Superfoods and how to cook them
'08.12.2017'
To begin with, I do not like the term “superfoods”, which are suddenly called fashionable food. They say the concentration of nutrients in them exceeds all previously known indicators, but it is difficult to talk about indicators without any specifics. Are three goji berries better than a handful of fresh blueberries in oatmeal? I don't think so, but it's better to add goji to the diet. This is the principle I am guided by.
Probably, it happens to you too that you buy a product, and then you don’t know what exactly to do with it. For almost a year, I had a pack of asai berries powder, I timidly added it to a smoothie, but I never cooked a full-fledged pudding. From the last - I bought almond flour, I haven’t tried it in baking yet, but finally I chose a recipe for pancakes for the next Saturday.
I decided to collect here a list of what I use and give hints, what is and how to cook. The article will turn out to be incredibly long if you also write about the benefits and harms of each product.
A part of the listed products may not be among the generally accepted “super foods”, but they should definitely be considered as a replacement for the usual ones. For example, I cook exclusively on avocado oil. But if I need to fry pancakes for breakfast, then coconut oil is used. I also add coconut oil to baking instead of the usual one (I also like to experiment and sometimes I choose pistachio oil, hazelnut oil or some other).
And one more point in the preface: I am not a vegetarian, but in my refrigerator it is extremely rare to eat butter and cow's milk. I prefer almond milk, but strictly without sugar and vanilla. Yogurts often buy cashews. If you suddenly want bacon, then choose turkey bacon. If the salad requires mayonnaise, then replace it with vegenaise.
I like granola for breakfast, I don’t remember when I last ate white bread and once again for eternity I spoil myself with a croissant. That is, in general, I am for an informed choice of food, with knowledge about fast carbohydrates, animal fats and so on.
So, what's the trend?
Apple cider vinegar - It is recommended to add it to a glass of water that you drink in the morning. I also add it to the dressing for vegetable salads (I mix avocado oil, apple cider vinegar, and also balsamic vinegar). Another apple vinegar quench soda for different pastries - for example, here is the recipe for my favorite cake made from plantains without flour and sugar.
Black volcanic salt (I have Hawaiian): I use this salt in everything that does not require heat treatment.
Turmeric powder (there is turmeric and there is curcumin - known to us as turmeric, they are obtained from one root vegetable, but I am writing specifically about turmeric). With him, they suddenly began to cook not only food (rice, pasta, baked vegetables), but also smoothies and even coffee drinks. Recent finds - turmeric cream - an interesting dressing for tomato soup. Cooking from a can of coconut milk, adding half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and a pinch of salt - mix but don't heat.
Ground flaxseeds (organic ground flaxseed) - I add a little to oatmeal, to smoothies and carefully to baked goods (especially if I'm making something like muffins from whole grain flour).
Kale (kale) - great for salads, smoothies, roasting in the oven, soups and even chips. And all this is prepared super-simply, because Keil is ideally combined with almost any products. For example, simple and nourishing Portuguese soup. Green Broth cook with potatoes and sausage chorizo, and then at the end add the cabbage. For dinner, you can bake Mediterranean sea bass on a pillow made of keila (by the way, I'll do it the other day).
At the expense of smoothies - here almost any combination is good. I like to mix frozen bananas and fresh avocados by adding keil and lime with water. We cook the chips simply - tear the leaves into small pieces and grease them with a mixture of any vegetable oil with parmesan and spices, send the oven and wait until they dry up to a crisp state.
Chia seeds - it is desirable to cook them from evening to morning so that the seeds swell. The recipe is simple: for half a cup of seeds, you need 2 cups of milk of your choice, and also add 2 teaspoons of sweetener (I have maple syrup) and a pinch of salt. You can submit any berries, fruits and nuts to chia. You can also mix a couple of spoons of cocoa and whole avocado fruit into the mixture.
Acai berry powder first sold for smoothies breakfast. You need 4 spoons of powder in a glass of nut milk, also add frozen bananas, dates, 2 spoons of coconut oil, and further as desired - for example, blueberries, cabbage cale, some yogurt, mango, chia seeds and some lime juice, all this is mixed in a blender and Serve in bowls, additionally garnished with fruits, nuts, coconut flakes and mint leaves. Here, for example, the recipe is a bit simpler.
Green Tea Powder (I have a Moringa Tree Powder) add in green smoothies. And somehow I tried to make banana pancakes without flour and sugar with the taste of green tea (recipes usually contain cocoa, so I just replaced it with this powder) and it turned out pretty cool.
Kinoa for me it has become so simple a product that even writing about it is boring. Great for salads and as a side dish. Here are five good recipes, but even just serving with baked vegetables and mushrooms is very tasty. And here is my favorite recipe for quinoa cutlets with parmesan, cedar and cottage cheese.
Goji berries in dry form, they are eaten as dried fruits, and if you rinse and hold them a little longer in water, you can add them to smoothies, desserts, salads, yogurts, pastries, and breakfast cereals.
I got a list of 10 products. Of course, you can also add spirulina and blue seaweed powder. (E3 Live Blue Algae), but I'm still with them on “you”.
