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Get your Tahini On! Plus, 4 Sweet Recipes to try out this Nutritious Power Paste

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There’s so much to choose from when it comes to healthy foods. The wide selection of fresh fruits and vegetables readily available and the method of obtaining them has never been easier. We can order our groceries online and get them in two hours or walk down to the farmers market and pick out the best-of-the-best for our dinner tables. Well, with so much to choose from, when is the last time you looked in your cabinet for some Tahini?

Tah…what? That’s right, Tahini! This simple paste made up of ground sesame seeds is a nutrient-dense superfood. There is so much that is good about Tahini we don’t know where to begin. But, for starters, did you know that in Tahini contains more protein than milk and most nuts? That can really pack a punch into your pre- or post-workout hunger pangs.

Protein aside, Tahini is a rich source of vitamin B, keeping our bodies energized through the day and our brain functioning to cope with all that life demands.  Our hearts benefit from this superfood because it’s loaded with heart-protecting vitamin E and two types of anti-inflammatory polyunsaturated fats.

Tahini contains no sugars, preservatives or chemicals! What’s keeping us from eating it all right out of the jar? Calories! Tahini is a calorie-dense food packing 100 calories a tablespoon (which is equivalent to the calories in butter) so care should be taken when incorporating it into our diet. Thankfully, with Autumn upon us and the craving for heavier, more luscious foods, we have four sweet recipes to try out this simple but powerfully nutritious paste.

1.  Liquid Gold Tahini Hot Chocolate

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Sarah over at BromaBakery.com describes this hot chocolate as liquid gold!  What does the tahini add to this hot chocolate recipe? An exquisite nutty flavor and rich texture!  Photo: https://bromabakery.com

2.  Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

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 Tahini is the perfect addition for savory and sweet baking like these salted chocolate chip cookies!. TheSpruceEats.com uses it to replace molasses and provides a chewy texture and a hint of nutty sesame seed taste.  Photo:  TheSpruceEats.com

3.  Tahini Cookies

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A grown-up peanut butter cookie with a creamy, earthy flavor.  The recipe comes from Mamaleh’s in Cambridge, MA, one of Bon Appetite’s Top 50 Best New Restaurants in America 2017.  Photo:  BonAppetit.com

4.  Tahini Cake Donuts with Pomegranate Glaze

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Decadent donuts made with smoothing tahini into the cake batter and decorated with hibiscus flower glaze and pomegranate.  YUM!  Photo: TwiggStudios.com

So, whether you try all four or just one of these sweet Tahini recipes, keep smiling. See you in the next blog!

Deb Fries is a freelance designer and writer and has worked with Julianna Rae in graphics and customer service, she now writes lifestyle pieces for the blog at Juliannarae.com/blog