My Favorite Superfoods!

I try my best to make sure I nutrify with the following raw food superfoods everyday for optimal health and vitality. Plus, when my body’s getting all the nutrients it needs, I feel satisfied so I have less cravings and eat less too. This leads to a healthy inside, which shows up on the outside as clear skin and eyes, shiny hair, healthy nails and that glow of radiance. So eat up and beautify!

- Blue green algae like E3Live, either in flakes or the frozen whole version. This raw food can be a bit intense, but is super for strengthening our immune system. I put a couple Tablespoons in a morning smoothie to mask the taste.

- Kelp noodles and sea vegetables, high in minerals, fat free, gluten free, wheat free, low in carbohydrates and calories. Kelp Noodles are a raw food, and have only 6, that’s six, calories a serving! A great natural source of iodine too.

- Maca root powder, strengthens our adrenals to handle stress, and balances hormonal levels. Stronger adrenals means greater health overall.

- Omegas from raw, sprouted hemp, flax and chia. I blend it all into my morning smoothie. I also love placing a couple Tablespoons of chia in a bowl with dried fruits like goji berries and golden berries. Both are high in antioxidants to combat free radical damage and oxidation of our cells, keeping us looking and feeling more youthful and vibrant. Soak chia and fruit in your favorite nut milk for 5-10 minutes to hydrate into a gel, and enjoy! Chia holds a ton of water, and keeps our skin hydrated.

- Antioxidants from acai, blueberry, mangosteen. Navitas Naturals has a great raw food mix of these in powder form, which I put in my smoothies.

What’s your favorite superfood? Please let us know in the comments!

Originally published February 26, 2009

Love Is the Ultimate Superfood

Superfoods have become such a hot topic, especially in the last several years, and have finally infiltrated the more mainstream health/medical world.

“Drink noni juice.”
“Put maca in your smoothie.”
“Add goji berries.” (to everything)
“Ingest spirulina.” (constantly)

We see it, hear it, and read about it everywhere, at every turn, or so it seems.

While I love dropping goji berries into a cup of herbal tea once in awhile, or enjoying the occasional raw cacao truffle (another food with superstar status), I believe that the fresh green stuff still reigns supreme:

-Raw greens and their fresh juices
-Sprouts (made from veggies/greens, not beans)
-Fresh wheatgrass

Greens, especially when juiced, are grand, sun-energy holding, blood-building stars. A powerhouse food that encourages the stirring up of old trapped toxicity. When this happens there is the exciting potential that the stuff will actually leave the body (obviously a sought after result). A few more reasons to adore greens? They leave no residue in their wake and are rich in enzymes and alkalinity. All music to my ears (and my tummy!). Eat them whole (except for wheatgrass, as that would not taste very good!), blend them, and juice them.

However, this blog is really not about food. In my experience with clients over the years, as well as on a personal level, I know that love is really the ultimate superfood. I’m not writing anything new here, but rather highlighting a topic that is never redundant. We are not only fed by the actual food we eat, but by our relationships, career, exercise, spiritual practice…and love. Try sitting down and eating a bowl of anything while feeling anxious or pissed off. Then try eating while calm and having a sense of love for the food you are about to eat and the people you are sharing the meal with. Very different experience. And that’s just relating to digestion.

A big shot of love injected into any situation will uplift, whether it’s in an argument with a loved one or during a bad day (or week) at work. Practice random acts of loving kindness to strangers, and of course when the love is in the air already – at a great party, over a cup of coffee with a friend – then simply feel it expand. There is no limit to how much love we can give and receive. I think it counts most when it is challenging to offer that love energy. This defines grace.

So what if your heart center is shut down a bit? It happens. This planet can be a challenging place to be at times.

Here are a few simple ideas to get that heart chakra opened up again:

-Laugh. Seems so obvious, but laughing is really the ultimate remedy. Nothing opens up the chakras (energy systems in the body) quite like a good, solid giggle.
-Rebound. Who wouldn’t be in a state of joy while jumping up and down on a mini-trampoline? I have yet to meet that person.
-Listen to music. Preferably songs that are fun, energizing, or emotionally moving!
-Nature: Get Outdoors and into Some Green. To be in the presence of nature is to be in the presence of magnificent love power.

So in my mind anything we could possibly eat, no matter the superfood status, pales in comparison to love!

Love feels good.
Love pervades.
Love heals all.
Love is really all there is.

Meredith Geller, a holistic nutrition and lifestyle consultant, guides her clients toward radiant health and vitality. She passionately believes in the transformative power of cleansing one’s system in order to achieve a higher state of wellbeing. Born and raised in New York City, she continues to call this great city her home.

Superfoods = Super Body!

