Tahini is a good source of dairy free calcium and healthy fats. It's made from grinding sesame seeds, and this makes the nutrients easier to absorb.  Make sure you choose an unhulled tahini as it is the hull that contains most of the calcium. 

1 tablespoon of tahini contains around 64 mg of calcium, and the recommended daily intake (RDI) of calcium for a middle aged person is 1,000 mg per day. This means that while tahini is a good source of dairy free calcium, vegans in particular can't rely on this as a main source of calcium and as always, need to eat a variety of different calcium rich foods everyday to ensure they have adequate calcium consumption. In saying that, tahini is a great addition to any diet, and can be used to replace butter and nut butters in both sweet and savoury recipes.  

This delicious tahini, honey mustard dressing is perfect with roast or stir-fried veggies in winter, or a shredded cabbage salad in summer. Enjoy! 

What you need:

3 tablespoons tahini 

4 tablespoons warm water 

3 tablespoons lemon juice 

2 teaspoons seeded mustard

1 teaspoon honey 

a pinch of salt. 

What you do: 

Add the tahini and warm water to a jar, tightly secure the lid, then shake vigorously. Add the rest of the ingredients and repeat. In a minute or two you will have delectable creamy dressing. Pictured below is the dressing served with stir-fried vegetables.