What are lotus seeds & are they good for your health?
I always love to use fresh produce in my cooking everyday & enjoy making a healthy plant-based lunch for my staff! Today was a particularly delicious lunch (I got the thumbs up from everyone), so I thought I would share it here with you all!
Today we had:
- Brown rice & lotus root seed topped with Umeboshi and sesame (You can check out how fabulous Umeboshi is from the blogpost HERE).
- Stir fried kale, onion, quorn pieces (plant-based protein), mushrooms & carrot
- Cucumber with carrot and #miso dressing
Today, I was gifted lotus seeds from one of my Vietnamese staff members. Her mum wanted to give me something healthy from Vietnam, so dried lotus seeds was her answer & I was delighted to have them!
In Japan, we use only the lotus root (renkon), however in Vietnam, they not only eat the root but also the seeds (both raw and dried), as well as the centre part of the seeds!
When I was in Vietnam, I saw people were selling lotus pods where you get fresh lotus seeds & I was wondering what they were! Well, now I know…
After doing more research, I’ve since found that they are very sacred foods indeed! How interesting!
Lotus seeds also have MANY health benefits. Not only are they a fabulous source of protein, but also contain anti-ageing enzymes and are low in sodium!
Studies have also shown that lotus seeds have the ability to help with:
- insomnia,
- stomach health problems (Such as diarrhea and indigestion),
- blood pressure regulation,
- reducing inflammation,
- acting as an energy source,
- and many many more benefits that you can read about HERE.
I’ve had lotus in Chinese soup before and congee, however I didn’t feel like having soup or congee today since it is still hot – so I decided to cook them with brown rice instead! (which you can see pictured above).
I soaked them for a few hours with hot water, then cooked them with brown rice using a pressure cooker.
The rice with lotus seeds reminded me of the chestnuts we eat during Autumn in Japan!
Thank you to Minh for sharing the lotus seeds! What a delicious way to eat them & incorporate them into our healthy lunch!
I hope I’ve inspired you to use lotus seeds in your cooking as well! So yummy, delicious & of course, nutritious!
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