Do any of you consume "super foods" on a regular basis? I'm speaking of macca, chlorella, spirulina, lake klamath, goji berries,etc. If so, how much do you eat daily or in a single meal? I recently purchased macca and have no idea how much I should use. I thought that I could add it to my smoothies but I am unsure of the quantity to add.

Ishmael

P.S. Where do you purchase your supply? Any good online companoes you would suggest?

yes, I had some superfoods today.

Figs, Peaches, celery, tomato and banana

ha ha ha!

best super foods? wild greens, nettles are so full of good stuff!

The only superfood I eat per Shazzie's and some other's definition of the word is occasional raw chocolate and goji berries.

i eat macca goji cacao spirulina blue green algae, and more but yeah you get the picture. i love experimenting with these differnt superfoods, but i will agree that the superfoods right out of your own back yard are the most enchanting. i usually add a tablespoon of macca to my smoothies.

And I thought Macca was a Paul McCartney moniker...

David

Thanks allone01 for actually answering the question that I asked. I figured that this was supposed to be a place where one could ask a question and not be made to feel silly.

rankdurian; could you let us know what your experiences with macca are/will be? I'm curious about trying it myself.
right now I occasionally use raw chocolate and hemp seeds in my breakfast smoothies, and I eat goji berries, which are delicious.

"I figured that this was supposed to be a place where one could ask a question and not be made to feel silly." - I know what you mean.

making other people feel certain things is unavoidable sometimes. you could also think of this as a place where sometimes we can make each other think and question our assumptions, and that goes for people questioning me as well.

it might not feel right all the time, but there's no condescension intended.

it's like if someone asks on a vegan site, "how much honey should i be eating?" and the reply might be, "well, there are some views about honey that you might want to consider"

or "how much vitamin C should I be taking on my raw diet?"
and instead of saying, "100 grams" the answer might be, are you sure you need that, arent you getting vitamin c in your fruit? and the person might say, oh, really, there's vitamin c in fruit?

just a couple examples that you probably won't find relevant to your query exactly, but perhaps you get the point.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2007 10:54PM by fresh.

fresh, I agree with you. and of course, questions about honey on a vegan site are kinda obviously 'out of place', but the question asked here about what amount of macca to use seemed pretty accurate to me.
I'm a newbie when it comes to raw food, and that may have a lot to do with it, but I do sometimes feel that some people here have a certain 'elitist' attitude when it comes to raw food. I understand it can be annoying if people ask 'dumb questions' (if there is such a thing), but a lot of people here, like me, are still learning this!

(I said something similar in an other thread; it wasn't my intention to repeat myself)

cheerleader Wrote:
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> fresh, I agree with you. and of course, questions
> about honey on a vegan site are kinda obviously
> 'out of place', but the question asked here about
> what amount of macca to use seemed pretty accurate
> to me.
> I'm a newbie when it comes to raw food, and that
> may have a lot to do with it, but I do sometimes
> feel that some people here have a certain
> 'elitist' attitude when it comes to raw food. I
> understand it can be annoying if people ask 'dumb
> questions' (if there is such a thing), but a lot
> of people here, like me, are still learning this!
>

sure, just consider that some people are actually trying to help others and it's nearly impossible not to offend someone when you "question" them. if nobody questions anything, newbies will go years on raw pizza and the like, not doing them self any favors and actually making this harder, not easier. of course, if a person wants to go years on dehydrated "raw legal" foods, they can certainly do that. many people have. but many people have also done it by transitioning to real food, not dehydrated, powdered or whatever.

i find it unfortunate and a waste of time on people's journey to believe some myths like powdered superduper foods are Needed or Good or Better Than whole, fresh, water rich, complete foods.

i am thankful for others that have questioned these things so i have learned, but i do understand how it can feel sometimes.

thanks for your answer. I liked the point you made about dehydrating....it's something that is puzzling me since quite some recipes contain dehydrated elements, and the more 'gourmet' you go, the more you seem to need it. I personally have a weird feeling about it, but I never did it or ate it apart from dried fruit and tomatos. so I can't really judge. plus it's not on-topic.

I have never used any of the stuff that I mentioned above withe the exception of Goji berries. The package of macca I bought has no serving size, no nutritional content, not much of anything. What I really want to know is how much one might add to a recipe. I had a great smoothie that had blueberries and spirulina but since I have no idea what spirulina tastes like I wouldn't know how much to put into a smoothie.
I am not so daft as to not know that honey is not vegan or that there is vitamin c in fruits. I know that most raw fruits and veggies would be considered super foods by most on this site that's why I said "super foods".

