Super power! Superfoods, do they mean anything to you? They have everything good and more. Natural, they are real little nutritional bombs .
Real wonders to discover in terms ofClean Food !
If we tell you that eating super ingredients (or super foods) provides a large amount of minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, antioxidants and that it is essential for cellular cohesion and for enzymatic reactions (essential for proper organic and physiological functioning), are you convinced? If we also tell you that these super foods are delicious, easy to find and to combine in gourmet menus, then you are addicted, aren't you?
Great, great, let's say it again and again!
Do you know the Coué method? This famous 19th century pharmacist, Émile Coué, was able to experiment in his pharmacy with the impact of autosuggestion on the physical and psychological. He considered that any idea engraved in our mind tended to become a reality. He is, in his own way, the father of positive psychology, of mindfulness. However, eating mindfully is one of the pillars of Clean Eating.
When you buy your superfoods, do it consciously, you will already feel the benefits. A bit like when you leave the doctor with your prescription in hand, or the pharmacist with your medication, and you already feel better. It's the same for your healthy shopping! Putting your shopping in your cart at full speed does not have the same impact as if you choose healthy products by looking at them carefully , taking them in hand, putting them with conviction in your basket. Experimenting with this does not take more time, and it makes all the difference.
Are you going to buy superfoods? Just thinking about them sends signals to your brain to your cells! "Any idea that is engraved in our mind tends to become reality" said Coué. So, by offering yourself superfoods, do you already feel like a superhero? That's normal! Because you associate the image of these ingredients with the imaginary of power and competence. When you eat them, you then potentiate their effects in your body. The force is within you, don't deprive yourself of this pleasure!
Superfoods, why are they so great?
Above all, they are natural and raw (unprocessed) foods such as berries, seeds, algae, fruits and vegetables, whose positive impact on health has been proven. Their advantage? Their high concentration of good nutrients. Where a "good" food contains two or three, "super" foods often contain up to 12! The opposite of empty calorie foods whose nutrient richness is reduced to zero, this family of "super" foods is like a real family. Each member has very specific assets and therefore virtues that are just as specific for health.
The strategy? Consume them daily by varying them. This way, you avoid getting bored and you capture the benefits of their countless nutritional virtues. In this way, you boost your immune system, your energy, your morale and the metabolization of everything you consume (and even what you experience on an emotional level). And for good reason, these super ingredients improve digestion and the proper assimilation of food as well as emotions. As a bonus, since they are rich in vitamins (especially C), they are good for the heart and have a preventive action on all autoimmune diseases and cancers.
Superfoods, who are you?
If they were born in the USA under the name of "superfoods", superfoods have emigrated to France for our greatest happiness. Their list varies between the two continents, because in the European Union, only those whose health claims have been recognized have the right to appear there.
In this large family, there are:
- The “greens”, hyper rich in vitamins, minerals and probiotics for some. These are vegetables, fruits, herbs and algae (passion fruit, blueberries, spirulina, chlorella, salad, spinach, kale, leeks, broccoli)
- Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, etc.)
- “Nuts, seeds and super fruits” such as goji berries, açaí, acerola, cranberry, pomegranate, blackberries, maca, camu camu, konjac, lucuma, ashwagandha; nuts (Amazon, cashew, pecan, macadamia, pine nut, pistachio), seeds, powders and spices (hemp, chia, pumpkin, fenugreek, brown flax, sesame sunflower, turmeric, moringa, psyllium, nettle, aloe vera, echinacea, ginseng, devil’s claw, ginger, ginkgo biloba, marigold, turmeric, anise and basil, coconut, raw cacao).
- Everything that comes from the hive like honey, pollen and royal jelly
- Not forgetting sprouted seeds, small but so powerful, which are real superfoods and well deserve this name.
To eat alone or with others?
Above all, eat superfoods raw , and preferably raw when possible, in their original form or as close as possible to their natural state. This is how their virtues are best preserved. This does not prevent you from drying them and reducing them to powder for those that lend themselves to it (like ginger roots) because they retain all their properties.
On the menu
Whether for breakfast or for sweet/savory breaks, superfoods have their place .
