I went to a Whole Foods/Trader Joe's type of store yesterday and bought pumpkin seeds, something I normally don't buy. The label on the container read, "Roasted and Salted." Hmm...
I inspected the seeds through their plastic container, trying to determine if they had too much salt on them. No salt crystals noted; they looked pretty plain to me. In to the cart they went!
Once home, I immediately opened the container and popped one of the pumpkin seeds in my mouth. Egads! What in the world...?!! I discovered the seeds were horribly salty! These weren't snacks; they were miniature salt licks for deer!
I was very disappointed, but didn't want to dump all the seeds in the garbage. I decided I would try to remove the salt.
I soaked them in water, and like magic, once the seeds hit the water, they changed from a plain beige to a bright white. I realized each seed was covered in a thick film of salt! I could literally scrape the salt off with my thumb nail! Oh, this was going to be harder than I thought!
Here's what the seeds looked like when they were soaking for quite some time. See the white salt film? You might notice some seeds that have been scraped with my nail too!
This is what the water looked like... after several soakings!
Is that not gross?
Poor pumpkin seeds! You used to be so healthy and tasty, but now you've been tarnished with an unpalatable covering of salt (that is invisible to the naked eye until wet... then it's hard to miss)!
Well, now I'm trying to think of a moral to this story. Maybe it should be: Just because a store claims to have healthy food, doesn't necessarily mean it's true for all their food products!
Or maybe simply: Remain vigiliant when considering store-prepared pumpkin seeds! 
Update! The pumpkin seeds are almost dry now. I can easily peel away the salty shell to get to the meaty, unsalted part of the seed. The taste is good, so I'll see if these seeds can be salvaged, poor little guys!
Related Posts -
Development of Healthy Eating Habits Developing your own healthy eating habits is something that should never be "an ordeal" or make you feel miserable. Many of us are constantly on the run, and we are always rushing from one place to the next or to meet a deadline or return a phone call. As a...... -
Healthier Pancakes I love pancakes! I used to have pancake eating contests with my brother as a kid. I'm not beating family members in pancake gorging fests these days (Thankfully!). In fact, I'm looking for an alternative to the usual white-floured, butter and maple flavored syrup-topped pancake. See, as you may know,...... -
Natural Cures for Migraines No one likes a migraine headache! To say they're extremely painful is an understatement! However, if you dislike the thought of taking medications, experiencing their side effects, or spending the money for them, take a look at some natural migraine treatment options: Treat from the Outside - The power...... -
What Are You Eating for Breakfast? I am hooked on a new cereal discovery! This is an organic, granola cereal with slightly sweet pumpkin seeds and flax seeds, and it is soooo good! My husband and I especially like the pumpkin seeds (and I'm not a big "seed" person). Quick nutritional run down: 1/2 cup will...... -
Link Love - Talking Trash and Super Skinny Models Hey, I just joined the WOMAN Challenge (Women and girls Out Moving Across the Nation) this week. (Thanks for the inspiration, MizFit!) It's an 8-week fitness challenge for women to exercise at least 30 minutes or get in 10,000 steps each day. Registration is free, and you can progress along......
Related Websites -
Uses For Milk Jugs It seems like every week when I prepare our household trash for pickup the cans are overflowing with boxes and plastic containers such as milk jugs. I've never been very good at separating and recycling, so I recently went on a mission to discover ways to reuse milk jugs instead of...... -
Gatorade vs. Water [caption id="attachment_45" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Gatorade vs. Water"][/caption] In a timeless debate that perhaps will never be quite finished, some people have taken different strategies to improve their hydration, particularly runners: what hydrates and quenches thirst better, water or Gatorade? Gatorade was first developed by University of Florida researches including Robert...... -
101 thoughts on losing 100 pounds I lost a lot of weight a few years ago. I lost even more a couple of years ago, then gained some of it back when we had our first child. It's not just women who gain weight during pregnancy! However, I have still managed to keep most of...... - Is Rapid Weight Loss What You Are Looking For? If rapid weight loss is what you are after, then the important thing to remember is that you have to be safe about it. Your health has to come first, and it should not have to suffer as a result of losing a few pounds. Rapid weight loss is something......
-
Ballet Posters Memorabilia -> Music Memorabilia -> Classical, Opera, Ballet-> Posters For a budding ballerina, there is nothing quite like the inspiration that can come from looking at a ballet poster. These works of art inspire, and for collectors, they are a way of enjoying and expressing a love for this amazing......
- Water Food & Wine Home Store
- Nail Art Nail Care Polish Store
- Fruits, Nuts & Seeds Food & Wine Home Store
Categories:
What I Ate
Tags:
5 comments ↓
I love the image of mini salt licks! My mom would always lightly salt our pumpkin seeds. Lightly being the operative word.
Lightly is OK, and I bet they were tasty. These were anything but!
However, they’re not so bad if the outer shell is removed. I may just take a huge chunk of time (why not, it’s snowing a lot outside) and peel off the salty seed shells (say that quickly 5 times in a row).
I may toast them in the oven for a little bit too. Maybe that will help!
That sounds really good, to toast them in the oven.
The pics are great, especially the one of the water – eww! I buy no-salt added products – I’ve been eating like this for so long, I can really tell if salt has been added. I just don’t like it.
[...] here’s a post by Susan complete with pictures of the icky salt water residue that was left behind after she rinsed the [...]
JoLynn,
I’m not a big salt person either. In fact, I’d rather do without added salt. Now, sugar… that’s a whole other story, I’m afraid!
Leave a Comment