I'll add a tablespoon of macca to my smoothie in the morning. I'll let you know what it's like cheerleader.

i think the only person who can make someone feel anything is themselves. if it were possible for me to be responsible for other's feelings i'd make them all feel peaceful and terrific, HOWEVER i'm just not that powerful
but, ok, lemme clarify my answer.

do i eat "super foods"? not on any regular basis. i am open to trying things now and then and supplementing medicinally but i don't think those foods are for every day. that seems like someone taking aspirin daily to deal with heart issues. i think there are better things to eat/medicines to take/remedies for imbalance.

that said i sure do eat some super foods, my salad today was terrific!

rankdurian Wrote:
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> I am not so daft as to not know that honey is not
> vegan or that there is vitamin c in fruits.

i was trying to make a point. it had nothing to do with You knowing or not knowing about honey and vitamin c.

> that most raw fruits and veggies would be
> considered super foods by most on this site that's
> why I said "super foods".

even putting it in quotes is a misrepresentation, but i understand.

you could have just said, how much maca do i put in a smoothie and i would have simply gone back to my chlorella lunch without bothering you. ;-)

hey, and people ask about honey here ALL THE TIME!! it's quite contentious actually, it gets defended like crazy. i thing people are addicted to the sugar and the thought of giving it up makes them ornery. same with chocolate come to think of it... no one wants to hear that something they have come to enjoy and rely on isn't actually all that terrific for them, even when that is the very question they have asked.
even though they are known to be unhealthy try taking away bread, cheese or coffee from a sad eater and you'll see what i mean...

So how much chlorella do you eat for lunch?

rankdurian,

Considering that we live in such a toxic environment, I do not think that asking questions about superfoods, such as chlorella and spirulina, which are known to remove heavy metals from the body, is irrelevant.

lotusblossom9 Wrote:
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> rankdurian,
>
> Considering that we live in such a toxic
> environment, I do not think that asking questions
> about superfoods, such as chlorella and spirulina,
> which are known to remove heavy metals from the
> body, is irrelevant.

No, but it's also relevant to note that "nonsuper"
foods such as ordinary cultivated common fruits
can do this as well.

arugula Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> lotusblossom9 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > rankdurian,
> >
> > Considering that we live in such a toxic
> > environment, I do not think that asking
> questions
> > about superfoods, such as chlorella and
> spirulina,
> > which are known to remove heavy metals from the
> > body, is irrelevant.
>
> No, but it's also relevant to note that
> "nonsuper"
> foods such as ordinary cultivated common fruits
> can do this as well.


If we consider that the cells obtain nourishment from the tissue fluid and that tissue fluid is a filtrate of the blood, then it should be obvious that all of the different organs and tissues are on a mono-diet of blood. The blood supplied to the kidney is virtually the same as the blood supplied to the big toe, which is identical to the blood supplied to the left elbow. The cells are capable of extracting from the tissue fluid (hence, the blood) nutrients in the proportion that they require, but all of the cells are fed from the same table. The differences that exist in the chemical composition of different tissues come about as a result of active processes of the cells themselves in selecting the nutrients that they require. It does not result from any assumed differences in their food supply. Therefore, eating fish because it is "brain food" or taking adrenal gland extract because "it has the exact proportion of nutrients required to rebuild the adrenal gland" flaunts ignorance of the most fundamental laws of physiology. Health food notions that "beet juice is good for the kidneys," or "wheat grass juice cleans out the liver," are equally as ridiculous. All a food or juice can possibly do is contribute to the blood nutrient pool. It can not have specific effects on specific organs. Remember also what was mentioned earlier, that the body constantly seeks to nullify any changes in its blood chemistry as the result of the ingestion of a meal. The rationale of "nutritional therapy' is as much a fantasy as the rationale of any other form of therapeutics. Foods do not act on the body. The body acts upon foods. Nutrients do not act on the body or perform roles within the body; they are used by the body. The body itself is the only active agent in nutrition.

ralph cinque

fresh that's a really interesting view point. i like that, rearranging the idea to create an entirely new way of seeing it. very, very cool.

