A challenge that comes up a lot with my patients is how to make time to prepare real, nutrient-dense meals. Believe it or not, this crucial piece to your overall health does not have to be time-consuming. Whether you're an athlete, a nursing mom, or just a busy person, you can easily incorporate highly nutritious superfoods into your meals. Given the stresses of today's modern lifestyle, it's more important than ever to take advantage of super nutritious foods. Number one, you get some serious bang for your buck. And when you feed yourself real nutrition, your appetite and cravings naturally fall into balance.
What is a Superfood?
Superfood is a term used to describe foods that are extremely nutrient-dense. Superfoods have been used throughout time by most cultures around the world to increase energy, vitality and endurance. Thanks to online shopping, now we can order superfoods from all around the globe. Some of these exotic superfoods you may have heard of: acai, goji berries, maca root, mangosteen, amalaki, hemp, blue-green algae. Many common fruits and vegetables are also super nutritious: blueberries, kale, and pomegranate, to name a few.
The great thing about superfoods is that when you eat a meal composed of these nutrient-dense items, you supply high-quality, readily available nutrition to your cells. So your body actually gets nourished and doesn't get as hungry as often. Cravings for empty foods - processed foods - go away. When you look at all the foods in your typical meal, how many of them are nutrient-dense, and how many are relatively, or totally, empty?
If your food is empty, no wonder you get hungry just a short while later. Your body is still starving for nutrition.
This Week's Focus: Chia Seeds
One of my favorite superfoods I'm eating a lot of these days are chia seeds. You can read everywhere about them now that they're so popular, so I'll just summarize their amazing benefits and share my favorite recipe.
Chia seeds were the Aztec warriors running fuel because they provide unrivaled nutrition, energy and hydration. Check out these numbers: A 16 ounce bag of chia seeds provides the equivalent of:
- Omega 3 oil of 10 lbs of salmon
- Magnesium of 15 lbs of broccoli
- Protein of 3 lbs of tofu
- Fiber of 4 lbs of oatmeal
- Antioxidants of 2 lbs of blueberries
- Calcium in 4 lbs of 1% milk
How incredible is that? Chia seeds definitely qualify as a superfood. The high Omega 3 and 6 ratio means you get great cardiovascular and joint health benefits. All that fiber makes it excellent for weight loss and digestion issues. The high antioxidant value makes it invaluable for preventing diseases associated with aging and stress.
Plus, when you soak chia seeds in any liquid, they absorb 10 times their weight in water. They hold so much water, they provide excellent sustained hydration. You can soak them in anything, like coconut water, almond milk, hemp milk. A traditional Mexican drink to stay hydrated consists of 1 tbs. of chia seeds in water with lemon or lime.
Chia Pudding
Soak 1/4 cup chia seeds in 1 1/2 cups almond or coconut milk. Drizzle 1 Tbs. honey into the mix, along with a dash of cinnamon and cardamom. Stir in 1 Tbs. almond butter (or your fave nut butter). Sometime I even throw in a scoop of protein powder. I might also add chopped almonds or pecans. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, then stir again. Now place the whole thing in the refridgerator overnight and voila! Your breakfast awaits you in the morning. This recipe will make 2-3 servings.
Many recipes suggest fruit in the chia pudding, but honestly that's not great food combining. For optimal digestion, fruit should always be eaten alone.
I've talked a lot about the importance of the right kinds of breakfast. While I usually advocate the Ayurvedic, warm, whole grain cereal, this chia pudding has become my alternate favorite early in the morning before a workout.
If you are a mom with little kids, a busy professional who makes time to exercise but doesn't eat really nutritious meals, or you're just looking to improve your nutrition, chia seeds are an excellent addition to your diet. They're quick and easy to prepare and have immense health benefits, so give them a try and tell me what you think!