Whatcha been smokin', Jill?

Hemp!

(Hemp Seed can be bought at Whole Foods, Central Market, and many other natural food stores.  The picture above is the exact brand hemp seed I bought at CentralMarket)

Protein, protein, protein...it's Ms. Jill's favorite word!  Jill is one of my e-friends I met at Runner's World's online community "The Loop."  As you can imagine, runners love their protein, and it's going to be hard to convince one they don't need as much as traditionally believed.  Who knows, maybe I'm wrong, or maybe they're wrong?  All that matters is...if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!  Well, you know, take that with a grain of salt in regards to some ideas ;-)  On my run this morning, I noticed my legs muscles were weak.  I started thinking about protein, and if my lack of having as much protein in my diet as of recently was the explanation for this.  Honestly, I don't think it is; I think it's a result of "taking it easiER" the past two weeks by only running flat ground and for short distance due to a hip flexor strain.  My hip flexor is better, so I'm incorporating hills back in my running.  Obviously, my legs muscles atrophied a tad from the lack of hill strength training, so they're feeling a little weak.  Who knows, maybe it's the diet, and maybe it's not.  As of right now, I'm adhering to this perspective on "protein" here .

The point being...lately when I think of the role protein plays in my diet as an active person, I immediately think of Jill since she's been following both my new running and new raw food lives.  Jill hearts protein!  She's been such a sport about about trying out the green smoothies, but noted she's been putting protein powders in them.  So, after my run this morning, I decided to make a post-run "raw" vegan hemp protein shake with Jill in mind.

Hemp seed/nut is an amazing little food.  It is one of the few plant complete proteins, and is dang tasty, too!  What about soy?  Well, soy has a bad reputation for possibly causing thyroid problems, breast cancer, early dementia, and for being a high mucus producer.  As always, you will find a flip side to most every argument, so until they decide hemp's going to kill us, too, I'm gonna to eat it.  Unfortunately, hemp can not be legally grown in the US, but can be imported from certain countries like Cananda.  Now, I'm not sure about this, but I think imported hemp seed must be "treated" before entering the U.S....even though some raw food sites state they have "raw" hemp seed, or "raw" hemp powder, I'm not sure how accurate that affirmation is.  I'll do some more researching on that.  Anyway, here's a tasty post-workout EASY vegan (maybe could be raw?) hemp protein shake just for you, Jill!

 Chocolate Hemp Shake

• 2 Tbs. shelled hemp seed (11g protein, Jill!)
• 1 tsp. dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut (optional, but good)
• 1 cup cold water
• 4 dried dates (you can use Agave, honey, or whatever sweetener you have on hand)
  
• dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 tsp. cocoa powder (raw cacao powder, if you have it)

Procedure:  Throw it all in the blender, and go for it!  Blend on slow, working your way up to the highest setting, and blend for about a minute until all hemp seed and dates are totally combined, creamy, and like milk (fyi, blending hemp seed with water is how you make hemp milk).  At this point, you could add a banana, if you like.  If choosing to add the coconut, you will need to blend on high for little bit longer so those shreds become no more.  Hemp seeds will blend completely with no need for straining, as they are very small and soft.  If you'd like, you could use a little less water, and throw a few ice cubes in the mix.  You can also soak your dates before hand for easier blending, as well).

Hemp is very nutty tasting.  It's also great sprinkled on salads, cereals, and sauteed veggies.  Enjoy! 

There ya go, Jill!  11 grams of complete protein all in a small 1 cup serving.