The perfect winter salad boasts a combination of sweet and savory, crisp and soft, and a whole lot of color. This recipe ticks all the boxes: beet-pickled eggs lend a vibrant hue to mesclun greens and crisp Granny Smith apple, and candied sacha inchi nuts add richness, crunch, and a touch of sweetness.

Sacha inchi nuts are a relatively new superfood, at least in the U.S., but these little marvels have a long history in South America and Southeast Asia. Also known as mountain peanuts, sacha inchi nuts boast the highest source of plant-based omega 3s in the world and also contain more protein than almonds.

Some sources claim that sacha inchi’s flavor takes a bit of getting used to: while it starts off nutty and buttery, it does have an earthy finish that some go so far as to call fishy. That said, when they’re caramelized in dark honey with a touch of spice, they boast a much nicer flavor balance that makes them the perfect addition to this salad.

The beet-pickled eggs take two days to be ready, so be sure to plan ahead. You could also use plain hard-boiled eggs in a pinch, but the bright magenta that comes from the beets is what makes this salad truly irresistible.

Superfood Salad with Beet-Pickled Eggs and Candied Sacha Inchi Nuts

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 roasted red beet
• 1 cup distilled vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 tablespoons dark honey (buckwheat or chestnut)
• 1 tablespoon hazelnut oil
• 1 large handful (about 1/3 cup) sacha inchi nuts
• 1 pinch fleur de sel
• 1 pinch chile de arbol powder
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 cups mesclun greens
• 1 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced

Directions

Two days before serving, peel the hard-boiled eggs and quarter the beet. Place them in a glass container large enough to contain them without allowing them to touch. Combine the vinegar, water, and honey. Pour the mixture over the eggs and beet; if the liquid does not cover them, add additional water and vinegar until it does. Cover and refrigerate for two days.

The day of: combine the dark honey, hazelnut oil, sacha inchi, fleur de sel, and chile powder in a large nonstick pan. Heat over high heat until the honey bubbles and the sacha inchi nuts just begin to brown. Remove from the heat and use a spatula to remove the sacha inchi nuts and set them on a silpat or greased piece of parchment paper to cool.

Meanwhile, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper to make a vinaigrette. Toss with the mesclun.

Make a bed of mesclun greens on the serving plate, and top with the halved eggs, sacha inchi, and apple.

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Are you making superfood smoothies? Spoiler: They may be the reason you’re gaining weight.

What started as a general, well-intentioned suggestion to eat a diet full of fruits and vegetables has now spiraled out of control. Instead of appreciating the produce that is so readily available at our local farmers markets and grocery stores, we’ve come to put exotic, hard-to-find, expensive powders, elixirs, and cold-pressed oils on a pedestal. Sure, they may boast all the nutritional benefits they’re being praised for, but are they actually doing your body any good?

Before I go into why you should shed the promises of the superfoods, let me define what I mean by “superfood” here.

The term is thrown around a lot and can mean many different things to a variety of people. Originally, a superfood was pegged as any food with an unusually dense nutrient content. Nowadays, it is used to describe something as mundane as an apple, simply because the apple is superbly good for you. For the purposes of this article, however, when I use the term “superfood”, I’m referring to all the health foods entering our market that usually come in powder, dried fruit and nut, or oil form. These superfoods are out of the ordinary for the American agricultural scene but have a growing fanfare for all their health promises.

This is not to say that superfoods don’t have their place – they do — but we shouldn’t blindly accept superfoods as the be-all-end-all ingredients to make us our healthiest selves. For some, superfoods open room for more creativity in the vegan kitchen, especially for superfood smoothies! For others, they are a necessary part of a strict dietary protocol that attends to a specific health woe or concern. And, of course, they can be super delicious! The key is in understanding that superfoods are superfluous, not foundational, and they aren’t nearly as super as you think.

Now that we are on the same page, let’s talk about why such superfoods are making you thicker around the middle and, in some cases, compromising your health.

Sugar is Sugar, Even Superfood Sugar

There’s no way to avoid it: sugar is sugar, no matter what form it’s in. If you eat too much sugar, it’ll strain your liver, lead to the accumulation of toxins, increase the risk for fungal infections, decrease brain function, and of course, metabolize directly into fat.

Agave, coconut palm sugar, lucuma, brown rice sugar, and variations of unprocessed regular white sugar, such as Demera and turbinado sugar, are still raising your blood sugar levels, even if not to the extent of white sugar. To get these superfood sugars’ nutritional benefits, you’d have to consume a whole lot more than reasonable. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ve mastered sweetness without the potential side effects. Sure, there are better alternatives to white sugar out there, but that does not mean they warrant superfood status. These “superfood” sweeteners may be better for you, but they are just a lesser evil.

