A few weeks ago our house got hit with the first round of cold/flu season. We all tend to eat smoothies on a daily basis but a busy schedule resulted in us missing a few days of smoothies. With little man in daycare, my husband teaching & me working in an office full time we are exposed to a lot of germs all day long. Normally we’re good about keeping up with our Vitamin C, but as the sickness filled time of the year approaches we are trying to be even more careful.
Our smoothies vary each week and honestly depends on what is on sale at the grocery store. We love pretty much any type of fruit blended into our smoothies, but one of our favorites for sure is anything with blueberries. Little man would eat them frozen out of a bag all day long if I let him. This past week was the perfect timing for them to be on sale, we were all in need of a big vitamin C boost.
About a day before the sickness took over our house, a sample pack of Hemp Hearts showed up on our doorstep. I decided the perfect way to try them out was make my favorite Vitamin C packed smoothie & swap Hemp Hearts in place of the chia seeds and almonds I normally added into our smoothies.
What Are Hemp Hearts?
Hemp Hearts are a super seed that are great tasting and have a slightly nutty taste, similar to a sunflower seed or pine nut. They can be mixed into any type of food such as oatmeal, smoothies, cereal, yogurt or muffins.
The best part about Hemp Hearts is that they are filled with protein and omegas but have less carbs that chia seeds or flax seeds. In one 30 gram serving, Hemp Hearts 10 grams of plant-based protein and 10 grams of Omegas.
Hemp Hearts are safe for kids and adults.
You can order Hemp Hearts from the Amazon in all different sized packages. Their prices are affordable yet comparable (if not cheaper) to a bag of chia seeds or flax seeds.
How Did They Taste?
Adding hemp seeds into our smoothies was something new for me and I really liked the change of taste. They took care of the nutty flavor that we normally get from almonds (yet brought less calories) and added in a lot of the nutrients we normally get from our chia seeds. It was a win/win situation!
They did add a little bit of a crunch to the smoothies that took me a few minutes to get used to. I don’t mind texture in my smoothies so it wasn’t a huge deal to me. At the same time they reduced the need for two ingredients that had textures of their own that I didn’t always care for, especially the almonds.
Little man did become restricted on which toddler smoothie cups worked for him as some of his cups were too small to let the seeds through. Again, it wasn’t a big deal we just made sure to pick the cups with the bigger straws each morning.
By having one less ingredient we saved time but it also saves a lot of calories when I added them up at the end of the day. It was kind of nice to have room for an extra small snack.
As an added bonus, it was also a whole lot less messy when a toddler was trying to help pour it into a cup. If he missed, it just landed in a pile instead of rolling all over the counter like chia seeds do. I love that he helps me with our morning smoothies, but I am ALWAYS glad to find a slightly less messy way to make them.
Our favorite Vitamin C Packed Smoothie is filled with berries and now we make sure to include our daily round of Hemp Hearts.
You can learn more about Hemp Hearts at: manitobaharvest.com, @ManitobaHarvest on Twitter or @ManitobaHarvest on Instagram.
As part of the Fit Approach and Sweat Pink Ambassador program I am giving away one package of Hemp Hearts to a lucky blog reader! Entries are open until 12am EST on October 30th, don’t miss out!
What are your favorite Vitamin C Packed smoothie ingredients?
Have you ever tried Hemp seeds in your smoothie before?
Disclaimer: I was provided a sample package of Hemp Hearts as part of the Fit Approach campaign in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
This smoothie sounds awesome and I LOVE hemp hearts! They are one of my favorite protein-packed seeds to throw on my breakfast everyday. Thank you for offering this giveaway!
Alexandra @ Made to Glow recently posted…Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars (Grain-free, Dairy-free)
The smoothie is great and I loved the addition of the Hemp Hearts! Definitely ordering another pack soon!
Hemp hearts are delicious! i always make sure to put them on top of my smoothie bowl. i love their strange little nutty flavor and how they have so much protein!
Beverley @ sweaty&fit recently posted…Weekly Wrap Up – Goodbye Winston, Hello Bali!
The nut flavor is what sucked me in too. I usually am all about the almonds in a smoothie but I hate the texture they tend to leave. This is a great substitute!
I’ve never tried hemp hearts in my smoothies, but I usually throw some chia seeds in there. I drink a smoothie almost every morning so I’ll have to give this a try!
Kellen recently posted…20 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Marathon
I would highly recommend it! It added such a different flavor but it was great!
I love green smoothies! Any kind… just load it up with allll that green goodness! I love adding in hemp hearts to my smoothies 🙂
Liz recently posted…How I’m Getting Organized & Ready for the Holidays
Ohh Green smoothies are the best! I love being able to convince little man to drink them and get a dose of spinach in him!
I have never heard of hemp hearts. I’ll have to look for those. Great recipe. 🙂
Keelie Reason recently posted…DIY Couples Bedroom Game With Free Printables
I’ve never heard of Hemp Hearts, but they sound very interesting and the smoothie looks great.
–Melissa
http://Www.melissamchee.com
I was skeptical at first but they turned out to be awesome!
I wish I could get up in the morning and be productive. I want to make smoothies in the morning but I don’t want to wake everyone up, plus some days I barely wake up in time to get showered and head out the door. I think I’ll have to find these seeds, I love sunflower seeds, so why not.
Leslie recently posted…Silent Sunday (10/24)
Haha I understand! If it weren’t for this being our breakfast I wouldn’t be as motivated either. It is a nice quick way to get everyone fed and out the door quickly!
I absolutely love hemp hearts! This smoothie looks delish!
Julie Lichtman recently posted…Healthy Halloween Cocktails
They are awesome!
I have never heard of these. We love smoothies and are always looking for ways to stay healthy. Would love to try them!
They are great in a lot of things but my favorite has been smoothies!
smoothies are a must in our home!!!
I’ve been on the hunt for smoothie recipes! This one sounds so good. I love sweeter smoothies so I will be trying this!
lizacaroline.com
This is definitely a lot sweeter! The yogurt gives it a good boost!
Sounds delicious! I’ve only used hemp hearts sprinkled on yoghurt.
I’ve found its great in smoothies & oatmeal too!