Tahini, a paste made from ground sesame seeds, plays an important role in Middle Eastern cooking, adding flavor and texture. You may also use it in a variety of other cuisines. This paste offers many health benefits, including healthy macronutrients and a variety of good-for-you vitamins and minerals.
Calories
A 1 tbsp. serving of tahini adds 89 calories to your meal plan. While you can consume tahini by itself, it is more commonly found as part of a larger recipe — your total caloric intake may be lower or higher, depending on the recipe. Hummus, a dish that contains tahini, contains 25 calories per tbsp. while baba ganoush, an eggplant-tahini dish, contains 40 calories per serving.
Carbohydrates and Protein
A serving of tahini has 3.2 g of carbohydrates and 2.6 g of protein. These small amounts supplement your diet but do not contribute greatly to your daily needs. Endeavor to consume 225 to 325 g of carbs and 50 to 175 g of protein each day to supply your body with energy.
Fats and Fatty Acids
One serving of tahini contains 7.9 g of fat; only 1.1 g of this fat is saturated, the bad type of fat. Limit your intake of fat to 20 to 35 percent of your total daily calories. Tahini is a source of healthy fatty acids, containing 60.1 mg of omega-3 fatty acids and 3.421 mg of omega-6 fatty acids. Your body doesn’t manufacture these fatty acids, so getting them from the foods you eat is critical and they are beneficial for your brain and heart.
