'In the Kitchen' Archive Fridays: Super Foods - Add High Powered Nutrition To Your Day

Welcome to 'In the Kitchen' Archive Fridays!  Today I'm going back to the archives of Everything 'In the Kitchen' Up Close to feature a guest post written by Gemma at the blog Way Beyond Green that discussed native super foods (along with some recipes). Make sure to read all the way to the bottom of this post for an update (includes a couple of links to some interesting food blogs). 

Enjoy!

"Welcome to this week's guest article on Everything 'In the Kitchen' Up Close! Today, Gemma from Way Beyond Green will introduce you to native super foods and share some of her favorite recipes with you.

Nature's super foods...native foods are ounce for ounce your best value for quick, affordable and delicious health foods. Native foods are the natural result of hundreds of years of adaptation and nature's selective process; native foods are the champions of the food chain. Low fat, low carb and packing a powerful double punch as potent nutritional sources and disease fighting agents, super native foods are champions you want in your cupboard. And to top that, most native food varieties are available locally anywhere in the US and Canada. They typically very affordable, especially when in season.

This is the first segment in a two part series. In the first part we'll take you through Breakfast and Mid-day meals. Providing you with super foods that will help you start the day with lots of energy and leave you feeling healthy.

In our second article, we'll cover a Mid-day Meal and Dinner ideas. I will be providing you with more great recipes and quick and easy meal ideas using these super foods.

Super Native Foods #1: Berries
There are native berries that are readily available and in abundance throughout North America. In fact in some parts of the country, during the late summer months you can pick buckets full for free and it's a great outdoor activity for the entire family. By harvesting our own food, we not only save money but we also reconnect with our local environment and ensure that you're getting the highest vitality food available. Plus, it is a lot of fun.

Blueberries, cranberries, salmonberries, and huckleberries are all native berries that not only help the environment, but are great in handfuls and fantastic with yoghurt and granola.

Dried, fresh or frozen berries are potent capsules of Vitamin C and antioxidants needed for mental alertness, immunity, cell regeneration, and disease prevention. For hundreds of years, a handful of dried berries has been the preferred breakfast for champion moms and hungry babies.

Freezing berries is a great way to store this fabulous super food for later use. To freeze berries for later use, lay fresh berries flat out on a cookie sheet (don't wash them) and lay the cookie sheet level in freezer. A few hours later, dump the individual frozen berries in plastic baggies so you can use them later. As long as they stay frozen, you won't get a "big glob" of berries and can grab a handful on the go or easily add them to your cooking.

Suggested varieties:
Blueberries, cranberries, salmonberries and huckleberries

Recipes:Blueberry Muffins with Quinoa
Quinoa Corn Whole Orange Muffins Recipe This recipe didn't have berries in it, but it looked so darn good, I say throw a handful in. By the way, you don't have to thaw frozen berries - just throw them directly into the batter.


Super Native Foods #2: Quinoa & AmaranthAlthough strange sounding, quinoa (KEEN-wah) and amaranth are really very similar to oatmeal or other hot cereals. Quinoa is and amaranth are extremely high in protein and fiber and it is estimated that they contain 75% and 87% of an adult's daily nutrional requirements. Gluten and wheat-free these native foods are tiny capsules of energy and vitality, and contains hundreds of years of plant dna intelligence designed for survival. Forget Starbucks, that's what I need in the morning!

Suggested varieties:
Quinoa, amaranth, ground blue corn meal

Breakfast Meal Suggestions:Dried, fresh or frozen berries with granola or hot cereal such as quinoa, amaranth or blue corn meal. Prepare just like you would regular oatmeal. It takes almost no time to make and it is good prepared ahead of time. Just keep it covered in the refrigerator and reheat. If you need a quick breakfast on the go, simply skip the cereal and go for the berries.

Recipes:
Hot Quinoa Breakfast With Fruits. This link even gives you a breakdown of nutrient values.
Blue Corn Meal Crepes
Quick Lemon-Scented Quinoa Salad

A Traditional Oaxacan Recipe: Rich & Amaranth pudding. This is outrageous and still pretty good for you. You can simply reduce the sugar and the condensed milk in the recipe to make it even healthier for you. Condensed milk, or canned ingredients are often used by indigenous communities after true indigenous sources were no longer available. In the past, this was probably made traditionally (I'm guessing) with fresh goat's milk. If you choose to go this route, fresh goat's milk can often be purchased at your health food store and is fantastic for your immune system and digestion.

I hope you noticed, I've included a couple of different ways to cook these native foods. Once you find out wonderful they are, you'll want to add more to your diet. Oh, and I learned this the hard way... Do you want your kids to eat healthy? Don't say a word. Just tell them it's grown up food.

Additional resources:
waybeyondgreen.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Native_crops_by_country
http://www.squidoo.com/nativefoods

This week's guest writer

Gemma Benton is a mom and grandmother who raised her family on traditional Native American foods, wild harvested plants and herbs for over twelve years. She is actively involved in the preservation of native american and indigenous traditions. You can learn more about the benefits of native foods and indigenous cultures at her blog waybeyondgreen.org."

Update:

Unfortunately, when doing my research for this archive Friday, I discovered that Gemma is no longer blogging.  Gemma is no longer posting new content at Way Beyond Green but she still has all the old articles available online for you to view.  Way Beyond Green has articles on food (general), diet and supplements, a bunch of recipes, and instructions on how to cook various foods (e.g. different types of vegetables).  At the end of Gemma's blog, she references two other blogs that she retrieved information from to share on her blog.  Both are worth checking out.  One that is sourced is one that I recently found out about and love: Simply Recipes.  Simply Recipes has tons of recipes sorted by main ingredient, type of meal, special cooking categories and more.  The other blog sourced is called Green Drink Reviews.  It is a review blog that reviews natural health products, but also discusses health tips on a regular basis.  It is worth taking a look at if you are interested in or already purchase health food products or are a health-conscious person.