Hellllooooooooo (a la Jerry Seinfeld!) ;)
Caution: Angela is HYPER tonight. More so than normal. Read with caution!
1) HEMP SEEDS
Looking for a quick and healthy way to boost the protein in your cereal, oatmeal, pastas, or salads?
Try hulled hemp seed!
In 1 tablespoon, it has almost 6 grams of protein, 80 calories, and 5 grams of heart-healthy fats! I LOVE hemp and I have been adding it to my cereal lately for more satiety! It was a wonderful rich and nutty flavour.
It. Is. So. Good.
~~~~~~~
Green Monster Recipe:
Do you feel draggy in the mornings? Do you want to awake with a fresh peppermint zing? I know I sure do! This chocolate-y peppermint green monster is so delicious and minty, you will be hooked in no time. Feeling scandalous? Try adding a bit of Bailey’s for a delightful night cap.
‘Peppy’ Carob Green Monster
Ingredients:
- 3 cups steamed spinach (helps calcium absorption when you steam it)
- 3 cubes ice
- 1 cup almond milk (or your choice)
- 1/2 t pure peppermint extract (or 3-4 fresh mint leaves)
- 1.5-2 T carob powder (adjust to your taste)
- 1/2 banana
- 1 T chia seeds (or flax)
- Kyolic Garlic extract
WHOA BABY! My taste buds were throwing a Much Music video dance party in my mouth (remember those!?).
Don’t forget to check out Green Monster Movement. I now have 9 of my favourite recipes added to my recipe page! Please send me your green monster recipe + photo! I LOVE reading about new recipes. Not only will it be posted on the GMM website with a link to your blog (if applicable), but I may try yours out too and feature it on OSG!
2) CAROB POWDER
Some of you may be wondering, what exactly is carob powder, anyways?
You’ve probably noticed that I bake with it a lot too. And I am not sure I have ever talked about the wonderful nutritional benefits yet!
What is carob powder?
Carob is often used as a substitute for chocolate or cocoa powder in cakes, cookies, and candy. To substitute carob powder for cocoa, replace one part cocoa with one and one-half to two parts carob by weight. While carob powder doesn’t have as ‘chocolatey’ taste as chocolate does, it is much sweeter than cocoa so you don’t need to add sugar.
Remember when I made my homemade carob chips?
They turned out SO sweet and I didn’t even need to use sugar!! I liked these chips better than actual chocolate chips if you can believe it. You can even mix carob into milk or water for a hot chocolate or chocolate smoothie.
I made the chips for my raw carob cookies:
YUM! I want to make these again!
Carob is also naturally caffeine free so it is great for those avoiding it or giving it to children!
Health benefits:
- Improves digestion.
- Lowers cholesterol level in the blood. Carob seeds don’t have a cholesterol agent.
- It acts as an antioxidant.
- It can be used to treat diarrhea in children and adults.
- It contains an active substance that is effective against asthma. Carob is also used for asthma problems caused by allergies.
- It doesn’t contain caffeine. It works nicely for patients that have high blood pressure.
- It can help to prevent lung cancer, if used regularly.
- It contains vitamins E and is used for the treatment of cough, flu, anemia and osteoclasis.
- Carob tannins have Gallic acid. Gallic acid is analgesic, anti allergic and antibacterial. It is also antioxidant, antiviral and antiseptic.
- It is used for the treatment of polio in children, as the Gallic acid in carob tannins helps to prevent polio.
- It is rich in phosphor and calcium. For this reason, it is used in the fight against osteoporosis.
[Source]
I tablespoon has around 15 calories and 2 grams of fibre! A great addition to any Green Monster!
I picked mine up at Bulk Barn but I am sure you can find some in the organic section of your grocery store too!
3) CHIA SEEDS
My 20 pound bulk order of chia seeds arrived today!!!!
I got 20 pounds for around $9 CAD a pound! This is awesome considering Bulk Barn costs $20 a pound!!
