Seasoning—Enhance Your Health with Seeds and Spices

Spices and seeds offer a multitude of health benefits, while enhancing the taste of your meal. One of my friends shared with me this delicious and easy-to-make seasoning that can be used in salads, soups, and vegetable dishes.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup hazelnuts
  • ½ cup sesame seeds
  • ½ cup flax seeds
  • 4 tablespoons coriander seeds
  • 4 tablespoons cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp Himalayan sea salt.
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes. Rub the nuts between a kitchen towel to remove some of the skins.

Coarsely grind the hazelnuts in a coffee grinder or a food processor. Place the ground up nuts in a large bowl.

Heat a large cast iron frying pan over medium heat. Add the sesame and flax seeds to the pan and stir them continuously for 3-4 minutes until the sesame seeds are golden brown. Place the seeds in the bowl with the ground hazelnuts.

Place the coriander seeds and cumin seeds in the heated frying pan and stir continuously for 3-4 minutes, or until the seeds begin to pop. Transfer the seeds to a coffee grinder and coarsely grind the seeds.  Add the seeds to the bowl with the other ingredients.

Add the salt and pepper and mix well.

Place the ingredients in a glass container and store in the refrigerator.  You can experiment with the seasoning by adding it to an assortment of dishes.

Enjoy!

Below are some photos to help you fall in love with your cooking ingredients.

Coriander Seeds

Coriander seeds come from the plant, Coriandrum sativum. The herb, cilantro, refers to the leaves of the plant. The flowers on the plant eventually turn into the coriander seeds.

The flowers on the plant will eventually transform into coriander seeds.

Close-up view of the Coriandrum sativum flowers

The leafy part of the plant is known as cilantro.

Coriander seeds.

 

Cumin Seeds

Cumin is an aromatic spice that originated in Egypt and has been used in cuisines worldwide for millennia. It was even mentioned in the Bible as seasoning for breads and soups. Many of us know about cumin because it is one of the main ingredients in curry powder and chili powder.

The flowers on the cumin plant will eventually transform into cumin seeds. Note the similarity of the cumin flowers with the cilantro flowers.

Cumin seeds.

 

Flax Seeds

Flax, Linum usitatissimum, is both a food and fiber crop. The textiles made from flax are known as linen and the oil is known as linseed. The seeds come in two varieties, brown and golden.

These are the lovely flowers that will produce your flax seeds.

Brown flax seeds

 

 Sesame Seeds

The sesame plant, Sesamum indicum, is cultivated in tropical regions throughout the world. Ihe plant was domesticated for culinary use over 3000 years ago. There are many different varieties. Sesame has one of the highest oil contents of any seed.

Flowering Sesamum plant

The Sesamum plant produces pods that contain the seeds.

Ground sesame seeds. Like all seeds, once they are ground, they need to be stored in an airtight container in the freezer because they go rancid quickly.

 

 Hazelnuts 

Hazelnuts, also known as filberts, are a sweet-flavored nut that can be enjoyed in baked recipes, as snacks and at meals. Hazelnuts add a nutty and rich flavor to baked desserts. They can also boost the nutritional profile of a salad. According to the Hazelnut Council, hazelnuts provide many health benefits and are a good inclusion in the daily diet.

Hazelnut tree

Hazelnut leaves bearing nuts

Here’s to your good health!

 

 


Comments

Seasoning—Enhance Your Health with Seeds and Spices — 14 Comments

  1. yum! gonna try this recipe. When I was raising my children we always had so many different home made condiments at the table- I got the title:condiment queen! Right now I have two versions of gomasio(toasted
    ground sesame seeds with Himalayan salt) one is with black seed added, and the other is with ground up wakame seaweed added…now there wil be a third:) And thank you for all the lovely photos of these seeds and their origins as a plant!

  2. Good idea and tasty ! I’ve been making seed and nut meal for quite a long time. You can use them in so many ways as you said. I particularly like sesame meal made into tahini on toast. Combining all these seeds and/ or nuts is a good and healthy practice. Thanks!

    • I had a feeling that you might already be doing something similar, given your interest in staying healthy! Warm hugs, Erica

  3. Very informative, very nutritious, very beautiful. Thank you so much. I plan to make, shake and take (to the dining room here at the Senior Community where I live).

    • That’s a great idea, Pat. You could increase the nutritional value of your meals simply by sprinkling this concoction on your food. With many blessings, Erica

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *