The Menu:
Baked salmon with roasted leeks
Large green salad with arame arame grapefruit
And for dessert: Superfood ice cream* with raw chocolate galette
The Story:
There are hugs and Hugs, handshakes and Handshakes, greetings and Greetings. And there are Superfoods and super foods. It’s all in the marketing, really. Because gogi berries seem to have hired good PR, they are touted in a much more overt way than the lowly kale though in effect both could be considered superfoods.
Spring is here, and just like nature rejuvenates itself, so we find ourselves with an extra bounce in our step and a desire to dance, skip, breathe fresh air. For me personally, the Spring has been decorated by the approaching arrival, but in the mean time, I am enjoying wonderful visits from loved ones.
And what better excuse to eat outside for the first time this year? Granted, we were all layered up, and after a valiant effort, we did head back indoors for a cup of hot tea. But still…
In the spirit of celebration, I focused on foods that would help us feel light, ebullient, celebratory. As if we needed more help with that. We squinted at the bowls in the darkness and held up our candle to make sure we were in fact eating what we thought we were.
In Israel, they are going through a heat wave. In the UK, we’re just happy to be able to open the windows and doors, to walk through the Heath without our waterproofs, to be able to spend even part of a meal in our little garden enjoying the fresh air as we look up at the cloudy sky and imagine what the stars look like.
I remember trying raw cacao for the first time. Sitting around the table at my yoga teacher’s house in Venice, CA, I gaped as she heaped a large spoonful of raw almond butter mixed with raw cacao powder and all sorts of other goodies into her mouth. I had assumed that chocolate would forever be out of bounds for me and was delighted when she let me in on her little secret: many “unhealthy” foods have actually become so as a result of over-processing. But the raw beans of the cacao plant were actually considered a food of the Gods in many cultures.
Slowly, I learned more about Superfoods and found the ones that I love, and how to best work with them. Let me say right here and now, for the record: there is nothing more heart breaking than having to chuck a Superfood experiment. Not only do I dislike throwing away food, Superfoods make that kind of mishap very expensive. On the other hand, however, when Superfoods work, they offer delicious nutrition that enhances every part of your wellbeing.
As for the difference between Superfoods and super foods – it may be major or minor, but like being able to take advantage of a lovely Spring evening – be it for a few minutes or a couple of hours, I’m happy with every little bit. So whether it’s raw cacao or broccoli, a meal with DW, or a visit from my wonderful Tia, I’m feeling the goodness so abundantly in all of it right now.
The Recipe:
OK so maybe it don’t look so nice, but baby baby this is Superfood at its best. Raw, straightforward, easy, and yummy as hell.
This is superfood with ‘tude.
Superfood ice cream*
(makes 1 gallon)
2 cups cashews (soaked for at least 3 hours)
1 T vanilla powder
¼ cup yacon syrup
¼ cup lucuma
½ t camu camu
2 T coconut water
1 T fresh lemon juice
pinch sea salt
1 cup gogi berries (soaked for at least 30 minutes – retain the soak water)
1 cup chopped dried figs (soaked for at least 30 minutes)
In the food processor, process the cashews, vanilla, yacon, lucuma, camu camu, coconut water, gogi water (up to ½ cup) until smooth.
Add the lemon juice and salt and process briefly.
To keep this ice cream chunky, add the gogis and the figs and pulse a few times to mix it all together.
The result is creamy, chewy, caramelly, and intense.
Nutrition:
Superfoods. When we’re talking about asparagus versus maca, what makes one a Superfood and the other just a super food? I think the distinction is twofold: first of all, there is a marketing and economic factor; secondly, how much bang do you get for your buck?
The Superfoods that the health community likes to mention, like cacao and phytoplankton, are expensive, exotic, sometimes challenging to find and incorporate into one’s regular diet but also filled with a multitude of benefits. In addition, these foods should not be used like you would anything else – it’s important to know how to use them and that a little goes a LONG way. It’s easy to go overboard with these guys, but once in a while, when I’m craving something sweet, adding superfoods somehow change the nature of dessert as I’ve known it.
However, cake is still cake, sugar is still sugar!
And keep in mind that all Superfoods do not work the same on every body.
For example, maca, touted as an adaptogen, mood enhancer and hormone balancer (who wouldn’t want that???) has the opposite effect on me: I get depressed, puffy and really uncomfortable with even 1/8 of a teaspoon.
On the other hand, rarely does a day go by without some sort of raw chocolate something. I love the taste of it, the way it makes me feel, and I know it’s enhancing everything about the here and now.
Super foods, on the other hand are easy to stuff into every nook and cranny available. Foods like berries, broccoli, apples and olive oil.
So before you go spending thousands on strange powders and interesting concoctions that make all sorts of well-financed health claims, why not look in your local farmer’s market or the produce isle of your supermarket?
P.S. Having said all that, I do think we could all benefit from a little more information about both super foods as well as Superfoods. If you’re interested in finding out more, check out my friend Meghan’s Healing With Superfoods e-book or sign up for her 5-day Superfood challenge that starts this Sunday -- April 18th!
Comments