Well you guys, I am daft enough to talk about honey in a vegan site. I have only started in june to be a raw food eater rather than a meat eater. I would like to know what any of you would do with a stinging nettle. I have them in my back yard and was wondering how one eats them raw. I have been stung by them and I am afraid of them. I have another super food in my yard I call dock, It has a very green broad leaf and when it goes to seed it has these brown tabacco like spikes with seeds on it. I have read that these are very nutricious I have not gotten the nerve to eat them.
To answer the question about the publisized super foods, I have goji berries in my cupboard and I thought they tasted sour and I thought they were not all they were hyped to be. I have these cacao nubs and I don't know why I bought them. I don't know what to do with them either. But those very advertised "superfoods" seem o.k. because of what so-n-so said about them so we spend our money for that bit of shangrala when in our back yard are some simple weeds.

pampam, you can wear gloves when you harvest nettles to avoid the sting. if you do get it on you you can rub yourself with plaintain leaves to help take it away, mud works good too.
you can juice them, some people put them in the blender for green smoothies and soups. my mom steams the young ones in spring like spinach.

Pampam, you can dip a banana in cocao nibs. Tastes great!

When I feel strange and detox-y chlorella does the trick. It could be psychosomatic, I don't know. It is hard to explain the feeling it gives me, I'd say soothing.

coco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> fresh that's a really interesting view point. i
> like that, rearranging the idea to create an
> entirely new way of seeing it. very, very cool.


cool. but it's ralph cinque that wrote it...

I think having a very wide selection of different foods in the diet is very important, so I include "superfoods" as well as wild foods, etc. I add about 1/2 a teaspoon of maca to my morning smoothie (because I don't like the taste too much), I also add a large handful of goji berries, cacao beans, mesquite, purple corn, etc, etc.

Pampam: If you are sure it is dock in your garden, give it a try. It's not the best tasting wild green out there, it can be a bit tough and/or bitter, there are much better ones you can find. Get yourself a book on the wild food of your area, you've probably got more delicious wild food growing in your garden.

Here in the UK, the wild rose hips are just ready, they are delicious and a real superfood, very high in vitamin C. I just picked loads yesterday and will add some to my smoothie now.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

"I'm speaking of macca, chlorella, spirulina, lake klamath, goji berries,etc"


if i could just be an annoyance here for another minute, i was thinking of this in another way.

i get it that rk put super foods in quotes and was just using it as an identifier but not only are those
not super imo,
they're not even foods.

a food is only relevant to the target; human, or ant, elephant or chicken
and whether it satisfies some basic requirements, fresh, raw, biologically appropriate, can be eaten alone as a meal, etc.

so is elephant food for a chicken?
obviously not.

is algae a human food? i don't think so. is it a food for some marine creature? probably.


i know, many people don't care about such basic definitions.

and many people find talk about this elitist, or not being sensitive to newbies, but anyway....

many people are still enamored with searching for items with "high nutrients"
(diet should not be a search for nutrients, but a search for appropriate foods) and items from countries far away.

are the following foods?

maca - it's a root like a radish or turnip. i've never found a root i liked very much. it is likely not very tasty and a food only in desperate circumstances, and edible when cooked. the leaves are likely bitter.

chlorella - doesn't satisfy the requirements of being a food for humans

spirulina - same as above

goji berries - yes for those who can get them fresh. dried, it's better than nothing, but still not a great food.


so none of the above are even foods, imo

does that mean i'm insulting those that eat them?

not intentionally

Funky Rob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think having a very wide selection of different
> foods in the diet is very important, so I include
> "superfoods" as well as wild foods, etc. I add
> about 1/2 a teaspoon of maca to my morning
> smoothie (because I don't like the taste too
> much), I also add a large handful of goji berries,
> cacao beans, mesquite, purple corn, etc, etc.
>

cows eat a very limited diet
pandas too.
and many other animals including some primates.

they are apparently thriving, so i don't think variety is as important as we think.

nevertheless, i would agree that for us a variety can be a good thing, but some of these items above can actually cause more problems in the body than they are worth from a nutritional standpoint.

the problem is that it's difficult to actually tell whether something is causing problems or not, which is why we continue to eat these things, thinking that we are doing a good thing by trying to cover all our bases nutritionally.


i'm not saying you're wrong, or that wild foods are bad or anything of that nature.

i am saying that if we focus on fresh foods we are likely to be best nourished.

I do focus on fresh foods, but a small part of my diet is composed of "superfoods".

Ps I've been eating high raw (and now I'm 100%) for over 5 years and know what works for me.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]