4 Superfoods You Should Definitely Be Eating

When you hear the word superfoods, your mind probably goes right to kale and blueberries, right? Well it’s time for some other “new” superfoods to make it to your Instagram feed. I recently shared four of my faves with Rachael Ray, and you may want to add them to your repertoire of nutritional superheros in place of your old worn out go-tos. Because let’s face it, you can never have enough superfoods on your plate! 4 Superfoods You Should Definitely Be Eating Matcha: Use this bright green powder to replace your morning coffee. Matcha is made from whole tea leaves that are ground into powder form. Since you’re consuming the whole tea leaf (versus steeping and dumping a tea bag) matcha provides you with a super dose of antioxidants  – 10 times the amount of traditional green tea. The high levels of both ECGC (a type of catechin) and polyphenols will provide you with anti inflammatory benefits, may improve your blood pressure and play a role in cardiovascular health. Matcha contains caffeine as well the amino acid known as l-theanine. This combination will help to improve your mental alertness and help you focus without the 3:00 p.m. crash you usually get from downing your daily dose of java. Add this powder to warm almond milk to replace your morning latte, blend with Greek yogurt, add to smoothies or even sprinkle on popcorn. Ghee: Use this to replace traditional butter. Ghee is a type of clarified butter that you’re definitely going to want to add to your grocery list. This creamy spread has more short and medium chain fatty acids than traditional butter. What does this mean for your bod? The calories from these fats are burned faster so the energy the ghee provides is more quickly utilized. These healthy fats also benefit your gastrointestinal health and ghee also has more vitamin A, D, and E than the traditional stuff, meaning it can help repair damaged skin, improve your vision, and even help balance your hormones. Use ghee anywhere you would typically use butter. Swipe a teaspoon on a slice of Ezekial toast in the morning, or drizzle a tablespoon over veggies before roasting. The higher smoke point makes it safe to cook at high temps, too. Black Rice: Toss the white stuff, and go for this instead. Slightly lower in calories and higher in protein, white rice pales in nutritional value (and color) compared to its darker rice counterpart. It’s packed with antioxidants called anthocyanins (this is what gives it the dark color) that have been shown to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and can improve cognitive function and mental decline. Use black rice to replace white or brown rice. Top a cup of black rice with beans, diced tomatoes, roasted corn, avocado, and grilled peppers to make a super fast and nutrient-packed burrito bowl. Chickpea Flour: This flour could be the new whole wheat. Made of nothing more than simply ground chickpeas, this flour is versatile, wheat free, gluten-free, high in protein, and a wallet friendly option compared to other gluten free flours (I’m looking at you, almond flour). So you can try chickpea flour if gluten makes your stomach turn, or even simply to keep you fuller longer after meals, thanks to its high protein content. Commonly known as ‘socca,’ this chickpea flour crepe recipe is simple, healthy and delicious and the perfect vehicle to be topped with veggies and enjoyed (or try it sweet by adding a little vanilla and cinnamon to your batter).

Is Ghee Healthy?

Q: Is ghee healthy? A: Ghee is actually healthy? Say, it is so?  Everyone wants to slab a little butter on their morning toast and doing so in the name of health is just so. much. butter, I mean better. As a little refresher, butter is a dairy product made from churning milk until the buttermilk (liquids) separates from the butterfat (solids). It’s this solid part that’s known as butter, the creamy yellow product that pretty much makes anything and everything taste better. “Ghee”, is a form of clarified butter and is different from traditional butter in that it’s made by boiling butter until the water in the butter has evaporated. What you’re left with is three layers—whey protein, liquid fat, and casein particles.  After skimming off the top protein layer, you’re able to pour off and separate the liquid fat layer.  This liquid fat is what’s known as clarified butter, a more pure version of traditional butter. Ghee is a form of clarified butter and only slightly different in that it’s prepared by simmering longer at a lower heat (versus simply boiling) until the butter is caramelized and then strained again. Thanks to this lower heat preparation, ghee retains more nutrients than other forms of clarified butter. While ghee may now be popping up in grocery store aisles across the globe, this rich, golden clarified butter has been used for thousands of years in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking. It even plays a key role in Ayurveda medicine for its proposed anti-inflammatory, digestive, and healing attributes. Ayurveda recommends roasting cooking spices in ghee to boost their flavor and nutrition. So, should we all start spreading, melting and drizzling clarified butter or ghee on all of our fave dishes?  Let’s discuss. Ghee vs Butter One tablespoon of traditional butter offers about 100 calories and 11 grams of fat (7 of which are saturated fat).  Ghee has 123 calories and 14 grams of fat (8 of which are saturated fat).  Not that big of a difference, right?  But, we all know that just like actions speak louder than words, ghee’s health benefits count more than calories.  The traditional yellow butter you know and love might be on par in terms of calories, but ghee is richer in vitamins A, D, and E, which can help repair damaged skin, improve vision, help balance your hormones, and regulate your metabolism.  Ghee also contains 25 percent medium and short chain fatty acids compared to normal butter which contains only 12 to 15 percent. Unlike long-chain fatty acids, medium chain triglycerides are rapidly broken down and go straight to the liver where they can be used as an instant energy source and are less likely to be stored as fat. Butyric acid, one of the short chain fatty acids found in ghee has been linked to better gastrointestinal health, anti-inflammatory properties as well as helping the body use it for fuel more efficiently.  Recent science has even shown that people who consumed higher amounts of ghee had a lower occurrence of coronary heart disease, lower LDL cholesterol, improvements in psoriasis, and enhancement of memory. It may even have a positive effect on wound healing.  Ghee is also a better choice if you have a milk allergy or lactose intolerance. Because ghee separates milk from the fat, you won’t find any lactose or milk proteins in this butter alternative.  When it comes to cooking, ghee has a higher smoke point compared to its traditional butter counterpart. This means that next time you’re whipping up that asian stir fry, you’re less likely to inhale smoke or consume any carcinogenic byproduct that’s produced by drizzling your cooking oil into a searing pan.  So, if you’re planning on frying, sauteing, or grilling, ghee might be a better choice. It will also add a sweet, nutty flavor and richness to any of your dishes. You can try melting it into your mashed potatoes, drizzling it on top of your veggies, or even tossing your popcorn with it. The only exception is with baked goods. If you love that classic buttery flavor in your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, then it might be best to stick with traditional butter. Now, back to the fat issue. Even though ghee is high in saturated fat, studies have shown that the old school thought of of all saturated fat is ‘bad’ for you might be a grand oversimplification.  The relationship between the dietary intake of fats and health is complicated.  Fats overall, even including some saturated fats, are important for our health and wellness. Like just about all foods, there’s of course a spectrum of crummy fats (think processed, refined, and hydrogenated) and then there’s nutrient powerhouse fats like those found in ghee and avocado.  But this all comes along with a balanced mindset. A diet overabundant in anything (including good healthy fats) can still be harmful to your health. Ghee is often marketed as a “health food” but even the healthiest of foods can be overdone. After all, it’s still a form of butter, and butter is a ‘use in proper portion’ kind of fat. A little healthy fat goes a long way, but too much can work against you in attaining or maintaining your health and weight goals. I’m a big fan of a little bit (think a teaspoon or two) of real nutrient dense fats at every meal. Add ghee to the list next to avocado, coconut or almonds as a fat food that can play a healthy role in your diet.  Just don’t eat with a spoon out of a jar no matter how tempting it may taste and how many health benefits you can rattle off.