Sunflower seeds, the smell of their salty hulls on the floor of my dads old brown diesel truck mixed with stale coffee and browning bananas on the dashboard are such a nostalgic food for me. My husband tells me nobody talks or thinks about food as much as I do. I think part of that comes from having little memory strings attached to the way food makes us feel, where we were while eating certain foods, their aroma, and who we were with. I mean, come on, I still remember throwing up my spaghetti all over my sleeping bag and pillow on the floor of my brother and I’s bedroom when we were little-EVERY time I eat spaghetti, and the time my aunt wiped away a bit of spaghetti noodle from my cousins face as young toddler only to pull an entire noodle right out of her nostril-SORRY guys, but I had to, it was too funny-okay, I digress.
These nutritious little seeds are awesome in baked goods, trail mixes, granola, and on their own, with or without seasoning. My girls love tamari roasted sunflower seeds and nuts from the co-op though I refrain from purchasing them due to the cost (and yet I’d buy a pound of dark chocolate covered almonds from the bulk section for $8,479 anyway because a girls got priorities.) I thought I’d give it a go as I often roast seeds to toss into our cold salads for that yummy, nutty crunch. With a dash of sea salt, a bit of coconut oil and tamari sauce, you’ve got yourself a recipe for success. I found an even better taste using coconut amino instead of tamari while giving it that familiar tamari-like taste.
The other day I found the last few pinches of a trail mix Sunny made in a bowl on the kitchen table. It was hard not to devour the remaining bits of raisins, roasted salty pumpkin seeds, these tamari sunflower seeds and Enjoy Life chocolate chips, it was sooo good.
It occurred to me as we end the school year that these, along with the cinnamon crispy nuts, would make great mini teacher thank you gifts in cute little bags or jars. As a sidenote, I love jars, and also love when I don’t have to go searching for little jars to gift things in because we use small Mason jars as drinking glasses (nothing but straight up class around here!)—just add your goodie, tie with a cute bow and you’re all set!
Tamari Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Ingredients
- 1 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds, works great for these as well!
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- I pour the seeds into a skillet, stirring with a wooden spoon the whole time, for just a few minutes until the seeds begin to "pop". It'll take you back to the "snap-crackle-pop" of your Rice Krispies days.
- When I hear this and also begin to smell the seeds roasting, I continue to stir for a few more minutes as they begin to turn a bit golden. You've got to watch carefully so as not to burn them!
- Turn off the heat when they are roasted to your preference, add a pinch of salt-stir-then stir in the coconut aminos.
- The coconut amino makes them a bit sticky, so once all the seeds are coated I pour them onto a plate to cool, then into a jar for keeping.
- My recent favorite way to serve this is sprinkled on a salad with roasted chicken, avocado, dairy free ranch, and grape tomatoes on a bed of mixed spring greens.