Nuts, Dried Fruits and Powders: Super Constipated

Nuts, dried fruits, and superfood powders are dense, concentrated in sugar or fat, and are often hard to digest. Goji berries, acai powder, cacao nibs, camu powder, chia seeds, nut/seed butters, hemp powder, and mulberry berries, among many many others, are prey to manipulative marketing techniques. Superfood companies sell this idea that you’ll be light-years better off with the addition of a cocktail of various dry products in your superfood smoothies. What they don’t say, however, is that a few superfoods later, your smoothie has tripled, if not quadrupled, in fat, calories, and sugar content. Make no mistake: you can gain weight from superfoods. In fact, adding them to your smoothie is the sneaky way many of us are loading in the fat, sugar, and calories. The idea that the smoothie is infused with only raw, vegan, purportedly miracle ingredients masks the reality of what we are consuming.

Meanwhile, many raw and vegan enthusiasts have popularized nut-based dishes as the go-to density provider in place of meat. A spoonful of almond butter or a handful of nuts is one thing, but basing an entire meal around nuts is a digestive disaster waiting to happen. Nuts are extremely fatty and caloric and having too much will simply make you gain weight.

When browsing new healthy recipes, I often see a lot of faux-cheese and dessert recipes based in cashews, and I am dumbfounded by the logic. Sure, it’s vegan, but what about your health? There are other ways to make vegan cheese or desserts without nuts as the core ingredient. When is it ever natural and healthy to have one or two cups full of nuts at any given time?

Healthy Fats: Still Making You Fat, if Not Fatter

I once had a client who complained about gaining weight. For all intents and purposes, her diet was flawless. She was a vegan who had a pantry and refrigerator stocked with chia seeds, kombucha, freekeh, kale, and the likes. She did her research and made sure to keep up with the newest and most promising dietary crazes. Still, she was gaining weight and having digestive issues. I asked her what she used for fat, and she said “coconut oil, of course.” Ah, there it was. The coconut oil craze has gone too far!

My client was mixing coconut oil in her coffee and smoothies, and she was cooking with it. If you look at coconut oil from an objective standpoint, it glimmers! Not only are its medium-chain fatty acids metabolized in a special way so that its inherent saturated fat isn’t as harmful as it normally would be but also it boasts incredible benefits for the skin, brain, and overall energy. But, is this true in practical use? I’ve witnessed conflicting results.

When we are told something is good for us, we tend to overdo it, and I think that is what happened with coconut oil and is happening with other oils, like grapeseed, avocado, and sesame oils. All fat, regardless of type, should be used minimally, and regular butter is actually easier to digest than coconut oil. Coconut oil leaves behind a slight residue in the body, making it a bit harder to digest than regular butter. Even though regular butter comes from milk, it does not contain the hard-to-digest casein protein. It goes down like, for lack of a better word, butter. At the end of the day, fat is fat in the same way sugar is sugar.

Once I advised my client to switch to regular butter, she felt almost instantly better. She naturally used less of it, and her digestion improved. For vegans out there, stick to coconut oil, but please don’t depend on it as its own food group. It is meant to accent a dish, not drown one.

How to Eat (Superfoods Optional)

Superfoods can be part of a balanced diet, but don’t depend on them as lifesavers. They aren’t necessary for a healthy lifestyle, and you can get by just wonderfully on local produce cheaply and readily available at your nearest grocery store.

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Green Smoothie Image from Shutterstock

The post Are All Those Superfood Smoothies Making Us Fat? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sambazon is synonymous with superfood acai, at least in the States – this company was the very first to sustainably source organic açaí in the Amazon Rainforest and bring this delicious fruit to the U.S. market. This April is Acai Awareness Month – the perfect opportunity to highlight the company’s eco-friendly practices in Brazil and to give the berry a try in some tasty açaí recipes.

Sambazon was founded by brothers Ryan and Jeremy Black, surfers from southern California who first visited Brazil in 1999. Once there, the brothers fell in love with Brazil’s positive energy, scenery, flavors, people, and organic approach to health and vitality. It was then that they tried their first açaí bowl and decided to share this Amazonian superfood with the world in the form of frozen superfood packs that can be blended into smoothies or bowls.

