Why I love Hemp seeds

Put simply, hemp seeds are nutrient packed! I incorporate hemp foods into my daily diet and here is why. These seeds are high in:

30% Plant based Protein
Hemp seeds contain about 10 grams of protein per serve (2-3 tablespoons) giving you about 17% of your daily intake needs (based on an average adult diet). Also providing a full Amino acid profile (containing all 9 essential amino acids!) This means it is a complete protein source.

Loaded with 43% Omega Fatty acids (3, 6 & 9)
Hemp seeds are one of the best plant based sources of omega fatty acids. Omegas are so important to include in our diet, and one serve of hemp seeds (2-3 tbs) contains 2240mg of omega 3 ALA, which is 172% of your daily requirement (based on an average adult diet). And one serve also contains 7780mg of omega 6, which is about 60% of your daily requirement. Read more about healthy omega fatty acids in depth here.

Fibre (great for gut health!)
1 serve of hemp seeds provides about 5% of your dietary fibre daily intake needs. Many people do not consume enough fibre per day (the recommended daily intake is 25-30g+ per day in Australia), and it is SO important to consume enough fibre for a happy healthy gut, and to avoid many negative health issues.

Vitamins and Minerals
Including, per serve of 2-3 tablespoons 
Potassium, 263mg
Thiamine (Vitamin B1), 20% Recommended Daily intake needs (RDI)
Vitamin E, 8% RDI
Niacin (vitamin B3) 6% RDI
Folate (vitamin B9), 22% RDI
Iron, 3.1mg, 26% RDI
Phosphorus, 31% RDI
Zinc, 25% RDI
Magnesium, 45% RDI

So fair to say these pale green, soft seeds are nutrient dense and are also ready to go (don’t need to be soaked overnight or activated).

They are so easy to incorporate into both sweet and savory meals as they have a very subtle nutty flavour, so great to add into:
– oats, yoghurt or cereal
–  onto avocado, nut butter or jam toast
– into dips like guacamole or hummus
– into rice or grain dishes like fried rice or mixed with quinoa
– into smoothie or smoothie bowls

... you can put 1-2 tablespoons of hemp seeds onto just about any meal to compliment taste and add nutrients! As always though, keep it balanced, no need to over do them. Mix it up along with other healthy wholefoods/nuts/seeds! 

P.S - Most know by now but it’s worth mentioning again, hemp is often confused with cannabis and getting ‘high’ but hemp is definitely NOT marijuana/cannabis! Hemp seeds do not contain THC which is the mind altering/psychoactive part of cannabis responsible for its ‘high’ properties.

* % daily intakes are based on an average adult diet of 8700kj, your daily intakes may be higher or lower depending on your energy needs.