- Salty snack? Think of scrambled eggs with a slice of wholemeal bread enhanced with a crushed fresh tomato, drizzled with a dash of olive oil or camelina oil with a pinch of gomasio. Vary, depending on the season, avocado, tomato, spinach, enhanced with condiments or fresh herbs (basil, coriander, etc.) that you combine with an animal protein if you are not vegetarian (homemade sardine or mackerel rillettes, salmon, gravelax, organic chicken breast, etc.).
- Sweet snack? Satisfy your afternoon hunger with a homemade compote or granola with oats, walnuts, hazelnuts, sprinkled with a big pinch of sesame, flax, chia seeds, drizzled with almond milk (organic or homemade) and a few slices of banana and kiwi... it's a good start.
In practice
The secret is variety because the body hates repetition (even if it likes the temporality of rhythm, the respect of a framework and the comfort of rituals). Remember to have seeds on hand. Concretely, buy several jam jars, or small glass jars in the format of yogurt pots and fill them with good seeds (chia, sesame, squash, etc.) and oilseeds (walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.) but with only one ingredient per jar. Hang the list of these essential superfoods on your fridge and vary the combinations. On the same principle, prepare your lunch and dinner.
What drink with superfoods?
Superfoods would be nothing if they were not accompanied by the drink best suited to the body's needs: water.
With water
There is no point in trying to drink the most mineralized water possible; water with a low dry residue content perfectly fulfills its role as a thermoregulator, cellular messenger and drainer. Above all, water is there to carry messages from one cell to another, from one organ to another. This vital fluidifier also helps the body eliminate what it does not need or no longer needs.
If you occasionally need a mineral supplement, choose water rich in magnesium or calcium, for example. The right amount? It varies between one litre and one and a half litres depending on the season.
To get into good habits, drink a glass of water when you wake up and then a glass every hour (outside of meals).
In juice
It is also by preparing your drinks that you can take your first steps in "super foods". Whether it is to drain, to revitalize, to boost immunity, or to play the anti-stress, super foods have the beautiful role in the liquid state.
- Combine 100 grams of almonds, 2 pitted Medjool dates (fat-free), 2 drops of vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of linseed oil. Put all these ingredients in the blender with 300 ml of low-mineral water (such as Mont Roucous or Rosée de la Reine) and mix. Drink this generous smoothie as is, or filter if you prefer a lighter juice. Its effects: restorative, digestive and soothing.
- Fancy something green? Take 3 handfuls of blueberries, 1 peeled orange, 3 handfuls of kale, ½ cucumber and 1 teaspoon of spirulina powder. Mix everything with 150 ml of water and filter to obtain a fluid green juice. Congratulations, you have just prepared a super immunizing, fortifying and purifying juice. Did it wake up your taste buds? Discover the now legendary Super Smoothies, the bible, €10.90, Éditions Marabout, by Fern Green.
Great… Right down to the skin?
Good news, superfoods have seduced cosmetics creators who slip their extracts into treatments. Applied to the skin , these little nutritional bombs, rich in minerals, vitamins, trace elements and antioxidants, are a godsend! Cosmetics have made a nice place for the date. Chosen for its antioxidant content (to protect the skin from free radicals), amino acids (to maintain its hydration level), trace elements (for cell regeneration), essential fatty acids (real shields of the epidermis), polysaccharides (energy reserve). Chlorella is also successful for its high content of nutrients (amino acids, vitamins A, B, C and E, unsaturated essential fatty acids, minerals (calcium, magnesium,) trace elements (iron, zinc), its chlorophyll which activates cellular metabolism and fights inflammation. Other superfoods to have found their way into care are moringa (a hyper-resistant tree, full of vitamin E), blueberry (powerful tonic, very rich in polyphenols and tannin, excellent stimulant of the immune system). Cocoa is also a very effective active ingredient: toning (thanks to the star active ingredient, theobromine and magnesium, natural antidepressants). Rich in flavonoids, cocoa also fights against cellular aging.
To crunch, sip or even massage... Superfoods are pulling out all the stops. Don't hesitate to familiarize yourself with each of them, test recipes, slip them in your pocket for a smart snack and, above all, think of them for each of your meals. They are all small and sometimes take unexpected forms. A pinch of sprouted seeds, for example, placed on a salad (or even on fish) may not seem like much, but they are real energy reserves that twist and liven up your menus. We told you, superfoods are all good!
