Add Hemp to Your Holiday Recipes

Hemp is considered by many to be an almost perfect food. It’s healthful, tasty, and fun! What better way to put a creative, culinary spin on your festivities than to add hemp to your favorite holiday recipes? From breakfast to dessert, it can enliven any course.

Nutrient-rich hemp seed contains all nine essential amino acids, is easily digestible, gluten-free, and contains no known allergens. Nature’s highest botanical source of essential fatty acids (EFAs), hemp has a perfect 3:1 ratio of Omega-3 and Omega-6 EFAs. It’s high in fiber, low in sugar and contains no cholesterol. Whole hemp seed contains approximately 20-25% protein, 25-35% fat as oil, 20-30% carbohydrates, and 10-15% insoluble fiber. It is also a source of numerous vitamins and minerals.

The light, nutty flavor of raw hemp seed is a great addition to a host of dishes and can be substituted for other seeds or nuts in recipes. Use your imagination! Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Mix hemp seeds with your favorite nut butter and spread in celery stalks for a yummy, healthy appetizer or snack.
• Roll dairy or vegan cheese balls in hemp seeds for a flavorful appetizer.
• Toast hemp seeds lightly in a little butter, hemp or coconut oil and drizzle over quartered, baked yams; if desired, sweeten with a little honey while the mixture is warm.
• Make your own salad dressing by blending hemp or olive oil, balsamic vinegar, hemp seeds, and spices of your choice.
• Use as a healthy substitution for bread crumbs.
• Add to salads, vegetable casseroles, soups and stews, breads and muffins, omelets, smoothies, yogurt, cereals and granola, snack mixes, sauces, and dips.
• Use as a topping on ice cream sundaes.

Hemp oil is cold-pressed from the seed and can be substituted for other oils in baking and other recipes. Use it as a basis for salad dressings and for stir frying.

Hemp milk is readily available in several varieties or flavors. Use it as a substitute for dairy or non-dairy milks in baking and other recipes. Make it the basis for smoothies, pour it over cereal, or use it in coffee, tea, or hot chocolate to savor as you sit by the fire.

Include hemp products on your shopping list, be inventive, and have fun adding hemp to your holiday! We’d love to hear about the healthy hemp dishes you create. Share your recipes and uses of hemp in our comments section and we may feature some of them on our website or in future blogs.

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