If you’ve never made anything with chia seeds before… this is definitely a recipe to start a love affair.
I made this fruit salad for a few friends that came over for dinner. I served it as a dessert, although it could easily be served anytime of day – especially for breakfast or a snack.
This fruit salad contains ZERO refined sugar is full of wonderful chia seeds!
And look what happened after I served it. Yes… all quickly gone.
It must have been good if I can say so myself 
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The Democratic National Convention is over and my mind is really spinning. The amount of information I’ve learned and discovered about our leaders in Washington and what they think regarding our food policy here in America is mind blowing.
Until I get all my thoughts, notes, etc. organized, I want to share the special shake recipe I made for WCNC – NBC News Channel 6 last week when they came to my home for breakfast to interview me about being an elected North Carolina delegate to the DNC.
Contest is now closed. Congratulations to Faith for winning the Fern Brunch Giveaway! Check your email for details.
Fern, one of my favorite Food Babe approved restaurants in town has generously offered to give away BRUNCH FOR 2 to one lucky reader. To experience dishes like the Warm Kale Salad pictured above, all you have to do is SUBSCRIBE and leave a comment below by Thursday, July 19th.
Giving some love to Fern by liking their Facebook page, couldn’t hurt either. Check out their new brunch menu and drool! Good Luck!
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Let’s face it – Gatorade (and Powerade, etc…) is one of the worst things you could possibly put in your body. It’s made up of mostly chemically treated & refined sugar (as much as a typical soda), artificial colors, and other ingredients that are dreadful for your body.
One of the worst ingredients is Brominated Vegetable Oil which is added to some flavors to keep the drink from getting cloudy and the artificial flavor suspended in the drink. This controversial substance is linked to serious health consequences like skin rashes, severe acne and thyroid disease and is banned in Europe and Japan!
The new natural version of Gatorade still has chemically processed refined sugars and questionable natural flavor to cover up the fact there is absolutely no fruit juice in this drink to make their fruity flavors. To think athletes and exercise enthusiasts have started drinking this makes me sad.
Even more upsetting, my parents (sorry Mom and Dad!), not knowing any better at the time used to serve me Gatorade to make sure I was hydrated anytime I was under the weather. It was the remedy of choice for hydration in my household growing up…I remember orange was my favorite flavor and is the worst one for you.
Gatorade does do one thing. It replaces electrolytes. But what is the big secret behind the ingredients that do this? To replace electrolytes you don’t need some tricky formula, man made chemicals, refined sugars or colors. All you need is simple real food sources that provide a few key minerals like sodium, chloride, potassium and magnesium.
Here are 4 ways to replenish your electrolytes naturally and give your body some serious nutrition at the same time. Remember to choose organic ingredients whenever possible.
Now go outside and sweat, so you can enjoy one of these yummy combinations!
Food Babe
P.S. After I wrote this article, 2 news agencies reported about sports drinks – The Atlantic and NPR. These are must reads, check them out.
Specifically, The Atlantic reported that scientists 40 years ago were paid by these sport drink companies to tell us we would not be able to sufficiently hydrate ourselves with just water, that our children didn’t drink enough at meals, and that we would lose performance during sporting events if we didn’t drink this artificially flavored and colored salt water. These companies even developed school outreach programs to get to even more children to buy into the thought of drinking sports drinks at an early age. Are you shocked? I certainly am.
The definition of a “super hero” – a fictional hero having extraordinary or super human powers.
What if non-fictional super heroes existed in real life in the form of food? Like ones that have the extraordinary ability to provide your body with huge amounts of nutrition in one packed punch? Or that have powers capable of combating evil villains like auto immune disorders, depression and cancer? How about a food that can protect your body from free radical and carcinogen invaders? Or one when faced with dire circumstances you could live on for the rest of your life?
I am here to tell you these foods do exist!
They are called SUPERFOODS!
This isn’t make believe! You can add them to your diet NOW to see your health sky rocket!