Health benefits of chia seeds can be found in my previous post.
Uses for chia seeds:
- Add to Green Monsters…yippee!
- Add to cereal and yogurt
- Sprinkle over pasta or salads
- It is tasteless and doesn’t need to be grinded like flax
- Grind it up into a flour and Use in baking
- On Salads
- In your favorite smoothie recipe
- Cereals (hot or cold)
- Salad Dressings
- In Soups
- On Sandwiches or in wraps
- On Scrambled eggs
- In Ground meats – add to meatloaf before cooking
- Salsas
- Pastas
- Humus
- Rice
- Potatoes
- Grilled foods
- Stir Fry
Chia seeds are also excellent when included in baked goods, including breads, muffins, cookies, cakes, pies, macaroons, etc. Be creative: consider adding chia seeds for recipes that you might usually use flax, sesame, poppy, or hemp seeds. I plan to use chia seeds in most of my baked goods now!
Chia Gel Recipe
Put nine parts of water into a sealable plastic container. Slowly pour one part seed into the water and whisk to avoid any clumping. Wait a few minutes and whisk again. Let Chia Seeds stand for a about 10 more minutes, then stir again to break up any last clumps.
Store in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Add this gel to any of the foods mentioned above and mix well.
They company also sent me a free bag of chia flour (ground up chia seeds) to try out in baking too! I can’t wait!! He said you can substitute 25% of the flour for chia powder and make the recipe much more nutritional.
Here is the BEST PART:
Tonight’s question: Have you tried carob, hemp, or chia before? What do you use it in? I’d love to hear your ideas as I will be experimenting in my bakery!
OR: Have you recently tried a new health food that you are just crazy about and want to share it with the world? Leave a comment below!
i also love chia seeds and drink them in my green monster, i made oat bran muffins the other morning and added chia seeds in them! i also bake with carob powder too, i put it in my homemade granola bars and substitute it for chocolate chips a lot as well. Great post i loved reading about all the benefits!!!!
Carob and Hemp, when I was making a lot of raw food.
www.alovefornewrecipes.blogspot.com
I haven’t tried any of those plain, but I love love LOVE hemp milk! Sooooo delicious!
i’m definitely going to look for some carob powder! thanks!
I’ve seen those chia seeds all over the blogs lately! I’ll definitely be tracking some down :)
I love chia seeds in vanilla almond milk. I really like the gel texture though I thought I wouldn’t.
Angela, I also bought knee sleeves and wore them on my run today. Holy difference! No more pain, and less fatigue. So excited!
I’ve wanted to try carob chips for a while, but haven’t yet! I should soon!
Thanks for all of these great ideas! I am looking forward to trying all 3! I loved your ‘hyper’ post! I could feel your fun energy as I read it and I couldn’t help but smile! I heart your blog! :)
Chia seeds are everywhere in the blog world! I will hopefully be trying some soon. I haven’t tried hemp seeds or carob powder either! Dang, I could some new products to pick up at the grocery store next week :)
Girl are you sure you’re not drinking coffee again? You sound like you are about to fly right off the page…..busy bee :) I love carob powder in my baking, but HATE carob chips. Wierd? I usually use about 1/2 cocoa powder and 1/2 carob in my favorite chocolate cookie recipe. So good!
I recently tried Greek yogurt. The first time I had it, I didn’t really think it was that great, but now I’m obsessed. I also used to hate the full fat and 2% fat versions of Fage, but now I think they are the best…almost like ice cream! :)
I’m crazy about kombucha. it is amazing. also like niki, greek yogurt is fab! I can’t stop!
i haven’t tried any of the others you mentioned but i’d love to try them all.
-muffy
I’ve tried hemp seeds! – I put it in “burgers” (actually Dreena Burtons – Spicoli burgers which are amazing!!!)
