You consider yourself a cooking and food enthusiast – always looking for rare ingredients and unique recipes.
Well, have you considered cooking with hemp?
Before you ask, no – cooking with hemp will not get you high. But it has several nutritional properties and a surprisingly delicious flavor profile.
But before you start mixing hemp with other ingredients like a mad scientist, read these tips first.
Hemp vs Marijuana
As mentioned above, consuming hemp will not get you high. Hemp does not contain THC which is the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. If you are wanting to experience the highs you get from THC, choosing to administer delta 8 tinctures is a way to do this.
The two plants may be a part of the same species but they are different from one another.
While you can also cook with marijuana products, we are going to focus on hemp only.
1. Use Hemp Hearts
When cooking with hemp you are typically using hemp hearts which is found inside tiny, hard seeds of the hemp plant.
The hemp hearts are a light-colored kernel found inside of the hemp plant seeds. The hemp heart is where all the nutritional value can be found. You can boost your daily nutrition with protein, fiber, magnesium, and omega-3s from hemp hearts.
When using hemp seeds make sure you are using the inner hemp hearts for best results.
2. Keep It Simple – Make a Smoothie
For health nuts, fitness lovers, and lazy lunch makers a hemp smoothie gives you all the health benefits of hemp disguised as a delicious fruit smoothie.
You can add hemp hearts directly to the blender with a mix of fruit, nut butter, protein powder, milk – whatever you like.
Hemp has a nutty natural flavor to it but by adding just a teaspoon to a smoothie you may not detect it.
If you’re new to smoothie mixology, start with a cup of mixed berries, half a cup of almond or coconut milk, a frozen banana, a cup of ice, and a teaspoon of hemp hearts. Taste and adjust as needed.
3. Bakery-Quality Treats
If you’re looking for a new twist on your favorite baked goods, try adding hemp seeds. They make an excellent addition to muffins, cookies, breads, and brownies.
If you have a recipe that calls for some kind of chopped nuts like walnuts, pine nuts, or almonds you can use hemp seed instead. It will replace the crunchy texture of a nut and provide the same nutty taste.
Hemp seeds lend themselves well to sweet desserts but can also be used in savory baking like quiche.
4. Make Hemp Milk
You’ve heard of oat milk and soy milk, but what about hemp milk?
You can make your own hemp milk with hemp seeds, water, and a blender – that’s it! Some people find that the milk isn’t sweet enough, so you can also blend in a natural sweetener of your choice.
Vanilla extract, dates, or honey can be used to add a little sweetness to the milk. You can also try adding cocoa powder for a version of chocolate hemp milk!
Once you have the milk you can use it for everything from a splash in your coffee to the dairy in an alfredo sauce.
If you find that your hemp milk is too thick for your liking you can always blend with more water until you get the desired consistency.
5. Try Hemp Seed Oil
You can try to make your own hemp seed oil at home but it requires special equipment and it takes time and energy. Instead, you can find hemp seed oil in most health food stores.
Hemp seed oil is different from hemp oil because it is extracted from the seed, not the plant and leaves. Hemp seed oil has no THC but hemp oil has THC and CBD.
When cooking with hemp seed oil use it in its raw form. Do not try to use it in place of cooking oil because it’s sensitive to high temperatures. You can use hemp oil as part of a salad dressing, a sauce, or as a finishing oil over your best pasta dish.
6. Use Hemp Seed to Add Protein
If you sometimes find yourself sleepy in the afternoon or desperate for a snack before dinner it could be because you aren’t getting enough protein.
Protein will help you stay fuller longer and is a more sustainable form of energy for your body.
Hemp seeds have more protein per gram than chicken, almonds, or eggs! So by adding hemp seeds to your breakfast or lunch you can prevent that afternoon hunger. Try adding hemp seeds to a salad, soup, or sandwich and notice how your energy levels are more consistent throughout the day.
If you are someone that struggles to get the recommended amount of protein in your diet, hemp seed is an easy and low-calorie way to get more protein.
7. Spread a Little Hemp Seed Butter On It
That’s right – you can use hemp seeds to make a creamy, rich, spreadable butter. Combine with oil and salt in a food processor and in seconds you’ll have hemp seed butter!
You can also add hemp seeds when making other nut butter like almond butter or peanut butter. The added hemp seeds will provide a nutritional boost without disrupting the texture or taste.
Where To Find Hemp Seeds
Now that you have plenty of options for recipes using hemp, let’s talk about where to get it.
You can usually find hemp seed and hemp seed oil at health stores and other places that sell natural ingredients. You can also buy hemp flower online.
Cooking With Hemp Will Change Your Life
Okay, maybe cooking with hemp seeds will not change your life, but it will definitely be a positive addition to culinary skills.
Get creative with how you use your hemp seeds and test different recipes with your friends and family.
If you want more culinary advice, take a look at some of our other content to learn more.
