Seed Almighty Is New On The Shelf

No one wants to put their girlfriend in the hospital, but that’s just Nick Appleton inadvertently did when he made a magical meal for Grace Ocampo. He knew she was allergic to nuts but didn’t realize what being anaphylactic truly meant, and so a little cross-contamination made for a romantic evening in the ER. 

“Unless you’ve seen an allergic reaction, especially a severe one, you don’t appreciate how bad it is,” said Appleton. “It’s so scary.”

Visits to the hospital are old hat for Ocampo, especially since alternative mylks ladened with her version of kryptonite, cashews and almonds, became a mainstay of cafés and restaurants about a decade ago. Being allergic to nuts also posed a challenge at the grocery stores where there weren’t many alternatives to nut butter, so she started making seed butter at home.  

 “There is all these delicious nut butter, but that wasn’t an option for me, so I made my own, and I figured there were probably people out there who wanted an alternative option,” said Ocampo. “There’s such a gap in the market.”

Ocampo and Appleton are avid travellers. In fact, they met while holidaying in Rome. After just a couple of days, they decided to keep in touch and for three years the two travelled back and forth from Newcastle to Vancouver to see each other, until Appleton relocated to Vancouver.

So it was fitting that when COVID hit, Ocampo and Appleton were heading out on vacation. They were rerouted to Hong Kong, only to find out that the country had a big ‘closed’ sign hanging on it. Then they were sent to Bali, where they took in the Balinese vibes for about a day before deciding it was probably a good idea to go home.

By the time they got back, Canada was also closed. They both had a month off work, and plenty of time to kill in quarantine, so they started to put together the foundations of Seed Almighty, starting with the recipe.

Ocampo wanted to emulate other nut butters that she dreamed of trying, like Fatso. She also wanted to avoid major food allergens like sesame or hemp, so she landed on using sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut, dates, chia seeds, and cinnamon for a first flavour. Perfect for a little tea and toast.

Everything is gluten-free, nut-free, vegan, organically sourced, stone-ground, and, perhaps most importantly, school safe. 

“I’m so passionate about it because I have lived through some of the issues that we’re trying to solve,” said Ocampo. 

Since launching in June, Seed Almighty can already be found at Vegan Supply, Larry’s Market, The Federal Store, and Legends Haul. You can also order it online at seedalmighty.ca.