'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.

DAS Foods Review & Giveaway!

CEO and Founder of DAS Foods, Katie Das, started her company with the vision of sharing foods containing gourmet salts found all around the world with other people.  DAS Foods started by selling Gourmet Finishing Salts but quickly introduced it's line of artisan caramels (Fleur des Sel Caramels) after being invited to the World of Chocolate philanthropic event organized by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago back in November, 2006.  The line of caramels started with 4 flavors and since then an additional 4 flavors have been added to the pack.  In addition to finishing salts and caramels, DAS Foods now creates and sells Lolipops, gift packages and packages specifically for weddings and other special events.

Prior to starting DAS Foods, Katie Das gathered a variety of experience by working as a food scientist in the Kraft Foods Research and Development division for 5 years, and as a marketing manager for Wm. Wrigley Jr Company.

One thing that impressed me about this company was their strong beliefs and values.  DAS Foods donates 10% of their profits to the AIDS foundation of Chicago.  Here is what Katie had to say on the DAS Foods Philanthropy page: 

“I grew up in an environment where universal values, such as helping those in need, collecting intellectual wealth and nurturing love within the family were most important. We do our best to live by these values and project them onto our company as well."

"Whether it is helping low income women to become self sufficient, funding efforts to fight AIDS in the US and abroad, or helping to develop sustainable local agriculture – we’re helping people who are in need.  We’re a small company but we too can make the difference. There is so much still for us to do, and we will get there- step by step.”

If you'd like to read more about how DAS Foods came to be and their values, be sure to check out their About Us Page.

As you browse through DAS foods' website, you will notice a page filled with recipes that use DAS foods products: Recipes.  Since Halloween is quickly approaching, I figured I would include one of their fun recipes with my post for all of you looking for treats to make for the upcoming weekend!

Review
Katie was kind enough to send me some DAS Foods' products to review on Everything Up Close.  In my review package, I received a variety of Fleur des Sel Caramels and Lollipops.  When I opened my review package, I noticed the cute little packages that contain the caramels.  Instead of being in a plastic bag like many candies, these caramels come in a paper box, which is completely recyclable.  I also found out that DAS foods tries to use as many local ingredients as possible when making their caramels.  They all use 100% Natural ingredients - that means no preservatives or artificial flavors.  I love the fact that DAS foods is doing something to reduce the effect they have on the environment.  As for the actual caramels, I immediately noticed the unique flavors that DAS foods offers.  Their caramels come in 8 different flavors that I doubt I would be able to find in any brand of caramels.  My favorite caramel was the Chili Pecan caramel.  Here is what the DAS website had to say about it: "Our newest creation will leave you breathless: literally!  Smoky, spicy chili pepper, fresh pecans from small farm in Texas all wrapped in indulgent all natural caramel base.  Our new Chili Pecan caramel is innocently sweet and at first, and then just as you thought you really tasted it all, three pepper spice will hit you all over.  The tantalizing spice will linger long after the caramel has disappeared reminding you of how delicious it really was."  I love this flavor caramel because the it is unexpected and unique.  This caramel starts off sweet and has an after spice. I can honestly say that I've never tried a caramel like this.  My boyfriend also had an opportunity to try out these caramels.  His taste was a bit more conservative and he chose the Dark Chocolate – Toasted Walnut Caramelas his favorite.

Next I had a chance to try DAS foods' lollipops.  Like all of DAS Foods' products, these lollipops are all natural, plus they do not contain corn syrup.  After looking at their interesting names, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  For this taste test, my opinion was a bit different than my boyfriend's taste.  In terms of favorites, I went for the more ordinary flavours, whereas my boyfriend was more than willing to consume the Maple Bacon lollipops (yes you heard me right...maple bacon).  I tried them and they weren't bad but I guess I just couldn't get past the bacon name.  Although, these lollipops are fun and a great conversation piece.  They are perfect for leaving in your coffee table's candy bowl or including with gifts or cards.

Overall, I was happy with both the values and the products supplied by DAS foods.  I especially liked their caramels and would purchase them in the future.  Also, I will certainly give them credit to bringing a number of innovative product flavors into the market place!  If you are looking for stocking-stuffers for Christmas, DAS Foods caramels are a great choice because of the perfect size of the box they come in and their unique flavors!

How many winners will there be? Two (2).

What can you win?  Each winner will win an assortment box of caramels (shown in the picture to the left) from DAS Foods.  ARV $20.99USD.

To enter, Look through DAS Foods' website, then come back here and tell me the name of one other product you'd like to try, other than the products mentioned in my article. This question must be answered to gain an entry in the giveaway.

Each of the following will give you one extra entry in the giveaway. Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do:
-Writing a haiku about salted caramels.
-Following DAS Foods on Twitter (@dascandy).

