Another New Year comes, and we find ourselves once again making goals, resolutions and promises to ourselves and others. For many people, making healthy food choices is always top of the resolution list, as the over-indulgence of the holidays inevitably ends up expanding the waistline.

New diets for the New Year also can re-shape our relationship with food. When it comes to edibles, people tend to first think of brownies, cookies and other sugar-laden products. And if you swore an oath to take on a plant-based diet or low sugar diet, then how are edibles going to fit into your new lifestyle choice? Edibles do not have to be merely consumed through sugary vessels to be enjoyable, as there are a wide range of savory recipes that will keep your diet on track. Learning to pair the terpene and flavonoid profiles of strains to the savory food items you have will ultimately make your edible experience more enjoyable. Think of each strain as a unique spice with specific flavor profiles that also brings a specific medicinal outcome.

Some of my favorite healthy edibles recipes include sautéed summer veggies made with the Island Sweet Skunk strain, Yugoslavian finger squash baked with some Mr. Nice canna-butter, and a gluten-free CBD cookie made with refined sugar substitutes.

But this recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds, also called pepitas, also makes for an incredibly delicious and healthy snack, and is made with decarboxylated kief from the Herijuana strain so that you don’t have to consume any canna-oil or canna-butter! Enjoy responsibly.

Recipe: Roasted Herijuana Pepitas

Photo Veganbaking.net

Pepitas come from the Oilseed or Styrian pumpkins, and possess the unique quality of being shell free. Inside the pumpkin flesh, these little green seeds grow like any other pumpkin seed but without the hard, outer white shell. They are extremely high in fiber, protein, minerals and vitamins, which cannot be destroyed by heat. So, both raw and roasted pepitas contain the same nutritional content. The strong earthy sandalwood flavor profiles of Herijuana compliment the earthy flavors of these pumpkin seeds, making it the perfect seasoning. The medicinal effects of Herijuana are very narcotic, which is perfect for the numbing of severe body pain and muscle spasms. It is also great in treating anxiety-related conditions and insomnia. Enjoy these seeds over your smoothie bowls, yogurt, trail mix, granola, or even by the handful as a filling snack. Cheers to good health and a positive New Year!

Mise en place:

2 cups green plain raw pepitas

Olive oil

Black Hawaiian Sea Salt or regular Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Cracked Black Pepper

½ gram decarboxylized Herijuana kief (Instructions on how to decarboxylize here)

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread the seeds onto two sheet pans and drizzle olive oil over the seeds. Now flip and turn all of the seeds into the olive oil, making sure that all of the seeds are lying flat on the pan.

Step 2: Season the seeds with the sea salt of your choice and black pepper. You may choose at this point to sprinkle the kief over the pumpkin seeds or wait till after they are roasted.

Step 3: Roast the seeds for 15 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir up the seeds then roast for another 5-10 minutes or until crunchy.

Step 4: Pull from the oven then scoop up all the seeds and olive oil with a rubber spatula into a jar or container. Enjoy warm from the oven!

Dosage:

If one gram of Herijuana tests at 50 percent THC, 50 percent of 1,000 mg would be 500 mg. Substitute the number of your THC percentage and do the math to figure out your desired dosage. If you want a smaller dose in this recipe, cut the kief down to a smaller portion such as a ¼ or 1/8th. If you want a larger dose, add the amount you desire.

Strain Suggestions:

I would recommend strains that possess earthy, woodsy or sandalwood like terpenes and flavonoids. The following would be ideal: Hashplant, Alaskan Ice, Purple Haze, S.A.G.E, or Burmese Kush.