might wonder what exactly sprouting is. Simply put, sprouting is the process by which you soak a certain type of seed or nut until it is ready to grow a new plant. At that point, sprouters drain off the excess liquid and rinse the seedlings regularly, encouraging them to grow tiny shoots of plants, which can then be eaten raw.

Next, you could ask who would go through all of the trouble to sprout their own food. Many raw food enthusiasts enjoy the process of sprouting their own food, as it is much less expensive than purchasing the same sprouts from the store, and means they can grow a variety of sprouts that otherwise might be difficult to find in the open market.

You can also ask when is a good time to do sprouting at home. When done indoors, sprouting can be done any time of the year, provided there is a little sunshine coming in through a nearby window. Depending on the type of sprout you are growing, they can take as little as a few days to grow to the point where they can be harvested and eaten.

You might also wonder where you would go about sprouting within your own space. Sprouting does not take up a great deal of room; many people use a glass canning jar, to make rinsing as easy as possible and take up as little counter space as possible. The amount of space required is limited only by the amounts you wish to produce, and your own creativity in setting up a sprouting station.

Next, why would anyone want to go to such great lengths to grow their own sprouts? The sprouts that you grow can offer you a ton of wonderful health benefits, and tend to be even better for you than the nut or seed that they were grown from. All of the energy that the young plant requires to grow up big and strong are stored in those tiny shoots, and are easily accessible by your body once consumed. The sprouts contain, depending on the variety, a multitude of vitamins, proteins and fatty acids that can be a great healthy addition to any raw food diet.

Of course, the “how” of sprouting is very important. Seeds or nuts are generally allowed to soak overnight to soften their outer parts and allow for the germination process to begin. After soaking, the seeds are drained to prevent rot or moulding, and can be left at room temperature to begin sprouting. After about a day, you should begin to see tiny plants emerging. While they grow, the seedlings will need to be rinsed a minimum of three times a day, to ensure they remain moist but not damp, and rinse away any traces of mould before they can attack the sprouts.

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Posted in Food For Thought

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Health Benefits of Quinoa

June 24th, 2010

For a large percentage of the population, the grains in their daily diet consist of nothing more than wheat and rice. Sure, there are some variations within those categories, but most people simply stick to what they know. But for those who have stepped outside the box, grains like quinoa can have huge benefits for your overall health within a raw food diet.

Of course, technically speaking, quinoa is not actually a grain, as has more in common with beets and spinach than any of the grass-based crops. But the quinoa plant does produce edible seeds that can be used as a cereal replacement.

And there are plenty of reasons to use it as a replacement for your regular grains. Quinoa is gluten free, meaning that anyone suffering from gluten-related allergies can safely use quinoa in the meals. Even for those without allergies, quinoa is very easy for the body to digest and use, which makes it a better choice than other traditional grains. Quinoa seeds also have an incredibly high amount of protein by weight, making it nearly as nutritionally dense as a potato.

But the good news doesn’t stop there – quinoa also offers a host of other benefits that other grains do not. Quinoa is one of the most complete proteins available in a planted food, and provides you with amino acids that are simply not a part of grains like rice or wheat. It has nearly ten grams of dietary fiber per serving, and has a high concentration of important minerals, such as iron, magnesium and zinc, making it a great part of a high energy diet.

Quinoa does need a bit of work to prepare it for your plate. The seed itself has a bitter outer coating that first needs to be rinsed away. This bitterness is a warning, as the outer coating is slightly toxic in large doses. Some people can get a slight numbness of the mouth if they consume cooked but unwashed quinoa, but it would not be poisonous except in massive quantities. And the process to remove the outer coating is quite simple and very effective.

While most people will cook their quinoa as an alternative to rice, it is the raw preparation that truly brings out the best in this seed. Quinoa is a very fast germinator, which means that after just a few hours of soaking, the quinoa seed will begin to sprout, as compared to the overnight soaking that other, more popular grains require. These quinoa sprouts can be added to salads or raw sandwiches to take advantage of the germinated increase in vitamins and living food enzymes.

Additionally, the soaked seeds become soft enough to be consumed raw, and can be added to salads, sauces or eaten as a form of raw granola for breakfast, when mixed with raw agave syrup, almonds and fresh blueberries.

Oh, and one last tip for your first shopping expedition to get some quinoa for yourself. It may look like is should be pronounced “kwi-no-ah”, but the preferred pronunciation is actually “keen-wha”, with an emphasis on the first syllable.

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Posted in General Nutrition

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Do You Soak Your Nuts?

September 2nd, 2009

I hope you didn’t take this question the wrong way (specifically men). 

Let me clarify…

Do you soak your nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc…) and seeds before eating them?

Whether you follow a raw food diet or not, you may want to start.

Here are 3 reasons why…

1. Soaking removes enzyme inhibitors

Soaking nuts and seeds (especially those that are higher in protein) will “disarm” their natural enzyme inhibitors, which improves their ability to be digested and opens up their full array of nutrients.

As a protective mechanism, nuts and seeds have enzyme inhibitors to keep them dormant until they are in a properly moisturized environment.

That’s why squirrels bury chestnuts into the soil for a few days before coming back to eat them. They know that doing so will “awaken” the full nutrient spectrum of their food.

2. Soaking leads to greater amino acid bioavailability

It has been shown that soaking higher-protein nuts and seeds can increase the bioavailability of their amino acids by up to 30%!

If you’re a vegan and want to increase your protein consumption, then simply soaking your nuts and seeds can make a big difference as to what your body will absorb.

3. Soaking turns RAW into LIVING

As I mentioned in the first point above, enzyme inhibitors render nuts and seeds dormant.

Even if they’re raw it doesn’t necessarily mean that these foods are LIVING.

However, since soaking disarms the enzyme inhibitors that keep these raw nuts and seeds dormant, it allows them to become water-rich and alive.

There is a slight difference between raw and living. Unsoaked nuts and seeds are raw but not alive. Soaking them will change that and help you to reap their full benefits. 

Which ones to soak?

You don’t have to soak all nuts and seeds. Only those that have a higher protein content. The ones I usually recommend soaking include:

- almonds
- pumpkin seeds
- sunflower seeds

Walnuts, pecans, cashews, and pine nuts are generally higher in fat and don’t need to be soaked. Doing so will only make them soggy and mushy.

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Posted in Raw Foods

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