Today, the company sustainably manages 2 million acres in the Amazon rainforest and sources açaí berries in the Amapa and Para regions. A pioneer of organic and fair trade practices in the Amazon, Sambazon supports over 10,000 farmers with fair wages and reinvests a percentage of its earnings into the renovation of schools, medical centers, and community buildings in Brazil. Ryan Black received the OPIC Impact President Award as recognition for his work in sustainability in the country.

As for the berries themselves, they have been dubbed a superfood, with claims that their antioxidant content is higher even than strawberries, blueberries, and cranberries. While many of the health claims associated with açaí have yet to be backed by research, there’s no harm in indulging in this tart berry as part of a balanced diet.

Here are just a few delicious ways to enjoy açaí, care of Sambazon.

Supergreens Berry Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Supergreens Superfruit Pack
• 1 medium banana (6 – 8 inches,
 ripe with no green)
• 1⁄2 c frozen mixed berries (store brand)
• 1 c Knudsen organic apple juice

Instructions

Allow the superfruit pack to soften at room temperature for 2 – 3 minutes

Peel a banana and break it up into a Magic Bullet cup.

Break up the frozen pack with your hands into smaller chunks, then cut off the top of the pack and drop contents into the Magic Bullet cup.

Add 1⁄2 c of frozen mixed berries. Make sure there aren’t any 
large chunks.

Add 1 c Knudsen Organic Apple Juice.

Blend for 30 seconds, watching to make sure everything is mixed thoroughly.

Take the cup off the base, shake it, and then blend again for another 20 seconds.

If serving right away: pour your smoothie into sample cups 
and serve.

If not serving right away: place smoothie in the fridge or 
cooler. Blend again for a few seconds before serving. (Note: smoothie will be a dark purple color)

Protein Berry Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Performance Protein Smoothie Pack
• 1 medium banana (6 – 8 inches, 
ripe with no green)
• 1⁄2 c frozen mixed berries (store brand)
• 1 c Silk Original almond milk 
(sweetened)

Instructions

Allow the superfruit pack to soften at room temperature for 2 – 3 minutes

Peel a banana and break it up into the Magic Bullet cup.

Break up the frozen pack with your hands into smaller 
chunks, then cut off the top of the pack and drop contents 
into the Magic Bullet cup.

Add 1⁄2 c of frozen mixed berries. Make sure there aren’t any 
large chunks.

Add 1 c Silk Almond Milk (original, sweetened).

Blend for 30 seconds, watching to make sure everything is 
mixed thoroughly.

Take the cup off the base, shake it, and blend again for another 
20 seconds.

If serving right away: pour your smoothie into sample cups 
and serve.

If not serving right away: place smoothie in the fridge or 
cooler. Blend again for a few seconds before serving.

Performance Protein Bowl Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Performance Protein Superfruit Packs
• 1⁄2 banana
• 1 scoop vegan protein powder
• 1 tbsp nut butter
• 1⁄4 c almond milk
• 1 tbsp cacao powder
• Toppings: fresh seasonal fruit, sliced bananas, goji berries, hemp seeds, cacao nibs, mulberries

Instructions

Allow the superfruit pack to soften at room temperature for 2 – 3 minutes

Peel a banana and break it up into the Magic Bullet cup.

Break up the frozen pack with your hands into smaller 
chunks, then cut off the top of the pack and drop contents 
into the Magic Bullet cup.

Add the vegan protein powder, nut butter, almond milk, and cacao powder, and blend on low until smooth.

Pour into a bowl and top with the toppings.

If not serving right away: place bowl in the fridge or cooler. 
Blend again for a few seconds before serving.

Supergreens Bowl Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Supergreens Superfruit Packs
• 1/8 c chocolate hemp milk
• 1⁄2 banana
• 2 tbsp Manitoba Harvest hemp protein 
powder
• 1 tsp maca
• Toppings: fresh seasonal fruit, granola, hemp seeds, fresh banana, golden berries, white mulberries, goji berries & bee pollen

Instructions

Allow the superfruit pack to soften at room temperature for 2 – 3 minutes

Peel a banana and break it up into the Magic Bullet cup.

Break up the frozen pack with your hands into smaller 
chunks, then cut off the top of the pack and drop contents 
into the Magic Bullet cup.

Add the chocolate hemp milk, Manitoba Harvest hemp protein powder, and maca, and blend on low until very thick.

If you are not happy with the consistency, continue to add 
liquid while blending.

Pour into a bowl and top with the toppings.

If not serving right away: place bowl in the fridge or cooler. 
Blend again for a few seconds before serving.