By Gabrielle Brick

Many people ask, “What makes a food super?” A superfood is a food that is over the top in vitamins and minerals; a food that offers vitality, sustainable energy, trace minerals and has the ability to balance our entire system; a food that offers optimal immune support and more!

Foods like goji berries, cacao, maca, golden berries and mulberries are just a few of the foods considered to be superfoods. For instance, goji berries are a complete protein source. They contain 18 different amino acids including all 8 essential amino acids. They also contain polysaccharides that fortify the immune system and are considered a top herb in the 5000-year-old medicinal system of China.

Cacao or raw chocolate is one of my absolute favorite superfoods. Cacao contains the alkaloid theobromine. Theobromine is derived from the Greek word, theobroma, which means “food of the gods.” Cacao contains over 300 chemical compounds that support the function of the body. In addition, cacao is a good source of magnesium, which many Americans are deficient in. Magnesium is needed for the heart to function optimally. It is no accident that Valentine’s Day and chocolate go hand in hand. The key, however, is to get your hands on RAW chocolate. That is where the magic happens!

Another amazing superfood is maca. Maca is a powerful adaptogen, which means it has the ability to balance and stabilize all of the body’s systems. It provides a sustainable source of energy, balances the hormones (whether you are male or female) and has been known to aid in relief of depression. The synergy of raw maca and cacao are what brought me out of depression. These superfoods literally saved my life!

Superfoods are essential to optimal well-being. They offer what no other foods can offer, no matter how organic or live in being. When you incorporate organic, raw, superfood living into your lifestyle, you are guaranteed an abundance of energy, vitality, happiness and an ease from your dis-ease. Superfoods are the proverbial fountain of youth!

One of my favorite ways to start the day is with a superfood smoothie. It is quick and easy… perfect for those of us on the go! This smoothie will nourish you on a deep level and provide you with all of the energy necessary to begin your day. This smoothie will offer you protein, vitamins, minerals and a sustainable source of energy. It will keep you from those mid-day crashes; it will speed up your metabolism, yet keep those hunger pangs away! This superfood smoothie will literally offer you feelings of bliss as raw cacao stimulates the production of anandamide (“the bliss chemical”). In addition you will be able to stay focused because cacao stimulates our neurotransmitters (needed to keep us alert). The best part is that these foods taste great!

Do you have an important meeting, exam or deadline to meet? This superfood smoothie is your answer! How about just an excuse to sip on something utterly scrumptious that is totally guilt-free? This superfood smoothie is ORGANIC, VEGAN, RAW and LOW GLYCEMIC!

Superfood Smoothie Recipe (all organic ingredients):

-3 cups coconut water, hemp milk, almond milk or oat milk
-1/4 cup raw cacao beans (or nibs)
-3 tbsp maca root powder
-1 handful of goji berries
-1 tbsp coconut oil
-1 pinch of Celtic sea salt or Himalayan crystal salt
-Real Raw Clear Agave Nectar (sweeten to taste)

Place all of the ingredients in your blender or Vita-Mix and blend on high until creamy. Serve and enjoy!

I would like to take this opportunity to speak about agave. There is a big controversy about agave and I can say with great clarity that the Real Raw Clear Agave Nectar is the only agave on the market that is TRULY low glycemic. I have personally tested all of the different grade agaves on the market and this agave is the only one that kept my blood sugar even. I have testimonials from Type 1 diabetics who say they can eat an entire serving of my raw chocolate bar, The ONE Bar ™, and their blood sugar is completely stable without an increase of even one point. Real Raw Clear Agave Nectar is the only agave I know of that is proven to meet the low glycemic standards. In addition, it is the only agave that is free of any and all heat-processing through the use of high-velocity centrifugal straining of juices.

There are no rules, only choices. When we take the opportunity to love ourselves and make the best choice available in every moment, we see remarkable changes! It is in these moments that we become the superhero of our own personal life story. What do you choose?

Gabrielle Brick is an International Educator & Lifestyle Consultant with over 15 years experience and understanding in the art of optimal nutrition. She has studied with world-renowned leaders in Nutrition, Psychology, Linguistics, and Chinese Medicine. Gabrielle guides one to a place of deep understanding in optimal nutrition by tapping us into the nature of self through our choices in food.

Forget coffee and have a SUPERFOOD SUMMER

Sarma’s One Lucky Duck goodies (raw and vegan crackers, cookies, truffle butter, nuts and more) are now in the Crazy Sexy Shop!

It’s been six years now that I’ve been a mostly raw-vegan, most of the time. In my books, blog, and elsewhere, I openly admit to being relatively open-minded when it comes to what I eat. But sometimes being very relaxed about it—particularly in the context of stress and other distractions—leads to the formation of habits before we even realize what’s happened. My own example of this: coffee! What a hypocrite I am. A whole page in my first co-written book Raw Food Real World is devoted to how bad coffee is.

