Did you know that 26 apples grown in 1997 collectively contain the same nutritional content as 1 apple grown in 1914? This is one of many shocking facts presented in the “Super foods for radiant health” talk which I attended last night. The talk was given by a company called Super foods which was started by Peter and Beryn Daniel who are both UK-trained, Raw Food Chefs working towards raising raw food consciousness in South Africa.

“I can’t live on rabbit food!”
I must say that a diet of raw food alone did not seem appealing to me at all till I attended this lecture and bought their rawlicious recipe book. Turns out that living on raw food isn’t all carrot sticks and celery (“rabbit food” as I assumed) because now you can also have your cake and eat it too...guilt free! The book will teach you how to make all your favourites from pizza and cakes to sushi and mayo but the difference is that all these foods are made from raw, nutritious and organic fruits and vegetables and they are unbelievably good for you.

The idea behind the foods
The Daniel’s believe in living as closely to nature as possible which entails treating your food like your medicine. This idea can be boiled down to the simple fact that what you put it you get out. One of the ideas mentioned in the talk that really got me thinking was the following: if you think of each cell in your body as a battery that gives you energy how do you suppose those cells stay charged? This is where super foods come in!

Super foods to the rescue
By adding a couple of these foods to your existing diet you will be doing your body and your health a huge favour:

Spirulina is a chlorophyll protein that has 334% more protein than beef, 475% more calcium than whole milk and 5756% more iron than spinach!

Maca, the “warrior food”, is especially good for city living as it balances and stablises the body’s hormonal system while boosting the immune system.

Chia is an omega 3 power food that has six times more calcium than milk, 3 times more iron than spinach and 15 times more magnesium than broccoli. It stabalises blood sugar levels and is especially good if you have digestive problems.

Cacao is essentially raw chocolate and yes its good for you! It has anti depressant properties, serves as an antioxidant and it has heart supporting magnesium.

So there you have it! A short introduction to super foods that can change your state of health but I think the main greening lesson to be learnt from this post is allow thought for food and food for thought.