A lot of the recipes and meal plans that I share with people are filled with ingredients like hemp hearts, chia seeds, ground flax, almond meal, raw cashews, medjool dates and coconut oil.
People take them, eager to get started, and then there is usually a moment where I watch them reading the material and I can see a subtle shift in energy happens – a barely perceptible wrinkle appears on their forehead.
They’re thinking, “Where the hell do I buy half this stuff?” And that thought is immediately followed by, “I can’t ask her where to buy this stuff. I’ll look like an idiot. I’ll pretend that I know where to buy it just smile until she goes away.”
Well, you’re not an idiot, and everyone else is thinking the same thing.
So here is a quick list of where to buy all of those things:
Hemp Hearts/Hemp Seeds
Do not buy hemp hearts (the shelled inside of the hemp seed) at the health food store unless you hate your money. I buy them either in bulk at Bulk Barn or in big bags at Costco. Make sure they’re raw and not roasted. The brand they carry at Costco is called Manitoba Harvest and it’s excellent.
Chia Seeds
Again, do not buy your chia seeds at the health food. Like the hemp hearts, I buy my chia seeds at either Bulk Barn or in big bags at Costco.
Ground Flax
There are two ways to get ground flax:
The first is to go out and buy a bag of ground flax. Many grocery stores sell flax now in their breakfast or “health foody” section, you can probably get it at a bulk store like Bulk Barn too, or any health store will sell it.
The second, and this is what I prefer, is to buy whole flax seeds and grind them yourself at home with either a coffee grinder, spice grinder or high-speed blender as you need them for recipes. I like this method because whole flax seeds are generally cheaper than ground flax because they require less processing, and also because the delicate heart-healthy oils in the flax seeds stay fresher in the whole seeds and are more likely to survive and make it into your recipe if you wait to grind them until it’s time to use them.
Almond Meal (almond flour)
Almond meal is just ground up almonds. I use it a lot in my gluten-free baking. It’s very nutrient-dense and it brings a lovely buttery flavour to the party which is lovely for cookies and muffins. Makes a mean pizza crust too.
But, as you know, almonds are expensive so ground up almonds ain’t cheap either. I buy my almond meal in bulk at Bulk Barn, but I also look for sales at my local grocery store and when it goes on sale I buy 1-2 bags and store it in the fridge where it keeps for months.
Raw Cashews (or any raw nuts or seeds)
I recommend a lot of raw nuts and seeds for people for snacking, baking, sprinkling on salads, soaking, sprouting, whatever makes you happy. I buy ALL my nuts and seeds in bulk at Bulk Barn. The key thing here is RAW. I know that roasted, salted cashews are delicious, but comparing a roasted, salted cashew to a raw cashew is like comparing Doritos to kale chips. Not the same thing!
Medjool Dates
I use dates to sweeten lots of stuff. I put one in my smoothie every morning, I chop them up and put them in my granola (recipe coming soon), I put them in cookies and muffins too. They add a lot of sweetness but also offer fiber and other micronutrients so they’re a better choice than sugar. I buy my dates – surprise, surprise – in bulk at Bulk Barn. Now, there are lots of different kinds of dates out there (this is a nice post that breaks down the different kinds and what each are best for) but I like Medjool because they’re big and soft and chewy. But you can totally use whichever kind you like and is easiest for you to find.
Coconut Oil
Everyone is in love with coconut oil these days.
Except for all the people who say it’s going to kill you.
It is a saturated fat so I think it really depends who you are and what your current health is like. For some people, coconut oil is great and they can slather it on toast and drink it in their coffee, others need to take it easy.
That being said, I love the stuff for cooking and baking and moisturizing and taking eye make-up off (seriously, try it out). I usually get mine in big tubs at Costco but I don’t believe that Costco’s product is the greatest quality.
If you’re looking for a higher quality product and are okay with paying a more, Alpha makes a good product that might be worth the extra cash. Maison Orphee also makes a very good brand which is a little cheaper – and they’re Canadian!
Wherever you decided to buy it, remember that not all coconut oils are the same. For the healthiest product, look for a coconut oil that has a few key words on the label: virgin and organic.
So there you go. Now when you read my recipes or ask me what to snack on, you’ll know where in the world one buys raw cashews.
Where do you buy the good stuff?
