Since getting enough fat is no problem, why not replace butter and oil with seeds when you can? Or do so partly — if a recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of oil, use just 1 and make the other tablespoon 3 seed mix. I use seeds instead of butter or oil in all kinds of baked products –chips, crackers, bread, cookies, granola, on vegetables, and more.
Oil and butter have double the calories — and they are empty calories: no fiber, no protein, and virtually no vitamins or minerals.
Seeds taste great, and their nutritional profile looks like a mini-vitamin pill – not surprising really, since they need to nourish a new baby plant. Seeds are full of fiber, protein, low amounts of healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. Flax seed is also full of healthy Omega-3 fats, and they’re all low in total fat and saturated fat.
Seeds make food look more appetizing too.
Below is an analysis of the nutrition in one tablespoon of unsalted butter and vegetable oil, below that, another chart for flaxseed, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Olive oil is a tiny bit better with 10% of your Vitamin E & Vitamin K, and since it’s a cold-pressed fruit juice, is better for you than other oils.
| Butter | % DV | Oil | % DV | |
| Calories | 100 | 5 | 119 | 6 |
| Fiber (g) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Protein (g) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 30.1 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Fat (g) | 11.4 | 17 | 13.5 | 21 |
| Saturated Fat (g) | 7.2 | 36 | 1.7 | 9 |
| Monounsaturated Fat (g) | 2.9 | 3.7 | ||
| Polyunsaturated Fat (g) | 0.4 | 7.4 | ||
| Omega-3 fatty acids (mg) | 44 | 157 | ||
| Omega-6 fatty acids (mg) | 382 | 7224 | ||
| Vitamin A (IU) | 350 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Vitamin E (mg) | 0.3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Vitamin K (mcg) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Thiamin (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Riboflavin (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Niacin (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vitamin B6 (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Folate (mcg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pantothenic Acid (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Calcium (mg) | 3.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Iron (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Magnesium (mg) | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phosphorus (mg) | 3.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Potassium (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zinc (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Copper (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Manganese (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Selenium (mg) | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Nutritiondata.com
| Flax seed | % DV | Sesame Seed | % DV | Poppy Seed | % DV | 3 Seed Mix | % DV | |
| Calories | 55 | 3 | 50 | 3 | 46 | 2 | 50.3 | 3 |
| Fiber (g) | 2.8 | 11 | 0.9 | 4 | 1.7 | 7 | 1.8 | 7.3 |
| Protein (g) | 1.9 | 4 | 1.6 | 3 | 1.6 | 3 | 1.7 | 3.3 |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Total Fat (g) | 4.3 | 7 | 4.9 | 8 | 3.6 | 6 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Saturated Fat (g) | 0.4 | 2 | 0.4 | 2 | 0.4 | 2 | 0.4 | 2 |
| Monounsaturated Fat (g) | 0.8 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0 | |||
| Polyunsaturated Fat (g) | 2.9 | 2 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0 | |||
| Omega-3 fatty acids (mg) | 2338 | 21 | 23.9 | 794 | 0 | |||
| Omega-6 fatty acids (mg) | 606 | 2018 | 2475 | 1700 | 0 | |||
| Vitamin A (IU) | 0 | 0 | 5.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 | 0 |
| Vitamin E (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Vitamin K (mcg) | 0.4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | |
| Thiamin (mg) | 0.2 | 11 | 0.1 | 4 | 0.1 | 5 | 0.1 | 6.7 |
| Riboflavin (mg) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Niacin (mg) | 0.2 | 2 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| Vitamin B6 (mg) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Folate (mcg) | 8.9 | 2 | 9.2 | 2 | 7.2 | 2 | 8.4 | 2.0 |
| Pantothenic Acid (mg) | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Calcium (mg) | 26.1 | 3 | 4.8 | 0 | 126 | 13 | 52.3 | 5.3 |
| Iron (mg) | 0.6 | 3 | 0.5 | 3 | 0.9 | 5 | 0.7 | 3.7 |
| Magnesium (mg) | 40.2 | 10 | 27.6 | 7 | 30.4 | 8 | 32.7 | 8.3 |
| Phosphorus (mg) | 65.8 | 7 | 53.4 | 5 | 76.1 | 8 | 65.1 | 6.7 |
| Potassium (mg) | 83.3 | 2 | 29.6 | 1 | 62.9 | 2 | 58.6 | 1.7 |
| Zinc (mg) | 0.4 | 3 | 0.5 | 4 | 0.7 | 5 | 0.5 | 4.0 |
| Copper (mg) | 0.1 | 6 | 0.1 | 6 | 0.1 | 7 | 0.1 | 6.3 |
| Manganese (mg) | 0.3 | 13 | 0.1 | 6 | 0.6 | 29 | 0.3 | 16 |
| Selenium (mg) | 2.6 | 4 | 7.8 | 11 | 1.2 | 2 | 3.9 | 5.7 |