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Açaí bowl image via Shutterstock, other images care of Sambazon

The post 4 Delectable Recipes from Organic Açaí Pioneer Sambazon appeared first on EcoSalon.

Lucuma is a Peruvian fruit that has been consumed since 200 A.D. To Peruvians, it it is the “Gold of the Incas”, an orange-yellow fruit that has long been a symbol of longevity and fertility. Today it is accessible as lucuma powder and has ascended the stairs of superfood status. Learn what lucuma is, what its benefits are and how to us it in the kitchen.

The lucuma fruit grows at altitudes of 2,500 to 10,000 feet, so is difficult to attain in its fresh fruit form. Today, it is sold as a powder in most health food stores. Lucuma has a distinct sweet taste. Many say it tastes like a combination of a sweet potato and maple syrup or a combination of a mango and an apricot. Because of its sweetness, lucuma can be used as a healthier, low-glycemic substitute for sugar.

In terms of its nutritional profile, lucuma is dressed to impress. In 2 tablespoons, it contains 20 calories, 2 grams of dietary fiber and 50 milligrams of potassium. It is high in beta-carotene, fiber, iron and vitamin B3 and it boasts anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and antibacterial properties. And because it ranks low on the glycemic scale, it is fit for people with diabetes or others looking to fight the effects of candida, or yeast overgrowth. Lucuma has also shown to aid those with high blood pressure.

In Peru, lucuma is a common ice cream flavor. Even though you won’t easily find such an ice cream in the U.S., you can introduce lucuma to your very own kitchen and experiment with it in beverages, such as adding a few spoonfuls to smoothies, mix into yogurt and cereal as well as blended desserts and baked goods.

Check out your local health food grocer for lucuma powder or look for it online.

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Canistel from Shutterstock

The post Is Lucuma Powder the Greatest Incan Superfood Ever? appeared first on EcoSalon.

The pomegranate is nutritious, delicious, and its unique design could be a key ingredient in super-powerful rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. 

Beautiful and tasty, the pomegranate is also a powerful superfood. The benefits of pomegranate juice are almost as plentiful as the seeds contained under its thick, pink skin. Now new research has shown that a healthy heart, happier stomach, and stronger skin and hair aren’t the pomegranate’s only life-improving benefits.

According to a study out of Stanford University, the way pomegranate seeds are clustered together within the fruit’s rind provided an important clue for inventors looking to design the next generation of lithium-ion batteries.

“Silicon anodes could store 10 times more charge than the graphite anodes in today’s rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, but they also have major drawbacks: The brittle silicon swells and falls apart during battery charging, and it reacts with the battery’s electrolyte to form gunk that coats the anode and degrades its performance,” explain researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, a joint effort of Stanford and the DOE.

An electrode designed like a pomegranate – with silicon nanoparticles clustered like seeds in a tough carbon rind – could allow battery developers to overcome these remaining obstacles, and finally pave the way for silicon based lithium-ion batteries.

Yi Cui, the lead researcher on this project, has spent the better part of a decade working on a way to encase silicon nanoparticles in carbon ‘yolk shells’ that give them room to swell and shrink during charging. Just like the pomegranate’s skin protects the seeds within, these carbon rinds hold the nanopartical clusters together and provide a sturdy highway for electrical currents.

“Experiments showed our pomegranate-inspired anode operates at 97 percent capacity even after 1,000 cycles of charging and discharging, which puts it well within the desired range for commercial operation,” said Cui.

This means that batteries built to mimic the pomegranate could hold 10 times more charge than a standard rechargeable lithium-ion battery, an improvement that could revolutionize the smartphone industry as well as all the other wireless gadgets that depend on battery power.

Now that they’ve demonstrated the pomegranate battery’s power storage potential, Cui and his team have to tackle new challenges, like a simpler process and a cheaper source of silicon nanoparticles. They say one possible source of silicon could be found in rice husks, a common type of inedible food waste.

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Image: Migle Seikyte

The post A Super Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Inspired By….. Pomegranates? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Due to its alcohol content, wine is often shunned as luxury in a healthy diet, a once-in-awhile enjoyment. However, next time you sip, you should do so with the added knowledge that red wine is a superfood in its own right!

Red wine is beneficial for people who have high cholesterol. In one study, those who consumed a grape supplement found in red wine witnessed a 9-percent decrease in their LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Those with high cholesterol levels experienced an even bigger drop — 12 percent. Looks like the grapes in wine are not diluted by the alcohol after all and still bear incredible benefits. The antioxidants in red wine, which are called polyphenols, contribute to a healthy heart and can prevent heart disease.

