The Super Food of Super Foods (and it grows right here in Australia)

I can't stop raving about hemp seeds and I only discovered them a couple of years ago. A big bag accompanies me on any retreat I cater for and I am known to take them with me when I go away. In my eyes hemp seeds are really the super food of super foods as they are a complete protein. Along with soy beans and bea pollen they are the only complete protein in a plant based diet. In simple terms eating hemp seeds is like eating a piece of steak. Hemp seeds contain all nine essential amino acids which classifies it as a complete protein. For someone on a vegetarian diet and new to combining proteins all you have to do to ensure you have the right protein in your meal is sprinkle on a few spoons of hemp seeds. Just three tablespoons of hemp seeds is enough protein for one meal for an adult.

Hemp seeds are a wonderful source of omega 3 and 6 so you can say good bye to antibiotic ridden salmon and get yourself a bag of hemp seeds from the health food shop and you will be on your way to helping prevent heart disease and cancer. Hemp seeds have also been known to help with depression and help increase your metabolism.

If you have dry skin rubbing on hemp oil can also rehydrate your skin.

The other massive shout of hooray for hemp seeds is that they are a super food that doesn't need to be flown half way around the world to make it to your plate. They grow exceptionally well in most countries including Australia.

When I serve hemp in smoothies or on salads at retreats there will be the odd comment of 'oh I hope they wont make me high' or even 'woo hoo didn't know I was going to get high on this retreat (ha ha). Naturally they will make you happy as they taste so lovely, lighten up a salad and make your smoothie feel lovely and filling but other than that there is no intoxicating effect from eating hemp seeds as they don't contain THC (the active ingredient that induces a high).

I sprinkle them on steamed veg, salads and always put them in my smoothies. The two recipes below are worth trying as soon as possible because once you start eating hemp seeds you will wonder why you hadn't before. Grab yourself a packet today. The tahini and hemp seed oil dressing is wonderful as it is a complete protein and tahini is full of iron. The dressing is a brilliant accompaniment to the quinoa salads in my new cook book as well as going wonderfully with many of the vegetable dishes . If you haven't got the Veet's Cuisine cook book you can buy directly from Veet online.

Immune boosting smoothie with hemp seeds

enough for one

1/2 banana

some fleshy fruit- i used some papaya but you can use fijoa (for southern state people) or pineapple or rockmelon

1/2 tsp grated fresh tumeric

1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 apple

1 tsp spirulina

1 leaf of kale

Blend all of those ingredients in a blender and then place in a glass and top with 2 tsp of hemp seeds.