-Friending DAS Foods on Facebook.  Please leave your name that is shown on Facebook for verification.

-Telling me the name of one retail store than sells DAS Foods' products.  Click here to find out.

- Subscribing to my blog via email or RSS feed (Maximum of 1 entry - please tell me how you subscribe in your comment).

- Adding my button to your blog sidebar.

- Following me on Twitter (@ihchicky). Please leave your Twitter name.

- Following me on Blogger / Google Friends Connect (publicly).

- Tweeting about this giveaway (with a link to this page) on Twitter. Please leave a link to your tweet or your twitter name. You can do this once a day.

- Blogging about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a link to your blog post in your comment.
- Talking about and linking to this giveaway in any public forum or on Facebook. If you do this, please leave your user-name and a link to the post.
-Donate a minimum of $1 to my BlogHer 2010 Fund using the ChipIn widget on the right hand side of my blog. 3 ENTRIES! Please leave me your PayPal email address so I can verify your entry.

Important Entry Details: The above entries (main and bonus) can only be submitted once per person (except for the tweet entry, which can be done daily). Please do not use more than one blogger account or add additional anonymous comments to gain extra entries. This is not fair to everyone else and this practice is strictly prohibited. If a person is found to be using more than one account to enter the same giveaway, they will be disqualified from that particular giveaway, as well as all future giveaways.

This giveaway will end on Monday, November 9th at 11:59pm (Central Standard Time). After the giveaway has ended, the winner will be picked randomly using random.org. EMAIL RULES: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. I will be notifying the winner by email only. Please make sure your blog profile includes your email address and make sure that it is visible. If you do not have a blogger account, please make sure you have included your email address in your post. If there is no email address provided, to contact the winner, another person will be chosen. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email notification with their complete mailing address (I will be forwarding all this information to the sponsor), If this information is not received within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to the Continental US only (no Hawaii or Alaska)!

Good Luck!

Kernel Season's Review

Recently, I had a chance to try out a number of different products from Kernel Season's. I tried 13 flavours of their popcorn seasonings (white cheddar, butter, nacho cheddar, Parmesan & garlic, ranch, sour cream & onion, caramel, kettle corn, jalapeno, Cajun, barbecue, apple cinnamon, and chocolate marshmallow). Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to try three of their flavours: salt, salt & vinegar, and chili lime.

The first time I used the seasonings, I found it very easy, however, I did underestimate the amount of seasoning that I needed. Since I usually don't measure the amount of popcorn I make, that was probably the reason I didn't find there to be enough seasoning. In total, I added a couple of cap fulls to the popcorn and the taste was great. I thought the coverage was good, as long as I used Kernel Season's Spritzer (this product sells for $3.99 on the Kernel Season's website), butter, or oil spray. If you decide to use the seasonings without one of these products, the seasoning doesn't stick very well. Overall, I liked all the flavours I tried. The flavours were fairly realistic and they were a great for using when I was in the mood for something other than plain popcorn. Out of all the flavours I tried, I liked the caramel and the nacho cheddar best, however, the others were great as well. In addition to popcorn, you can try these seasonings on fruit, pancakes/crepes, ice cream, baked potatoes and more!

I also had the opportunity to try out Kernel Season's Movie Theatre Popping and Topping Butter. I found it very easy to use and it provided a good taste and coverage for my popcorn. My favorite aspect of this product is that it didn't leave my popcorn feeling soggy like hot butter does. Since I can't find any similar products like this in the stores in my area, I'd definitely purchase this again in the future. The price of this product is $3.99 on the Kernel Season's website.

Finally, I had the chance to try our Kernel Season's own brand of popping corn (a.k.a. a popcorn pouch on their website). I found the directions on the package quite thorough and the price for the amount you receive is reasonable. Since receiving this to review, I have finished virtually the entire package. I found that almost all the popcorn kernels I put in the bowl/pot popper, which is not the case with many other popcorn brands. The only thing I didn't like about the kernels is that they weren't quite as big and puffy as I like. The price of this product is $3.99 on the Kernel Season's website.

In addition to purchasing each item one by one, Kernel Season's offers you the option to purchase cases of their product on their website (with exception of the popcorn seasonings). If you are planning to purchase more than one popcorn seasoning from Kernel Season's, you may be interested in checking out their Buy 4, get the 5th free offer. If you eat a lot of popcorn or plan to give Kernel Season's products as a gift, this is a good option. By buying in bulk, Kernel Season's offers a decent discount! Plus, remember - you always receive free shipping on orders of $40 or more (in the continental US only).


*These products were tested using both the stove top method and the microwave method for popping popcorn. I also tested most of the products reviewed above with various brands of popping corn.