Category Archives: super foods

June 16, 2011 · 4:09 pm

Nutritarian

I’m a nutrient nut.

And I’m thrifty.

Combine the two and I’m a nutritarian!

I’m all about getting the most nutritional BANG for my calorie BUCK.

Breakfast fit that description perfectly.  Each ingredient was thoughtfully choosen for what it would add in terms of overall taste and nutrition.

It all started when I received a little box in the mail yesterday.

Inside were a few treats direct from Peru.

My lovely friend Cristina did a little shopping for me on a recent trip South.  Bee pollen and maca.  Sure, you can get both products here but in Peru they are fresh, inexpensive, and easy to come by.  And they will remind me of both Cristina and Lima each time I use them. 🙂

Bee pollen is a rich source of antioxidents and protein.  It is energizing, can improve metabolism, and is excellent for the immune system due to it’s high levels of vitamin C.  Bee pollen has a strong flavor and is best used a teaspoon or so at a time. *People who are allergic to bees should avoid consuming bee pollen*

Maca, “the gift from the andes” as the bag reads, is a powder made from a turnip-like root that grows high in the mountains of Peru and Bolivia.  Maca is known for balancing hormones (who couldn’t use a little help with that!) and is 22% protein, providing you with nearly two grams for 30 calories.  It has a slightly sweet, slightly butterscotchy flavor.

Not planning a trip to Peru any time soon?  Both of these products are commonly found at health food stores.

I thought there was no better way to add these superfoods into my breakfast than a jar of overnight oats!

Want to most nutrition from your morning oats? Soak ’em!

Last night I mixed up

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • ~1 cup plain homemade yogurt + a little extra whey (for protein, probiotics, and calcium)
  • 1 tsp. chia seeds (for protein and Omega-3’s)
  • 1 tsp. maca
  • 1 tsp. bee pollen
  • cinnamon (to stabilize blood sugar)
  • stevia

I let the mixture sit at room temp for a few hours them put it in the refrigerator overnight.  Soaking oats at room temperature with a little acid (from the whey in the yogurt) aids in the digestion of the oats.  Don’t worry, the acid prevents the mis from going bad.

This morning I added antioxident-rich serviceberries from the freezer and a few Omega-3-full walnuts.

This super-nutritious jar left me satisfied but feeling light and energized.

I’m excited to experiment more with maca and bee pollen.  I recall having a particularly amazing raw chocolate pie made with bee pollen years ago…got to figure out how to recreate that!

I’ll leave you with this classic Hippocrates quote to mull over when choosing what to lunch on.

“Let thy food by thy medicine and medicine by thy food.”

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June 8, 2011 · 2:39 pm

Super Foodies

Want a crazy easy, ridiculously nutritious meal?

Turn this


Into this

When I was a kid my mom made us salmon burgers semi-regularly.  I had a random craving in college, bought some canned fish, opened it up, gagged and fed it to the cat.

Nearly 10 years after the incident I was ready to give it another try.  Turns out, unless you are into that sort of thing, buy the “skinless-boneless” salmon.
The lesson learned and now I am hooked on the convenience and nutritional stats of this easy summer meal.

Superfood Burgers

  • 1 can of skinless, boneless, wild salmon
  • 1 piece of bread, coarsely chopped (whole wheat and sprouted for more nutrition!)
  • 2 pasture-fed, local eggs
  • 3 tablespoons oats
  • 1 tablespoon of walnuts
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • lots of fresh, finely chopped dill, chives, and parsley
  • dash of cayenne
  • ~1 tablespoon organic, grass-fed butter
Mash everything-except butter and garlic-together in a bowl.  Set aside.  In a skillet heat about a teaspoon of the butter on low-medium heat, add garlic, and cook until just soft.  Add garlic to salmon mixture and give it all a good stir.  Add another teaspoon of butter to skillet, use your hands to form patties, gently add patties to hot skillet.  Cover with a lid.  Flip after a few minutes, cover, remove when both sides are golden brown.  Repeat with remainder of mixture. I made 5 three-inch patties.
Why superfood burgers?
Wild salmon and walnuts are awesome sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acids which contribute to joint and cardiovascular health as well as improved mood and cognition.
Whole, sprouted grains have higher vitamin content than unsprouted or refined grains.
Pasture fed eggs have a 1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, 2 times more Omega-3’s, 3 times more vitamin E, and 7 times more beta-carotene than conventional eggs.  Note: “vegetarian fed” “cage free” or “organic” is not the same as pasture-fed!  It’s hard to find pasture-fed eggs at a conventional supermarket so seek these babies out at farmers markets or local health food stores.  It’s so worth it.
Oats, do I really need to say more?  Ok, just a quick reminder; soluble fiber=positive influences on overall cholesterol,high satiety, and regularity.
Garlic is full of the natural antibiotic allicin.
Fresh herbs are a great source antioxidants which reduce damage to cells by stabilizing free radicals.
Cayenne increases circulation, boosts metabolism, and makes food more satisfying.
Organic, grass-fed butter is an excellent source of Omega-3’s, vitamin E, and conjugated linoleic acid.  The benefits of eating pastured eggs and butter proves, once again, that whole foods win out of processed ones every-time.  The cows and chickens in the pasture eat the fresh food that is full of nutrients provided by the sun and soil.
What better dessert after a superfood dinner than serviceberry‘s straight off the tree?

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