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How do you get plenty of protein when you’re a vegetarian? This is one of the biggest challenges when you decide to adopt a plant based lifestyle. Now that I have an almost 9 year old who has chosen to shun meat products, it’s been my mission to make sure he gets as much protein in his diet as possible. He eats plenty of beans and rice, tofu, seeds, nuts, cheese and dairy, but Hemp Hearts have become one of his new favorites.
Hubby and I have been using hemp seeds in our smoothies for years for added taste and nutrition, but until Kenya became a vegetarian I hadn’t realized just how important they were for him as well. We have been buying Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts for years, so working with them on this post was especially fun coming up with new ways to use them in our kitchen.
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With 10 grams of plant based protein and omegas in every serving they’re a great way to get necessary protein into a vegetarian lifestyle with less carbs than flax or chia seeds per serving. The best part is that Hemp Hearts are tiny, so you can sprinkle them on salads, Oatmeal in the Crockpot, in smoothies, parfaits, roasted vegetables even on top of sandwiches to add a nutty flavor (resembling the taste of sunflower seeds or pine nuts) to tons of foods.
Kenya’s new favorite is this Persimmon Kiwi Parfait I posted on Instagram, my husband is truly obsessed with this Chocolate Almond Butter Smoothie and Chloe who eats almost anything asked for this Kale and Avocado Salad for dinner and then to be added to her school lunch the next day.
Keep a bag of Hemp Hearts at arms length to add them to your favorite recipes. You’ll be getting a ton of nutrition and great taste in every bite!
I have never tried these and would love to add them into our diet…you sold me!
I am a vegetarian and our family goes meatless multiple times a week. Hemp seeds would be a great addition to our salads, pasta, yogurt, oatmeal and so many more dishes!
My daughter is not a big meat eater so I love learning about products like this!
Love Hemp Hearts! I use them in my shakes!
I haven’t tried hemp. I struggle with healthy snacks – I’d like to try in granola bars and muffins.
So versatile! I’d love to try them out.
I love smoothies and am always looking for ways to take their nutritional value up a notch so I’d love to incorporate hemp hearts into my smoothie varieties!
Granola bars or in muffins.
We love hemp hearts! Smoothies, salads, soups, granola bars!
Our daughter gets migraines and needs an early morning protein boost to help stave them off. I’ve been experimenting with hemp hearts for this purpose!
We’ve been struggling with morning protein, I’d love to add hemp seeds to oatmeal or rice porridge. Somehow I associated hemp seeds with salads and didn’t even think of adding it to cereal or smoothies. It would look extra lovely on green smoothies 🙂
Love them with yogurt, oatmeal or anything grainy, but hadn’t thought to try them with veggies, other than avocado (so good)… will have to try!
My family likes hemp hearts to sprinkle on pancakes, yoghurt or just off
the spoon!
I use them all the time in smoothies but never thought to sprinkle them on roast veggies. I can’t wait to try that! Roast veggies are my favorite.
We love hemp seeds in our smoothies and I add 2 T to 1/4 cup to my homemade nut milks too. So as not to waste the nut/hemp pulp; mix equal parts nut/hemp pulp with organic, melted dark chocolate and mix well. Roll into small balls and refrigerate. Makes a healthy, simple dessert chocolate or mid-day energy booster! (keeps for a week in the refrigerator)
Yes! My son also barely eats meats. I add hemp seed to his yogurt along with fresh fruit, and sometimes granola and/or flaxseed. We call it “The Special”.