The polyphenols in red wine also bear anti-inflammatory properties, which can positively contribute to the prevention of a slew of diseases. Polyphenols may also lower the sex hormone levels and protect against breast cancer.

The benefits of red wine are also due to the compound resveratrol, which is found in the skin of wine grapes. Resveratrol has anti-diabetic effects. Studies have shown that resveratrol reduced blood glucose in animals with hyperglycemia, which may be due to the improved transport of glucose between cells.

Resveratrol has also been linked to having neuro-protective properties and may be especially helpful to those who suffer from Alzheimer’s or simply what to boost brain health. Researchers also suggest drinking one glass of red wine 3-4 times per week can starve young cancer cells, which means that red wine may play a big role in the prevention of cancer.

The benefits of red wine are plenty. Cheers to that!

Image Credit: Desegura89

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Superfoods can be quite intimidating. Aside from the regular fruits and vegetables we get from our local grocer, which are worthy superfoods in all their simplistic glory, the more exotic superfoods, such as nuts, seeds, dried fruit and powders, can be difficult to incorporate into your everyday diet.

However, it doesn’t have to be. If you look closely, there are many loopholes in your already existing diet where the addition of some superfood will either go unnoticed or only enhance the flavor of whatever you are eating. The following tips help you to bring nutritious superiority to your meals in a seamless manner.

When you want to make superfoods a meal highlight, it’s hard to imagine how nuts, seeds and dried fruit can make the cut. The thing is, a little goes a long way, so there is no reason to overdo these relatively dense, heavy superfoods because they are just as equally potent in terms of nutrition. Sure, every once in awhile a supefood burger makes for a unique alternative to its beef-based alternative. Get used to adding a handful of superfood nuts, seeds, and dried fruits to salads or eating them plain as a snack. Any nut, seed or dried fruit-based meal can clog your digestive system and be too heavy to enjoy on the reg.

For any superfood butters, simply add them to your morning oatmeal or mix into a smoothie. I like to take whole raw nuts and dried fruit, process them until grainy and able to hold together, and then eat the mix rolled up in a collard green leaf. It’s a mini, hassle-free snack!

I find powders the easiest to work with because they are easy to hide in almost any dish. I don’t particularly like the taste of spirulina or hemp on their own, so I add a tablespoon, give or take, to a morning fruit smoothie. The fruit cuts the flavor while letting the vitamins and nutrients take control. I also sprinkle the powder over salads, mix lightly into soups, add to the batter of baked goods, or even fold into veggies burger mixes to help hold the “meat” together.

However you enjoy superfoods, remember that they aren’t worth your time if they aren’t easy to fit into your lifestyle. If you keep your creations simple, you can benefit from their super powers without the fuss.

Photo Credit: Geoff Peters 604

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The post Eat Well with Ease: Superfoods Made Approachable appeared first on EcoSalon.

‘Tis the season of sweet treats! Avoid all the toxic sugar and food coloring with this nutritious truffle recipe from Debbie Adler, author of Sweet Debbie’s Organic Treats: Allergy-Free & Vegan Recipes.

If a blueberry walked into a bar and hooked up with a cosmopolitan piece of chocolate sass, their love child would be this açaí berry truffle recipe. you would get a taste of açaí. A popular berry from Brazil, açaí conveniently comes in powdered form, so you can easily add it to this truffle recipe. Unlike their store-bough counterparts, these raw truffles are filled with calcium and vitamins A, B6 and E, and are high in antioxidants.

No-Bake Açaí Berry Truffle Recipe

Yield: About 18 Truffles

Ingredients & Materials for Truffles

8 x 8-inch sheet of parchment paper
12 Medjool dates, pitted and halved
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
3 tablespoons açaí powder
3 tablespoons frozen (thawed) cranberries
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons cacao powder
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

Topping

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

1. Line an 8 x 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine the dates, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, açaí powder, cranberries, orange juice, cacao powder and salt in a
food processor or blender and process until almost smooth.
3. Take about 1 tablespoon of the date mixture, and with wet hands, shape it into a ball. Place the ball on the prepared pan.
4. Repeat until you have used up all the date mixture.
5. Pour the shredded coconut into a small bowl. Roll each ball in the coconut and place it back on the prepared pan. Put the truffles in the freezer to chill for at least 1 hour.
6. Place the truffles in a sealable plastic bag and keep them frozen until ready to eat.

