seeds

Stop going nuts, and turn to seeds! Just like nuts, seeds are full of protein and fiber and will give you an energy boost when snacked on throughout the day. Here are five types of seeds that are delicious and good for you.

• Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds aid in lowering cholesterol, promote good prostate health, and are high in plant sterols and phytochemicals. And they're a good source of not only protein and fiber, but also potassium and magnesium. Here's a recipe on how to roast them to perfection.
• Chia seeds: Chia seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids, protein, fiber, and calcium. Throw them in your cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, muffins, or smoothies, or add them to a salad or potatoes. Try chia in any of these chia seed recipes.

Learn more about other healthy seeds and see their full nutritional breakdown.

We've all been there: going a little bulk-bin happy and ending up with a lifetime supply of walnuts or pumpkin seeds. Months later, when you rediscover the stash, you come to the devastating realization that they've gone completely rancid, and all of that money has gone to waste! It's a challenge to know how long nuts and seeds will last, but there are tricks to buying and storing them to extend their shelf life so that you don't end up tossing the majority in the trash. Here are a few rules to live by:

• Taste-test before you buy: Nuts and seeds are expensive, but buying them in bulk is not only more economical; it also allows you to taste a few to make sure the batch is fresh and not rancid. Additionally, those from the bulk bins tend to have a higher turnover than prepackaged nuts, so there's a lower chance of rancidity.
• Only buy what you need: Ignore the special two-for-one sales, and only buy what you need for the week. It's better to replenish your nut and seed stashes frequently to ensure that you are using the freshest nuts and seeds available, rather than cashing in on deals, because chances are that, if they're on sale, the nuts and seeds are past their prime.
• Buy whole, raw nuts: Chopped, sliced, ground, or blanched nuts and seeds have a shorter shelf life than whole, raw varieties. These processed versions produce oxidize faster, because the oils inside the nuts and seeds are exposed to more air. When it makes sense for your recipes, try to avoid precut varieties.

Learn more nut and seed storing tips.

Here's a post from Casa Community member Lauren from The Girls' Guide to Gardening:

My husband and I bought our first house this last year and while the inside is almost finished, we have now started on the backyard! For the last couple of weeks, we have been working on building raised beds on the sunny side of the house. When we started this project, my friend sent me a link to the site Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. The company only sells non-hybrid, natural, and non-genetically modified organism. I spent a couple hours admiring all of the different varieties and, of course, order a few that seemed pretty unusual. I will, of course, pick up some other plants from our local nursery but I am excited to try growing a few of plants from seeds. I picked up the following: Mexican sour gherkin, purple tomatillo, melon tigger, beet bull's blood, thai five star cucumber. As long as these go well, next year I will get my order in a little earlier and start my plants before the last frost. Has anyone grown veggies from seeds or ever had these specific veggies? Any tips for a newbie?

Have tips for Lauren? Leave them in the comments! If you want to learn more about growing your own vegetables and flowers, or share photos and stories of your own garden, join The Girls' Guide to Gardening.

If you're planting flowers or plants in your garden from seeds rather than seedlings, I commend you! I'm definitely not one to start from scratch, but sometimes seedlings are simply not available for the blooms I want in my garden. It's also fun to see the full growth process! So here's a tip for you if you're planting seeds: use a standard saltshaker to distribute your small garden seeds. It'll help scatter the seeds evenly, and it's a great way to store your seeds for future seed. Just store the shaker upright on a shelf or put a bit of tape on top to keep the seeds contained.

Here's a post from OnSugar blog Zone Nine:

As a gift to myself this Christmas, I bought a set of jewelers cases from Lee Valley. I'm using it to save the seeds I've collected from my plants and other plants. I was using the little half sized ziplock snack bags, but they were starting to get a bit untidy.

Find out how the seeds are organized when you  read more

Here's a post from OnSugar blog Zone Nine:

Buying seeds can be addicting... and frustrating — when you see seed catalogs from outside the US and find out you can't order from them. So I was excited to find out about importing seeds from other countries. Annie's Annuals posted Secret Seeds as one of their favorite seed catalogs, and as I was perusing their site, I found their instructions on how to import seeds to the US — whoo-hoo!

Want to see more? Start following Zone Nine or start your own OnSugar blog. Maybe your story will be posted here on CasaSugar!