Camila Vitorino, a biologist, shares three recipes using melon seeds, a food often wasted but rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and vegetable proteins. The recipes are vegan and sustainable.
1. Salty Melon Seed Snack: Soak the seeds, dry them, and roast them in a pan with olive oil, salt, and oregano.
2. Melon Seed Milk: Blend the seeds with water, strain the mixture, and enjoy as a dairy-free milk.
3. Melon Seed Flour: Dehydrate the leftover milk from the second recipe to create a nutritious flour rich in protein, good fats, and vitamin C. This flour can be used in various recipes, such as breakfast bowls, cakes, and bread.
The video emphasizes the importance of reducing food waste and using melon seeds, which are often discarded, to create healthy and sustainable recipes.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Melon seeds are a food and a healthy source of vitamin C, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatories.
2. 26.3 million tons of food are wasted every year in Brazil alone.
3. Food waste leads to excess food production, deforestation, and wasted land.
4. Melon seeds can be stored in the freezer for up to six months.
5. Melon seeds can be used to make a crunchy snack similar to popcorn.
6. Melon seeds can be used to make a milk that tastes like almond milk.
7. The milk can be made by blending 1 million melon seeds with 250-300 ml of water.
8. The milk can be strained using a Voil strainer.
9. The leftover pulp from making melon seed milk can be used to make a flour rich in vegetable proteins, good fats, and vitamin C.
10. The flour can be made by dehydrating the pulp in a dehydrator or oven.
11. The dehydrator is a new product in Brazil and can be used to dry foods at low temperatures.
12. The flour can be used as a topping for breakfast, added to cake dough, bread dough, or pie dough, or used as a thickening agent in soups.