Organic Superfoods and Their Benefits

Hi and welcome to my first feature article 'organic superfoods and their benefits.'

If you have already purchased my wellness cookbook 'Eat Well Live Well - Organic Plant Based Wholefoods' and are keen to get started I have put together a simple superfood ingredients list, where to source them from and their health benefits.   

What are superfoods? Superfoods are foods found in nature that contain extraordinary high amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals and other beneficial compounds. 

Examples of superfoods are; raw cacao, goji berries, hemp seeds, bee products like raw wild honey, bee pollen and royal jelly. Medicinal mushrooms, aloe vera, algaes including spirulina, chlorella and seaweed (fresh nori.)

Ingredients List: kimchi, fermented vegetables, micro greens, sprouted herbs, pomegranate, coconut aminos, coconut sugar and coconut nectar, lucuma powder, raw cacao powder, nut cheeses (cashew and macadamia cheese), tempeh, nut butters (peanut, cashew, almond, sunflower, tahini), chestnut flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, hemp flour, besan flour, lentil flour, cauliflower flour, sweet potato flour, banana resistant starch, coconut flour, flaxseed meal.

These ingredients can be purchased from most organic suppliers, health food stores and super markets in the health food isle or online. I personally like to shop local and support my organic suppliers and wholefood markets, in turn I know were my produce is coming from and that it's sustainably sourced. These include The Little Organic Vegetable, Terra Madre Organics and Naturally on High (Melbourne's north side.)    

A few of my favorite and personal brands include Lewis and Sons, Peace Love and Vegetables, Botanical Cuisine, Loving Earth and PANA Organic. It all comes down to personal choice and preference so have fun and enjoy trying new ingredients and brands so that you can create some wonderfully inspired dishes from the many pages of this book.

Benefits of Organic Superfoods: kimchi and fermented vegetables contain a host of pre and probiotics which are live bacteria that contain gut healing properties. This host of good bacteria is essential for proper digestion and immune health.   

Nut butters and cheeses contain EFA's (essential fatty acids) both saturated and unsaturated which are key in lowering cholesterol and reducing the risks of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. EFA's are also necessary for proper brain and heart function, for the regulation of hormones and keeping a healthy nervous system.

The variations of vegetable flours that I use are all gluten and grain free. They taste delicious, are rich in protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates, keeping you fuller for longer and nutritionally satiated.