Feeling a bit seedy?

Added on December 20th, 2012
Found in Bulk purchase, Seeds, Wholefoods

Do you incorporate any seeds into your daily diet? Or, like many people, are the seeds you eat limited to sesame seeds on the top of a burger bun – or the odd few included in a cereal bar? It’s a shame if that’s the case, because eating seeds is one of the quickest and easiest ways to make a real difference to your daily diet. And it’s not expensive either.

Seeds are a great source of iron, magnesium and zinc. They are high in polyunsaturated fats, and as they’re also stuffed with calories, make a great ‘energy food’ – keeping you going in a healthy way, without needing to resort to a sugary snack. For vegetarians wanting to boost their protein levels, try pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds. Pumpkin are also good for omega 6 and 3 fatty acids, and zinc. Sesame seeds meanwhile, score highly for calcium, and sunflower seeds are fantastic for vitamin E.

You’re probably not going to eat a plain handful of them, though. You need to think about your usual daily diet, and how you could include seeds in it easily. How about:

• a teaspoonful of sunflower and pumpkin seeds on top of your muesli or porridge
• a handful of pumpkin seeds in a thick stew
• a sprinkling of sesame or sunflower seeds on top of a stir-fry or vegetable side dish
• some roasted pumpkin seeds in a salad
• a teaspoonful of your favourite seeds stirred into cake, bread or pancake mix
• an ounce or two of linseed in your flapjack mix, to replace some of the oats
• linseed as a decoration for home-made bread
• some of your favourite seeds sprinkled into yoghurt?

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Gluten Free Fig and Almond Bar

Added on August 23rd, 2011
Found in Dried Fruit recipes, Nut recipes, Seed - recipes

This is a really easy recipe that packs a goodness in every mouthful, naturally sweet with the figs the almonds add some crunch, but don’t eat too many as there are lots of calories in these bars.

Ingredients

• 250g organic figs - stemmed and cut in half
• 100g chopped organic almonds
• 50g organic sesame seeds
• teaspoon of cinnamon
• a little water if needed

You could try substituting organic dates for the figs if you wished.

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Sesame Tofu Stir-fry

Added on February 2nd, 2011
Found in Crazy Jack Recipes, Japanase Food recipes, Japanese, Recipes, Seed - recipes

Ingredients:

• 75g Crazy Jack Sesame Seeds or other Organic Sesame Seeds
• 3 spring onions chopped
• 1 yellow pepper deseeded and sliced
• 1 red pepper deseeded and sliced
• 2 courgettes cut into sticks
• 4 asparagus spears, trimmed if out of season try french beans
• 250g Tofu, cubed - you could try aged Tofu which has a great taste.
• 2 large mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce or Tamari for a gluten free alternative
• 2 tbsp sesame oil for that extra flavour try toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp medium Sherry
• salt & pepper.

Method:

1.Fry the sesame seeds in a dry wok until toasted, and set aside.
2.Place 1 tbsp of sesame oil in the wok and, when hot, stir fry the tofu until evenly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3.Add remaining sesame oil and fry the vegetables for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
4.Add the sesame seeds and tofu and heat through. Pour in the Soy Sauce and Sherry, add seasoning and serve immediately.

Serve with Udon Noodles or Noodles of your choice

Festive Party Dips

Added on November 28th, 2010
Found in Lentil Recipes, Pulses recipes, Seed - recipes

Looking through an old Wholefood cook book from the 1970’s I came across these interesting recipes for dips and spreads that make good party food for Christmas. The first is for a:

Lentil Spread

• 100g cooked red lentils
• 1 medium onion – chopped
• 2 tablespoons Tahiti
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon coriander
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 1/s teaspoon gomasio (we used Furikake)

Cook the lentils until very soft then liquidise the lentils, tomato puree, gomasio, chopped onions, coriander and cumin together. Add Tahini and mix well.

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