himalayan superfood

If you google it, you'll find it listed under a bunch of different names: wolfberry, red mediar, mede berry, barbary matrimony vine, Duke of Argyll's tea tree, backsdorn, and Murali, just to name a few (according to wikipedia). In natural food stores you'll see it marketed as Tibetan goji or Himalayan goji. As the inspiration for an entire natural-ingredient based cereal company, the goji berry has literally become 'the little berry that could.'

Here's your crash course in goji...
- largely grown in China
- also known as "red diamonds"
- originally grown along floodplains of the Yellow River
- unless you are in the region of origin, you will never eat a goji berry in raw form. these berries are dried, packaged and shipped to be sold all over the world.
- lots of culinary uses (awesome with soups, in tea, served with wild yam!)
- it is believed that goji berry juice contains copious amounts of polysaccharides. translation - healthy benefits

It's all in the berry...
- eating goji berries helps you meet your macro and micronutrient intake for the day. Your macronutrients include dietary fibers, carbs, lipids and proteins.
- micronutrients found in the goji berry: dietary minerals, essential vitamins, amino acids, carotenoids, calcium, potassium, zinc, selenium, iron, riboflavin, vitamin C, beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, and the list goes on....

It's been approximately one year since I was introduced to goji berries, and I knew after the first few bites that I had found something awesome. There is so much to learn about what is truly one of nature's superfoods. And there's only one word that comes to mind when you consider all of the above is packed into every last berry: RESPECT!

dark chocolate

i love this stuff.

you may not know, however, the many healthy benefits of a little dark chocolate every now and then.

get educated.

Bean Curd = Good Times: The Joys of Tofu

I'm into it...

Tofu - a condensed form of soft, white bean curd shaped into blocks - comes in 3 main forms: firm (may vary), soft and silken. Steamed, stir-fryed or tempura-ed, it seems that with each of these varieties, the creative possibilities are ENDLESS...

What's behind the tofu craze? Plain and simple - it's low in calories/fat and high in iron. Certain types of tofu can be high in calcium and magnesium as well. It also lends itself to a great many recipes, the go-to substitute for vegetarians, vegans and fans of bean curd.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Check out this site: http://www.soyfoods.com/
Consider it your essential guide to tofu, tempeh, soy beans, soy protein, and every other "soy" thing under the sun.

.:: green protein ::.

Ever heard of spirulina?

Until a few months ago, I hadn't either. So let's take minute and review the facts.

Spirulina is a form of microscopic blue-green algae found in both salt and fresh water sources. As such, spirulina is propogated around the world as natural energy supplement that is literally a form of 'green protein.' In fact, the amount of protein in spirulina falls somewhere between 55-77%, dry weight (mass measurement of an item when completely dry). Spirulina, considered a complete protein, contains all essential amino acids. Despite the fact that spirulina is a form of algae, it is "superior" to your typical plant protein. Spirulina can take on a variety of forms - tablet, powder, or flake. It is both a dietary supplement and a whole food.

Other good things in spirulina...
* essential fatty acids
* lots of vitamins: B-1,2,3,6,9; C, D and E
* potassium
* calcium
* gold

Okay, not gold. But there's a lot more that than I have listed contained in this little gem. Taken regularly, studies show that spirulina is a natural way to boost your energy level. And as a powder, it makes a fine ingredient addition to banana pancakes.

Sold at natural food stores for about $20-25 and Trader Joe's for $5.

the herbivore's solution.

Below I've posted a link to the Vegetarian Starter Kit. It's everything you need to know about going veg, including...

- benefits of adopting a vegetarian lifestyle
- the truth about protein and protein-based diets
- calcium/plant-based diets
- recipes
- etc.

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/vsk.pdf

ch-ch-ch-check it.

first things first.

This blog has been created in support of my senior project, the focus of which is to create an energy bar and to learn effective ways to be vegetarian/vegan. I've come across so much information and have a lot of ideas, so with this blog I'll be keeping track of steps, ingredients, musings, thoughts and hopefully some successes I have along the way.