Nutrition Information Per Serving (1 truffle):
110 calories, 5 g total fat, 0.0 mg cholesterol,
15 g carbohydrates, 30 mg sodium, 3 g fiber,
3 g protein, 9 g sugars

Debbie Adler is the owner and biggest nosher at Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes in Los Angeles. Her debut cookbook, Sweet Debbie’s Organic Treats: Allergy-Free & Vegan Recipes, features 50 delicious recipes for muffins, brownies, cookies, cupcakes, bread and even energy bars that are safe for everyone to eat–every recipe in her book is gluten, dairy, soy, nut and sugar free!

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Kakadu Plum: The New Superfood?

Image and recipe copyright Debbie Adler

The post Easy No-Bake Açaí Berry Truffle Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

For the past few years, the world has been caught up in a superfood phenomenon. With an increased emphasis on maintaining health and wellbeing in today’s modern society, we are constantly looking for nutritious and healthy ingredients to give our diets that extra buzz.

Amongst all the talk of quinoa, maca powder and goji berries, there is a lesser known ingredient that is starting to gain international attention. It is indigenous to Australia and has been used by the world’s oldest surviving culture for thousands of years.

The Kakadu plum is harvested predominantly in Northern Australia and although it is called a plum, is actually more closely related to almonds.

What makes it stand out from the suite of other superfoods, is that it is the world’s richest natural source of vitamin C, making it a healthy dietary supplement, but also a potent ingredient for modern skincare and beauty products.

Without delving too deeply into the science, research has shown the Kakadu plum to have strong antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal activities and also, anti carcinogenic effects on human tissue. In addition, it contains high amounts of folate, magnesium, iron and zinc, among other properties.

Traditional Aboriginal communities used the Kakadu plum for medicinal purposes, and it is only recently that scientists and health companies are starting to work with organizations and communities to make this elixir accessible to Australians, as well as to a worldwide audience.

Kakadu plum is now available in both juice and powder form, and although it has been criticized for a higher than average price point , in many cases, it negates the need for other supplements. Making Kakadu plum that little bit easier to purchase and store, means it can be used in the same way as many other supplements, such as sprinkled onto cereals, whizzed up in super smoothies or simply mixed in with water for a nourishing, nutrient hit.

But it isn’t just the foodies getting excited about this little gem. With an increase in the use of natural and organic ingredients in skin and beauty products, the Kakadu plum is also finding its way into our bathroom cabinets. A whole raft of Australian skincare companies such as Mukti, Li’tya and Uandi Naturals are infusing Kakadu plum into their concoctions and pitching it as a new skin elixir. The vitamin C content is used to improve the visual appearance of skin, reduce irritation of dry skin and prevent future skin damage, making it a coveted ingredient for Australia’s harsh climate.

It has only been in recent times, that the world has started to take notice of Australia’s Indigenous superfoods like lemon myrtle, Davidson plum and wild rosella. The Kakadu plum may be the first to be gaining momentum in the health and beauty industries, but it may just be only the beginning of what we will uncover from Australia’s ancient wisdom.

Images:  Kakadu, Bush Food Sensations , Mukti

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I live in Arizona, a hot and arid land, not generally thought of as a farmer’s paradise, and especially not a place that would produce any highly nutritious, medicinal food that could feed the world. But it can.

Like other arid landscapes around the world, Arizona is rich in mesquite. Yes, you’ve heard of mesquite barbecue and mesquite honey, and this is the tree from which those products come. Mesquite’s rock-hard seed pods were stone ground by native Sonoran people and eaten as a staple for centuries before anyone showed up with wheat, rice or grocery stores.

Because of its sweet, caramel-like flavor and high nutritional value, I’ve been using mesquite powder in my smoothies and desserts for a while now. Mesquite’s sweetness comes from fructose, which makes it ideal for diabetics, and people who want to avoid gluten can bake with mesquite flour.

Benefits of Mesquite:
High in protein.
Good quantities of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc.
Rich in the amino acid lysine.
An ideal sweetener for diabetics (it is fructose based).
Can be used as a gluten-free flour for baking.

Not to mention, this humble tree grows like a weed, thrives in poor soil and needs very little water.

So why aren’t there more mesquite orchards in our dry southwestern states? Simply because there hasn’t been a demand. Most mesquite powder comes from South America, but I was thrilled to find locally grown mesquite at my town’s farmer’s market. The Arizona Mesquite Company might be the only commercial mesquite orchard in the country.

So give this incredible desert food a try and better yet, buy it American.

Image: kretyen

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