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 -
Tropical Granola Maybe it has something to do with summer, but I've been in a Hawaii sort of mood. I'm longing for pineapples, beaches, and palm trees. Those of you who live in such climates, please an enjoy one or all three for me. :) I was inspired by a recipe I...... -
"Fun" Facts About Sugar How much sugar (cane sugar/beet sugar) do you think each person eats in a year? A lot! Each person the U.S. consumes about 70 pounds of sugar a year. An individual from Europe, about 92 pounds. Brazil had the highest consumption per person at 123 lbs for this last year!...... -
Getting Picky Eaters to Eat Healthy A friend of mine shared her frustration of having a picky eater in the house and asked for suggestions on how to introduce healthier foods. "He doesn't like vegetables, rarely touches fruits, and would eat peanut butter all day if up to him." The "he" she was referring to is...... -
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...... -
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......
Related Websites -
Antique Bird Cages Dealers -> Antiques -> Decorative-Arts Years ago, before the introduction of plastics and resins, even animals’ indoor homes like antique bird cages were considered beautiful pieces of furniture. Of course, some were plain and utilitarian, but many more were actually created in the popular furniture styles of the times. Bird...... -
Discount Designer Perfume If you'd like to buy discount designer perfume, whether online or at a perfume outlet store, you need to be aware of some common tricks to part you with your money for less than the product you were hoping for. While most outlets and online stores are perfectly legitimate, you...... -
Choosing California Fishing Lakes In every area of the state of California, you will find an abundant supply of lakes rife with fish that are waiting to be caught. All told, California has more than 3000 different lakes, reservoirs, streams and other excellent bodies of water that are available to the avid angler who...... -
Fixing a Leaky Faucet At best, a leaking faucet is more than capable of being annoying. At worst, a leaking faucet is capable of being extremely wasteful. The sound of water as it continuously drips into a sink can be completely maddening over time. Luckily, the fix required for repairing a leaky faucet is...... -
Healthy Snacking Here are some ideas for healthy snacks that you can munch on without having to feel guilty. - * Popcorn - As long as you are not saturating your popcorn in salt or butter the way the movie theaters do it, popcorn can really be a truly healthy snack option.......
- Sweet Wine Food & Wine Home Store
- New Jersey Wine Food & Wine Home Store
- Cabernet Franc Red Wines Wine Food & Wine Home Store
- Port Wine Food & Wine Home Store
- Champagne & Sparkling Wines Wine 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