My Favorite Superfoods

Hello, friends! As most of you know, I'm a complete health fanatic. I love eating clean and giving my body food that's actually good for it, and I'm always on a hunt for the most nutrient-packed foods and ingredients to incorporate into my diet.

Whether you're extremely into your health or not, I'm sure that everyone reading this post has heard of superfoods. Superfoods are basically just foods that are super good for you. They get their outstanding reputation for being extremely high in things like vitamins, minerals, calcium, protein, antioxidants and fatty acids. I am a massive fan of these magnificent foods, and I tend to eat a lot of them.

Today I'm going to show you some of my favorite superfoods and how I incorporate them into my diet! Enjoy!

One of my favorite superfoods is hemp. (And no, not the part of the plant that makes you feel all happy!) Normally it comes in the form of seeds, but I love it in the form of protein powder. A lot of protein powders are made from animal muscle and/or whey protein (a byproduct of milk), This is the perfect vegan alternative, and it still helps to repair your tissues and build muscle, along with helping literally every other bodily function! Along with being completely vegan, hemp protein is also perfect for people with allergies.

I put hemp (either in the form of seeds or protein powder) in my smoothies.

The Nutiva brand of hemp protein is organic and non-GMO (genetically modified). You always want to look for those things! It may be a little extra money, but it's completely worth it.

It has a very earthy smell, and some people are thrown off by that. Don't let it distract you! You can't even taste it when you blend it into your smoothie. I put hemp protein in my fruit/veggie smoothies and my chocolatey dessert smoothies.

Protein powder is a perfect way to get essential amino acids into your diet. Amino acids are the building blocks of the proteins that rebuild your tissues and muscles!

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love reading the Nutrition Facts on foods. I find it so interesting!

My most used and well-loved superfood is coconut oil. Coconut oil is jam-packed with nutrients, and there are SO MANY DIFFERENT USES!

Coconut oil is extremely versatile. It can be used for cooking, baking, beauty treatments and more. Coconut oil has been known to boost metabolism, protect your organs and give you energy, AND improve memory!

I do everything with coconut oil; I cook with it, I add it to my smoothies, I use it as a moisturizer, a hair mask, a tanning oil, etc. 

Before I continue, I feel like I should tell you that you NEED good fats in your diet. Most vitamins and minerals are fat-soluble, meaning you need fat for the nutrients to get absorbed into your body. If you do not have any fats in your diet, your body isn't able to absorb all of the nutrients from the foods you eat. Coconut oil is one of the best fats you could possibly have. 

If you're not a huge fan of coconut and are afraid of its flavor taking over the whole dish, don't worry. Unless you use an obscenely large amount of it, you're not able to taste any coconut. The more coconut oil you include in a recipe, the more coconut flavor.  

(Picture stolen from a previous blog post of mine!)

Chia seeds are a fantastic source of fiber, calcium, protein, antioxidants and Omega 3s. They don't taste of much, so they make the perfect sneaky addition to any food! I usually put chia seeds in my smoothies, although they are a bit tricky when it comes to blending. As soon as they come in contact with liquid, they become a jellylike gloop that is very hard to stomach. However, I have a trick! I combat this by blending my smoothie for a couple seconds before adding the chia seeds so the ingredients get roughly blended together and the water gets evenly distributed, then I add the seeds. I also like to sprinkle a tablespoon or so on my salads, but beware, they might get stuck in your teeth!

This is cacao (powder), one of the most delicious superfoods of all. Not cocoa, cacao. Cacao powder is the actual ground up cacao bean, in all of its antioxidant, magnesium-rich glory.

I uses cacao powder in my famous Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Banana Smoothies. The powder is completely bitter on its own but when it's mixed with the sweetness of the banana, it's fantastical. Other than in smoothies, you could use cacao powder in baking and other sweet treats!

(I usually put 2 tablespoons in my smoothie.)

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My absolute favorite superfood in the whole entire world is the avocado. They are extremely high in Omega 3s, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and fatty acids. Surprisingly, this gorgeous fruit is extremely versatile. Besides the usual uses of guacamole and other taco accessories, avocados make an awesome addition to smoothies, and make a mean chocolate pudding. One of my favorite snacks is smashed avocado on toast with salt and pepper.

Those are all of my favorite superfoods! I hope this post has encouraged you to go out and try something new! Remember, healthy food doesn't have to taste bad. Not only are they super good, but they're super good for you. Here's to better health!

Jordan x