These are my favorite super foods heroes:
1. Kale is a Paragon Superfood Hero – Kale has super strength powers in fighting cancer and is considered the world’s number one superfood. Kale is talented and can strip the liver of toxic wrong doers and kick out carcinogens from your blood. Also – you don’t need to wear fancy goggles to get razor sharp vision – Just eat kale, it has twice as much Vitamin A than a carrot. I eat kale everyday – it is the base of the “Hari Shakes” I make to eat on the go for me and my husband. (Recipe coming soon!)
2. Raw Cacao is a Blaster Superfood Hero – Eating raw cacao gives you a blast of serotonin, endorphins, phenylethylamine, tryptophan and anandamide which all work together to give you an overall sense of well being, bliss, pleasure and pure happiness! Eat it raw and you’ll be consuming the highest concentrated antioxidant on earth and flying high! I love to add it smoothies, cookies and trail mixes.
Raw Cacao, Chocolate and ORAC
August 14, 2008
ORAC scores for the Top 10 Antioxidants Foods (per 100 grams)
1) Raw cocoa powder* 95,500
2) Raw cacao nibs* 62,100
3) Roasted cocoa powder 26,000
4) Organic Goji Berries* 25,300
5) Acai Berries* 18,500
6) Dark Chocolate 13,120
7) Milk Chocolate 6,740
Prunes 5,770
9) Raisins 2,830
10) Blueberries 2,400
Source: US department of Agriculture/Journal of American Chemical Society
*Brunswick Laboratories MA, USA
Raw Cacao Nibs, Dried Coconut and Golden Berries make the perfect Halloween Trail Mix!
3. Goji Berries is a Time Traveler Superfood Hero – Used traditionally in Chinese Medicine, goji berries can make your body glow by allowing your skin to absorb more oxygen. Goji berries are fast movers helping improve circulation in the body and moving bacteria and viruses out of the body by strengthening your immune system. Goji berries contain more iron than spinach, more beta carotene than carrots, and more protein than whole wheat. I eat these dynamic berries instead of raisins in my Parfait Porridge, trail mix or straight up for chewy dessert.
4. Chia Seeds are a Shape Shifter Superfood Hero – Chia seeds can grow 10 times their weight in size when combined with liquid which helps the body stay hydrated when fighting characters like Gargamel and other villains. The word “chia” comes from the Aztec word that means “oily” – The oils found in this small little round seed is the secret to its health benefits. Having the most content of omega 3 fatty acids of any plant food – they fight inflammation in the body reducing the chance for heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and depression. I top off protein drinks, salads, and Parfait Porridge with these little mighty smurfs, I mean seeds.
5. Spirulina is an Energizer Superfood Hero – Spirulina is seriously powerful by giving a major boost of energy to your body. You can live from just 2-3 tablespoons of this food alone. Getting its superpowers by photosynthesis from the sun, it virtually has all the protein, vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, and chlorophyll your body needs for near perfect nutrition. I drink the powdered form every single day. Did you know Vibrant Health Green Vibrance and Healthforce Vitamineral Green are a great source of spirulina?
The best part of eating superfoods – You can eat them all year long. You don’t need to wait for Halloween to dress up as one!
Thank you for all the costume ideas last week on my Facebook Fan Page. Your ideas were hilarious! Dressing up as bacon was tempting, it would of been definitely scarier!
Hope you have a Healthy & Happy Halloween!
To Infinity and Beyond!
Food Babe aka Superfood
P.S. I’d love to know if you dressed up for Halloween this year – share your costumes with me here or on my Facebook Fan Page! Check out more pictures from our night out below!
Watermelon Earrings….
And Green Smoothie Earrings too!
I had a run in with Superfood’s evil enemy – a Hot Dog! She tried to scare me too – she said “Boo! I’m a hot dog – I will give you cancer, from all my carcinogenic nitrates.”
Borat thinks Superfoods are real niiiiiice. Superfoods can give you more sexy time! Did you know goji berries improve sexual function and fertility?
