Sunflower seeds are among the least expensive nuts or seeds you can buy for snacking or baking. I like to add them to oatmeal-raisin cookies, granola, oatmeal, salads, and half and half with roasted almonds in pesto, in place of the traditional pine nuts. We also like to snack on them, as is, or mixed into trail mix. And I prefer the flavor of roasted sunflower seeds over raw ones.
I was buying sunflower seeds from the bulk section of Fred Meyer on Tuesday (my senior discount day -- 10% off -- yay! me for being 55). I had my choice between roasted or raw, hulled seeds. The roasted ones were selling for $3.99 lb, while the raw ones were selling for $1.49 lb. Which ones do you think I chose?! For $2.50 lb savings and 5 minutes of work, I think I can roast my own sunflower seeds.
While I roast whole nuts, like almonds in a low-temp oven, I roast sunflower seeds and any other small seeds in a pan on the stove. I add a small amount of oil to the pan. Heat over Med flame. (You can dry-roast them, but using hot oil coats each seed so they roast more evenly in oil, I've found.) Then I add the seeds, and stir constantly for about 5 minutes, until they've turned color, from gray to light tan. I dump them onto a piece of brown paper bag, to both halt the cooking and remove excess oil from the seeds. A little salt, and they're just perfect.
The other benefit to buying seeds and nuts raw, then roasting your own at home, is that the roasting process shortens the keeping-life of both nuts and seeds, about by half (according to nutrition.about.com). There really is no telling when seeds and nuts sold in a bulk bin were roasted, from a consumer's point of view. I have a much better chance of my seeds tasting fresh, if I buy them raw, then roast them at home, myself. And once home, they will keep much longer and I'll have more time to use them up. Less waste!
Don't you think that's crazy that there could be such a price difference for a convenience so very easily replicated at home?
