Tagged with 'seeds'

There are so many good things in nuts and seeds — monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, plant-based protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Please don't let the high fat and calorie content of nuts and seeds scare you away from eating them. In fact, it's quite the opposite...research shows including one serving of nuts per day protects against heart attack, stroke, or death from other cardiovascular causes in people at high risk due to type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome. Also, people who frequently consumed both total nuts and walnuts had a lower rate of death from cancer. 

Rather than focusing on one nut or seed, I encourage you to include a variety in your diet.

Ideas for Incorporating Nuts and Seeds into Your Diet

1) Try a new nut or seed toasted, such as pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or hazelnuts to add to salads, oatmeal, pilafs, quinoa, or other ancient grain dishes. 

2) Add nuts and seeds to a morning smoothie. Toss in a spoonful of pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and chia seeds to boost protein, fiber, and omega-3 fats.

3)  A DIY trail mix is always better with extra nuts and seeds. Along with your typical mix, add in pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or flaxseeds, chopped almonds, pistachios, walnuts, or pecans. If you buy a prepared trail mix, add extra nuts and seeds to whatever you buy.  

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Live Superfoods

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Energy bars from a crockpot? Get out! Yes, it's true, and they're really easy to make. I love this bar recipe because it contains a great balance of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fat. They also have a lot fiber and are fairly low in sugar, making them a perfect snack or breakfast. My kids really like them too, and I feel good about feeding the bars to them. 

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Almond butter

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

2 large eggs

1/3 cup quinoa, uncooked

1/2 cup raisins

1/3 cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped*

1/3 cup dried apples, roughly chopped (I used dried mango because I didn't have dried apples) 

2 Tbsp chia seeds

Instructions

1. Spray a 5 Quart slow cooker with cooking spray and cut a piece of parchment to just fit in the bottom of it. I just traced my slow cooker on a large piece of parchment, cut it out and stuck it in. Spray the parchment with cooking spray, and press it down to adhere it to the slow cooker. **

2. In a large, microwave safe bowl, combine the almond butter and maple syrup and melt until the almond butter is creamy, about 30 seconds.

3. Whisk together the almond butter and maple syrup. Then, whisk in the almond milk, cinnamon and salt. Whisk until the milk is well incorporated with the almond butter.

4. Whisk in the eggs until well combined, then stir in all remaining ingredients thoroughly.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared slow cooker and cook on LOW heat until the top of the bars just appear set, about 3 ½-4 hours.

6. Run a knife around the outside of the bars and remove the bowl from the slow cooker. Place into the refrigerate to cool completely.

7. Once cool, cut into bars and DEVOUR! 

Serves 8 bars. Store the bars in an air tight container in the refrigerator. 

Notes:

*if you can't find toasted almonds, just dry toast them in a 400 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

**Don't skip this step. It makes the bars to much easier to get out of the crockpot.

Recipe courtesy of the lovely Taylor at FoodfaithFitness.com

Growing up, I loved getting the giant round carving pumpkins that showed up for a month or two prior to Halloween and carving some crude faces into it, and then they'd be forgotten until the next year. Sometimes,though, my grandmother would help me pull the seeds from the copious gooey pulp and roast them for a tasty treat.

Little did I know then that those chewy morsels, much like the flesh of the pumpkin, were miniature nutritional powerhouses, and today, unlike their vessels, pumpkin seeds are available year round.

America's Catching On

In America, we're just now catching up with other cultures in enjoying the taste and nutrition of the pumpkin seed. In Mexico, pepitas are eaten as a snack, or used in mole sauces and garnishes. In Russia and the Ukraine, roasted pumpkin seeds are as common as sunflower seeds.

Super Nutritious

Pumpkin seeds are rich in B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, and minerals copper, manganese, magnesium, zinc, and iron. Unshelled pumpkin seeds are one of the highest vegetable sources of zinc; a quarter cup of unshelled seeds provides 10mg of this key mineral and antioxidant which plays key roles in the health and function of the skin, digestive tract, prostate, bones, and immune system.

Pumpkin seeds also also high in fiber and are a rich source of plant-based essential fatty acids, including omega-9 oleic acid and alpha-linoleic acid (ALA), and the amino acids tryptophan and glutamate.

Like other seeds and nuts, the oil of the pumpkin seed carries many of the same health benefits and as well as the same great taste. Pumpkin seed oil has a rich, nutty taste is rich in many polyunsaturated fatty acids. It doesn't hold up to heat well, however, and is best used in dressings and deserts. Pumpkin seed butter, too, can be used in the same manner as peanut butter or almond butter.

Pumpkin seeds are available either raw, toasted, or sprouted, that is, replicating the germination process, which activates and multiplies nutrients, neutralizes enzyme inhibitors, and promotes the growth of vital digestive enzymes. If you're going the raw food route, sprouted is the way to go.

If they're so tasty and nutritious, so why hasn't the pumpkin seed caught on? Part of the reason might be because shelling the pumpkin seed is a very water-intensive and laborious process. To get to the dark green kernel, the hard white exterior shell must be removed – although it should be pointed out that the pumpkin seed exterior is quite edible, if somewhat fibrous.

However, Austrian or Styrian pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita pepo var. styriaca) don't have this problem. About 100 years ago, this cultivar's lost their pithy, fibrous hull, retaining only a thin membrane. As a result, these seeds don't require the labor-intensive shelling that other kinds of pumpkin seeds require. The green seeds you see in stores are most likely this variety.

Shelled pumpkin seeds are great raw, or toasted with a little sea salt. Sprinkle them on breads and salads, add them to trail mix, mix them with yogurt, or just eat 'em raw. They're good, and good for you.

Sources

Mercola.com, “9 Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds” found here.

WholeFoods.com, “Pumpkin Seeds” found here.