Superfood Salad: It’s Mary Poppins approved
Bea James, Director of Bakery and Nourish, shares the story behind our new Superfood Salad – a great way to incorporate more healthful superfoods into your diet.
Super-fragile-calorie-realistic-exceptional-dose-in-a-dish. While not a direct quote from Ms. Poppins herself, I think she keeps a stash of superfoods in her bag of tricks. Why? Because superfoods are magically awesome and just a spoonful will do ya.
Superfoods are health-empowering foods that are exceptionally high in nutrient density and loaded with phytochemicals. This is where the magic comes in. “Phyto” means plant, and so phytochemicals are essentially nutrient-dense chemical compounds that are good for you and found in plant foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds. In general, these chemical compounds give plant-based foods their beautiful color, smell and flavor.
So how can you get all this goodness in your diet easily? I’m so glad you asked! Recently I created a Superfood Salad for our delis. I packed this salad with 10 superfoods – heirloom wheat berries, quinoa, edamame, kale, almonds, dried blueberries, dried cherries, chia seeds, honey and green tea. The Superfood Salad is loaded with quality nutrition from all those colorful phytochemicals we just talked about, and it’s a powerhouse of flavor in your mouth.
Because different phytochemicals are linked to different colored fruits and vegetables, eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables will mean that you’re ingesting a wide variety of phytochemicals, so be sure to mix it up. That deep rich color
of fruits and vegetables indicate a high level of phytochemicals and nutrients. A good rule of thumb in choosing superfoods is to look for fresh foods that contain all the colors of the rainbow. According to The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, the different compounds within phytochemicals can “optimize your health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.” Who knew? Mary Poppins did, that’s who.
Our Superfood Salad is available in the deli service case at all of our stores. Stop by and ask for a sample. I’m pretty sure your taste buds and your body will agree it’s a spoonful of delicious medicine.