Creamy Hemp Dressing

Hemp hearts are an amazing source of healthy fats and high in plant-based protein.

 

This dressing is easy, delicious and can be used in so many variations!

The key ingredient that makes it so creamy and delicious is the hemp hearts. Hemp hearts are a source of wonderful plant-based protein. Three tablespoons contains approximately 11 grams of protein! For some context if you’re new to understanding protein content, a 3oz serving of beef has about 22g of protein. So, 6 tablespoons of hemp hearts has roughly the same amount of protein as 3oz of beef (pretty impressive if I do say so myself).

Hemp is also an amazing source of omega fatty acids. You may have heard of Omega 3’s and Omega 6, maybe even omega 9, but there are actually a number of different omegas (all based on the chemical structure of a fatty acid chain). Without getting into too much detail, our bodies primarily utilize/require fatty acids for things like hormone production, maintaining brain health, cell formation, and so much more (see kids, not all fat is bad! In fact, it’s essential). Speaking of essential, the body cannot produce all of the fatty acids on its own. This is why you hear about omega 3 and omega 6 so much, because the body cannot produce them independently, these are called essential fatty acids (EFA’s for short).

Now that you have a bit of background knowledge, you may be starting to piece together why this recipe is so great. Thats right, you’re getting both healthy fat AND protein in a salad dressing with heaps of flavour! Food is so neat.

I hope you enjoy this dressing as much as I do!

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 cloves garlic (peeled)

  • 1 lemon, juiced

  • 3/4 cup hemp hearts (I love Manitoba Harvest)

  • 1/2 bunch of fresh parsley or cilantro

  • 1/2 cup olive oil

  • 1/4 cup water (more if you want your dressing to be thinner)

  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Toss all of your ingredients in a high-speed blender (I typically use my vitamix, but as you may notice from the pictures, a magic bullet works quite well). Blend until smooth, taste test, and enjoy on a fresh salad or as a dressing in wraps, a dip for veggies, the possibilities are endless!

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Jess