Acai berries, maca powder, hemp hearts. If you’re online for even a moment, you’ll undoubtedly have seen ads for these ‘super foods’, which are meant to boost your metabolism or flush ‘toxins’ out of your body, or cure you of any and all diseases. Inordinately expensive and not very nice tasting, these superfoods are touted as all natural, like some sort of potion out of late-stage witchcraft.
Interested in making your own tinctures and poultices? So many of these fad diet foods have their roots in ayurvedic medicine, or just traditional old wives’ tales. Here are some forgotten about superfoods that you almost definitely have in your cupboard and didn’t know could work health miracles on your body.
As any sick asian kid knows, ginger is a miracle ingredient. We used to chew hunks of it when travelling to help with nausea, put it into tea for a sore throat, and you can now find cold-pressed shots of it in supermarkets as an ‘immune booster’. An infusion of ginger, honey, and lemon works miracles on coughs, as ginger contains anti inflammatory properties and the lemon anti bacterial, soothing your throat nicely. Ginger also goes well in any sort of spice blend so can quickly be slipped into almost any meal when you’re feeling poorly, from congee base to a sticky ginger cake. Eat it and feel smug in the fact you’re having a deliciously cheap super food.
Whereas a punnet of blackberries can cost a pretty imported penny, a tub of cinnamon powder is only about half the price with just the same amount of antioxidants. Starting the day with a helping of cinnamon in your morning coffee can help reduce bloating throughout the day, not to mention the fact it tastes delicious. Cinnamon is also an antiflammatory, like ginger, but the taste is probably more conducive to sweeter drinks and treats, like in a breakfast smoothie.
Somewhat unexpectedly, one of the best foods out there is peanut butter! It’s full of healthy fats, protein, and zinc, meaning that your guilty midnight PB&J is probably doing more for you than the rest of the meals you eat in a week. Peanut butter is also amazingly versatile, vegans using it as a substitute for eggs in some bakes, and it can often be added to spicy stocks to make a satay-inspired sauce. Underweight people, or people in recovery from bad illnesses, often swear by peanut butter to help them get their weight back by adding two tablespoons of it into smoothies every morning. Stirring a bit of it into your morning oatmeal (oatmeal being another wonderful superfood!) can keep you full for hours from the protein and fat.
Remember, a lot of these ‘superfoods’ are just things that fall in and out of fashion. In the ‘50s, Jell-O used to be considered a superfood! There’s no reason to pay through the nose for fancy powders and blenders when so many cheap herbs and spices and pantry essentials have the same benefits, without the hefty pricetag.