My transgressions started a few summers ago as one of my early oneluckyduck.com investors was frequently drinking coffee around me in my office. I wasn’t sleeping much then and particularly freaked out about a lot of things going on, and the smell of it was very appealing! First I’d ask for a sip, then I’d have a few sips, then I’d just grab the whole cup from him and he’d have to go get another for himself. Before I knew it, I was hooked again. It was that easy.

I felt like an addict with a secret. I’d run to the coffee shop for an iced coffee, then head back towards the restaurant thinking that I really shouldn’t walk in this neighborhood drinking coffee! What if one of the regulars from the juice bar saw me! What then? Making it easier for me, my assistant at the time became my “enabler” offering to fetch me a fresh iced coffee anytime I wanted. I truly felt like a “user” when I finally bought my own ground coffee. At least now it’s organic, I rationalized. Still, alone in my own kitchen filling the filter (made of unbleached recycled paper, of course!) with the aromatic grounds, and waiting for the water to boil, I felt a bit like a crack-head with the spoon and lighter.

My conflicted and tumultuous on and off relationship with this substance has led me to a few conclusions. I simply do not do well on coffee at all, tempting as it is. Not to mention, it gives you yucky coffee breath if you don’t brush your teeth right away. I also have a theory that it makes me sweat and in an odd funky kind of way. Not sexy! But the worst issue is the dependency and crashing. I might feel uplifted for a bit, but then before long sluggishness sets in. Is it not also widely known that it dehydrates you and inhibits the absorption of iron and many other minerals, and is acidic in your body? Further, it must certainly be the case that when you get to the point where a massive migrane is the consequence of trying to stop suddenly, something is really wrong with this very popular habit.

Luckily, I finally feel I’ve weaned myself off for good. If I get very little sleep and crave a sweet and creamy jolt, I mix in my VitaMix some raw cacao powder, nut milk (or, heaping tablespoon of cashew or almond butter + water = milk), stevia or agave nectar, vanilla, ice, and some frozen banana if I have any, and pour it over more ice. So refreshing, much better than iced coffee, and its breakfast too. There also seems to be something magically energizing about the combination of goji berries and raw cacao. My favorite breakfast is One Lucky Duck chocolate crispies with a handful of raw cacao nibs and goji berries, maybe some sliced banana, and hemp or nut milk. It’s crunchy cereal power breakfast.

Superfoods may be a very overused term these days. I love goji berries and they seem to keep you full for hours. A famous New York cosmetic doctor was quoted in a fashion magazine years ago saying that the goji berry is the number one anti-cellulite food, because of how loaded they are with antioxidants. I read this and immediately wanted to hoard them as I expected a sudden worldwide surge in demand and subsequent scarcity, but luckily they still seem readily available and affordable.

I’m also completely in love with green shakes. I’ll always love green juice, particularly when I don’t want to get really filled up. But when I want to get filled up, I make a green shake. Fresh cucumber in the blender makes an excellent base, to which I add grapefruit or pineapple, lemons and limes, sometimes a little mango. To that I add a whole bunch of fresh cilantro, kale, chard or spinach, sunflower sprouts if I have them, along with stevia, a pinch of salt, and a splash of vanilla. I like shakes because they make for the ultimate superfood party. I love to add a splash of aloe vera juice, a toss of tocotrienols, a spoon of blue green algae, some green tea extract, and yes, maybe some more goji berries—which blend easier than you might imagine if you have a VitaMix.

Aside from being so nutrient dense, what I love about these crazy concoctions is that they taste really good. Sometimes I add strawberries or blueberries, or nectarines or white peaches. And if I don’t feel like having it in a glass, then I’ll chop a fuji apple into a bowl, pour my amped up green shake over it, sprinkle it with bee pollen and some whole goji berries and eat it with a spoon like cereal – superfood cereal. When this is what I’m taking in, I feel as if I could not eat for days and I would feel fine. As if I’ve truly nourished myself and am a well oiled machine.

With so many variables, it’s always tricky to evaluate how something specific is affecting you. I have given up coffee only to fall back into the habit enough times that the overall conclusion is clear to me. I might crave that initial high and the flavor, but it’s a quick fix that quickly makes one dependent. The funny part is, I would slip back into drinking coffee with a full awareness of feeling very unclean about it, and I think in some way that was part of it – I was being almost rebellious, or thinking that I just needed it to get me through a particularly sleep-deprived and work crazy period of time. Now, when that urge for a cup of coffee – even just one – starts to gnaw at me, I take a deep breath and think about the characters in Trainspotting. That always does the trick.

Sarma

*This article was originally published in Get Fresh! Magazine.