Go Wild with a little HEMP!

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

It is Friday, get a little wild! 

Add a little HEMP into your life style!

Let’s get started with a bite of Hemp-ology.  Hemp seeds are rich in vitamins, has fiber and protein.  Contains omega-6 and omega-3, essentials for a healthy heart. Hemp seed is also a good source of magnesium, zinc and copper. It is great to add to any vegan diet because of its high protein content.  Hemp adds wonderful nutty flavors and is great to use in diets for those who have peanut allergies or gluten-free diets.  Oh and do not get confused this will no get you high!  That is a whole other blog! Hemp is one of those claim to fame superfoods, and has even been featured on Oprah and Dr. Oz shows.

I thought what the heck I already use flax-seed and wheat germ in many of my recipes especially when it comes to increasing the nutrients to some of my kids favorite foods.  So the first thing I tried it in was my fruit smoothie.  I liked it and it did not really change the flavor of my smoothie, just added some depth to it.  So I got more adventurous! So I stuck my hand in the bag and tried it raw.  Hey, I was pleasantly surprised – did not have a hard shell like flax seeds. They had a nice nutty flavor and a softer texture.  So starting on Monday of this week I tried to incorporate the hemp seeds in many different foods I eat!  Here are some of my HEMP SEED trials;

• Adding it directly to my greek yogurt.  This was a thumbs up!  Even got my kids to eat it!  I mixed the hemp seeds with some colored sprinkles and keep in a cute container.  They are now using without my encouragement!
• Put it into my morning oatmeal with almond milk.  This was so yummy! Thumbs up!
• Next I tried adding into my dinner time ritual.  Over the week added it to a turkey meatloaf and tacos.  My husband did not even notice it and gobbled it up.  So I gave this a thumbs up too!
• I also tried adding the hemp seeds to the soup and it was not quite as good.  I would eat it, but could not get it pasted my kids. I guess if I cooked it longer the hemp would have gotten softer and I would have been able to get it passed them. Thumbs down!
• On movie nite tried sprinkling the hemp seed on popcorn with sea salt but that was a no go! Thumbs down!
• I challenged my kids to find a use for hemp seeds on their own. Their favorite was over ice cream with chocolate sauce or mixed with peanut butter on crackers.  Now I know the ice cream is not the most nutritious but if you’re going to have snack I guess it is better to mix in some healthy ingredients than nothing at all! Thumbs up!
• I loved it sprinkled on my salad but to be honest the rest of my family was not so adventurous!

I also bet the hemp seed would be great with baking but I have not had a chance to try it yet!  What is good for us is also good for a 4 legged friends! I hear a lot of vets recommended it for pets to help digestion and healthy coat but I have not dog tested it yet!  Maybe next week.  Check out Happy Hemp a company (hemp.com) that sells hemp and has over a 100 recipes that is where I got my hemp seed from.

Come on take the challenge try a little HEMP and share your recipes with me!