Seeds of change – how to get more seeds into your day

I had a request this week from a friend to write a bit about seeds – what they do for us and how we can use them. This fits well with last week’s fat facts blog as seeds are full of omega 3s and 6s and are really good option for healthy fats…

… so here you go!

Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy, hemp, chia, flax (linseeds), mustard, cumin, coriander… the list is long and no matter which seeds you prefer they are all little powerhouses of goodness and make a great addition to any meal.

Many of them can be processed into oils, but the process involves heat and quite a bit of effort, so personally I like to use a cold pressed oil such as olive oil and eat the seeds in their whole form.

A seed is no small thing. Each and every one has the potential to grow into a plant and produce fruit with more seeds in it. If that is not a ‘living’ food! Just imagine what that does in terms of energy for your body.

I am not going to write the long list of nutrients, minerals and good fats for each of these seeds – check out these links for sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and linseeds.

How to get more seeds into your day?

Put a spoon of hemp or linseeds into a morning smoothie

Make your own muesli or porridge and soak overnight in almond or rice milk for delicious breakfast ready to eat when you wake

Sprinkle on the top of salads (I put them on raw not roasted to maintain all of their benefits)

Use mustard, coriander or cumin seeds ground up in a spicy dish 

Make a sweet treat – seed biscuits (see below)

Recipe: seed biscuits (5 mins to mix, 1 hour to cook)

100g oats

100g mixed seeds (sesame, linseeds, pumpkin, sunflower, poppy)

50 ml olive oil

1 dessert spoon of honey

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and then press firmly into the base of an oiled cake tin. Bake in the oven at 150 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy with a nice cup of tea!

Putting a few seeds to soak in water overnight and then draining them and leaving them to sprout (keeping slightly moist) is a great way to see how fast a seed springs to life… fun to do with kids and great to eat them. For more tips on sprouting seeds and beans, see here