Inca What?

My new favourite food is the inca inchi seed. I am so glad that Cyndi O’Meara from Changing Habits has gone to the effort of making this delicious nutritional powerhouse available to the everyday Australian.

I don’t loosely use the term “superfood” because frankly, most real  foods are “super” in their own right. However, this seed is pretty damn special, whether we dub it with the “super” label or not.

In particular this food is a game changer for people on exclusively (or mostly exclusively ) plant-based diets (vegans and vegetarians I’m looks at you!). Your average omnivore will get complete protein from eggs, dairy, meat, poultry and fish. They will get essential fatty acids from oily fish and grass fed meat also. However, take animal products out and all of a sudden these once readily available nutrients become quite a challenge to obtain.

The inca inchi seed contains all of the essential amino acids, plus the pre-cursors to essential fatty acids (the same ones found in oily fish). Now your body has to do some converting to turn this ALA to EPA and DHA, and this process isn’t as efficient as just getting the omega 3 from fish or algae in the first place, but you’ll certainly still be getting a good ole’ whollop of essential fats. Besides, who know … maybe your body adapts and becomes more efficient at converting plant-based essential fats if you’ve been following a more plant based diet for a while? Hmmm, anyways, I digress.

On top of that protein-y, fatty acid snazzbangness, being a seed, they contain beautiful minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron and zinc.

My favourite thing about these seeds is that they are delicious! They remind me of peanuts and are naturally full of oils, so naturally turn to seed butter within seconds (peanut butter replacement come at me!).

I kid you not,

  • 300g seeds
  • a high powered blender
  • & 1 minute of your time

and you’ll have yourself a jar of smooth, creamy and satisfying butter to dollop on top of banana coins with cinnamon. Or just about anything else. I smear this stuff on  L I F E  y’all.

You can also purchase the protein powder (the dry matter leftover from making cold pressed inca inchi oil). I like to mix this with the inca inchi butter to make a firm mixture that can be rolled into instant “protein balls”. I also (as of yesterday) discovered that it helps to make the yummiest fudgy bliss balls (that taste like chocolate cookie dough by the way). It’s also yummy sprinkled on fruit and thanks to the nutty taste, would go well in a smoothie where you’re already using nut butter and/or mylk.

I’m not a protein powder gal, because most (even the more “natural” ones) are heavily processed and contain nasty, chemical-laden fillers. Nature provided us with protein-rich foods, both animal and plant based. I say let’s take advantage of this and leave protein powders on the shelf. However the inca inchi variety breaks this rule. It’s a whole, single-ingredient food that just happens to resemble a powder and is high in protein. No chemistry lab or high-tech machinery required.

Do those without dietary restrictions “need” this in their diets? Probably not, but the seeds are so yummy I’d recommend them anyway, just as an alternative to macadamias, almonds, cashews etc. in your trail mix, granolas and nut butters. However, for those of us that can’t just enjoy “anything” (either forever or just for right now), they sure save us the hassle of protein combining or taking expensive supplements.

Totally Honest Disclaimer: I’m sure there’s other inca inchi brands out there, but my first love was Changing Habits. This post isn’t sponsored, I just love this business because it’s ethical, offers superior quality and is actually affordable. Yes I use affiliate links to the Changing Habits shop and if you use these links to make a purchase, I will make a small commission which I use to cover website costs. However, I’m not trying to “sell” to you. I just want you to know about these delicious seeds and give a shout out to one of my fave Aussie businesses in the process.