Candied sesame crickets are not the first ingredient most people would add to a stir fry. But for entomophagist and author Daniella Martin, cooking with bugs is a favorite treat. Martin stopped by HuffPost Live to share her recipes and to discuss why she believes eating insects can help save the planet.
"It could actually save the world," Martin told host Ricky Camilleri. "I think it's so interesting that something that's so traditionally reviled could actually really make a difference in terms of a lot of the global issues we are facing right now."
She continued, "the main reason I think that is that insects have been found to require far fewer environmental resources, like food, water, and land space, to create the same amount of animal protein as traditional livestock like cows, chickens, and pigs. So that alone -- if we can save space, save water, save the food that they need -- we can make a great dent in our environmental resource usage. Which is a big deal right now."
Martin, author of "Edible," first began eating insects when she was an anthropology student studying traditional food in Mexico. She gradually introduced more bugs into her diet, and found ways to integrate them deliciously. Today, she regularly consumes creepy crawlies as she experiments in the kitchen. "I probably eat insects about as frequently as most other people eat tofu," she said.
As a host, Martin doesn't shy away from offering up bugs to her guests. "At my wedding, which I had in August, we served toasted crickets alongside the rest of the other hors d'oeuvres. So it's usually, I give people a choice. And I never trick people."
Martin stayed true to her word when she shared two of her newest concoctions on set -- plates of candied sesame cricket stir fry and a taste of toasted wax moth larvae sprinkled over cheese and green apple.