I love carob and chia! When I do eat chia it is usally in Greens Plus Omega-3 Chia Bars. The link is below.
http://greensplus.com/index.php/cPath/84_21_86?osCsid=57bb809c6a5d1edf123000cc101a1fd4
The bars are at the bottom and both flavors taste great!
I haven’t tried any of those ingredients yet! I have a few recipes that use carob that I plan on trying soon. I haven’t been able to find chia or hemp anywhere around here yet.
Thanks for the info on carob! I see it being used around on different blogs & didn’t really know anything about it. Maybe I’ll have to give it a shot.
btw your reference to a Much Music video dance party made me laugh! My high school had one of those dances in grade 9… we thought it was soooo cool at the time!
Hi Angela, this may seem like a weird question, but do you have to wash chia seeds before using them, or are they good to go out of the bag? I have a small bag that I haven’t used yet. Thanks for the info!
I’ve sprinkled CHIA seeds over EVERYTHING from oatmeal, to yogurt, to salads, to pizza! They’re best when soaked in a liquid first then you can add them to anything! :)
I’ve never tried any of those things, and I appreciate your spotlighting them since I always make great discoveries in the food bloggy world!
You know, I’ve never tried any of these, but you sure are making me want to! I’m definitely going to look for these… especially the hemp seeds. Sounds so good! :)
xxoo
Heather
Thanks to seeing them on here, I have fallen in love with Mary’s Crackers and have been sharing them with my co-workers.
Ok Angela…this was one amazing post! So much great information.
I just love your bloggy ;)
I’m a huge carob and hemp fan but I haven’t tried chia seeds yet! Can’t wait for the code!
I love hemp and chia but have yet to try carob. I’ve been wondering about the nutritional benefits so thanks for this post. Can’t wait to try it.
i don’t know how you’re so happy and positive all the time, but it if fabulous! :)
hemp seeds have 6 grams of protein in a tablespoon!? how did i not know this? i also love carob, but my love for dark chocolate is deeper!
Angela! Hellllooooooooo!
Yes, I just started using chia seeds this week in my GMs and sprinkled on salads. They don’t taste like much of anything but I guess have a nutritional wallop.
Mmm… that GM sounds tasty! I’ll have to try it tomorrow morning!
I’m also LOVING hemp seeds at the moment. I love mine on salads and cereal. I’ve also had it in soup, which was awesome as well!
I’ve yet to try both the chia seeds and carob.
Hmm…I’m not really a big carob fan, but it is used in some of the natural treats I give my dogs (dogs can have carob! hooray!)
Hemp seeds: I love them! They taste nutty but are much easier for me to digest than most nuts.
Chia seeds: I LOVE chia seeds. I use them in my smoothies all the time. Talk about love for the digestive system:)
Also…I’m trying to perfect a chia pudding recipe. I’ll post it once I get it right!
I had no idea that carob was such a superfood! I must try those raw choc chip cookies!
I use chia daily and LOVE IT.
more so than even my beloved flax seeds.
and, alas, Ive returned to the carob as well since we had our daughter.
I do adore me some caffeine (I wont lie to you :)) but dont want her to ingest it yet…
Hi Angela,
I was just wondering if there’s a difference between white and black chia seeds, either nutrionally or in terms of taste. I keep hearing different things. And also, do you know anything about Salba?
Thanks :)
Francesca
P.S. This was my first post. I’ve been lurking for awhile now, but I do love reading your blog. I have to order some Glo Bars soon :)
Thank you for these explanations of ingredients! (as well as other explanations in other recipes!) Also thanks for the motivation to try carob! I love your recipes and fitness posts! Keep writing!
Hello,
Thanks for your energetic post. I am curious about this green monster. hehe…
Just wondering where you get carob powder and chips – I have been allergic to chocolate for so many years now, but cannot seem to find good quality ones. You mention they are naturally sweet, but the unsweetened ones I got from the healthfood store are actually quite bitter – they taste like chalky super dark chocolate.
Also, where did you find the source for those chia seeds? that is a great price!
All the best in your food quests!
V