.png)
Tahini is having its moment in the spotlight and I’m all about it! Tahini is the nutty spread made from ground sesame seeds.
An Everyday "Superfood"
Sesame seeds are powerful little packets of nutrition, full of calcium, iron, b vitamins, copper, zinc, phosphorous, protein, fat, and fiber.
Many of these vitamins and minerals are also found in animal products, so it's a good idea to include sesame seeds in your diet if you're trying to move towards the plant-based end of the spectrum.
Beautifying Seeds
Specifically, sesame seeds are monounsaturated fats (MUFA's), which we want more of! This type of fat does amazing things for our hearts, our skin, our hair, and every cell membrane of the body.
Sesame seeds contain high levels of zinc which is necessary for collagen production. Collagen is an important part of skin, hair, and muscle growth.
Full-Body Protection
MUFA's have long been known to protect against heart disease, and the abundance of magnesium in sesame seeds helps relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure. [1]
Sesame seeds also contain powerful antioxidants that have been linked to protection against an array of cancers, heart disease, brain decline, and body-wide inflammation. [2, 3, 4]
This dressing is quick to whip up and makes a perfect sauce to make cooked veggies more fun. I’ve been topping all of my Buddha Bowls/Power Bowls with this lately.
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup tahini
1/3 cup filtered water
1 garlic clove, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
DIRECTIONS:
Mix in the blender or whisk by hand.
I think adding some grated ginger or maybe swapping the lemon for a lime would be exciting too! What’s your go-to topping lately??
Sources:
1. Cooney, R. V., Custer, L. J., Okinaka, L., & Franke, A. A. (2001). Effects of Dietary Sesame Seeds on Plasma Tocopherol Levels. Nutrition and Cancer, 39(1), 66-71. doi:10.1207/s15327914nc391_9
2. Suja, K. P., Jayalekshmy, A., & Arumughan, C. (2004). Free Radical Scavenging Behavior of Antioxidant Compounds of Sesame (Sesamum indicumL.) in DPPH•System. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 52(4), 912-915. doi:10.1021/jf0303621
3. Shahidi, F., Liyana-Pathirana, C. M., & Wall, D. S. (2006). Antioxidant activity of white and black sesame seeds and their hull fractions. Food Chemistry, 99(3), 478-483. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2005.08.009
4. Ahmad, S., Yousuf, S., Ishrat, T., Khan, M. B., Bhatia, K., Fazli, I. S., . . . Islam, F. (2006). Effect of dietary sesame oil as antioxidant on brain hippocampus of rat in focal cerebral ischemia. Life Sciences, 79(20), 1921-1928. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2006.06.017