Most Americans happily consume several pounds (at a minimum) of processed sugars and sweeteners each year, but honey – we average a measly pound of the stuff. That's too bad, because honey, especially raw honey, is not only the superior sweetener, but it's also far more healthful than white sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

Honey is one of nature's true miracles. To make a pound of honey, a hive of bees will have to visit almost two million flowers and travel almost 50,000 miles – that's the equivalent of over two round trips around the world.

Raw honey – honey that is unpasteurized and has not been heated above 116 degrees Fahrenheit – is high in natural sugars glucose and fructose. While a tablespoon of honey clocks in at approximately 64 calories, it has a glycemic load equivalent to that of a banana, meaning it won't cause sugar spikes and crashes like other sweeteners. Compared to white sugar, at 15 calories per tablespoon, honey is a far superior energy source. If you want to sweeten up a smoothie, you can't do better than raw honey. 

Unlike other sweeteners, raw honey is rich in antioxidants, enzymes, and nutrients, including several B vitamins and vitamin C, selenium, zinc, iron, calcium, and phosphorous. Raw honey also contains nutritious bee pollen and propolis. Bee pollen is rich in proteins, vitamins, and amino acids, and propolis, which bees use to build and repair beehives, is a potent antibacterial and antimicrobial agent.

Once honey undergoes pasteurization, many of these healthful components are lost. Processed honey is still better than white sugar, but nowhere near as much as the raw stuff.

Honey comes in many different varieties, depending on the flowers they visited. Unlike white sugar, which pretty much comes in just one flavor, honeys made from clover, buckwheat, orange blossom, and alfalfa, to name a scant few, are prized by honey aficionados. During the summer months, most farmer's markets will have many different flavors of honey you can try.

Honey can also be used to treat cuts, burns, and abrasions, something the ancient Egyptians figured out. Honey is mostly sugars, and sugar is a hydroscopic agent, which means it loves water. Can't get enough of it, which is why its categorized as a “wet” ingredient in baking. It'll suck the water out of anything it comes into contact with – which includes bacteria. Rub a little honey on an open wound, put a bandage over it, and the odds of an infection drop to almost zero. It is also very effective at providing an airtight seal of minor burns as well. Manuka honey from New Zealand is especially prized for its antiseptic properties.

Please note that while raw honey is very healthful, it should never be given to infants due to a small chance of contracting infant botulism, a gastrointestinal disorder that can be potentially life-threatening. As Good Eats host Alton Brown once said, “until the kid is one, honey there shall be none.”

Next time you're reaching for the sugar bowl to sweeten something up, consider going for the honey pot, instead. Raw honey isn't just good, it's good for you.

Dave Meddish, Live Superfoods

Sources

OrganicFacts.net, “Health Benefits of Honey” found here.

Natural News, “The Benefits of Raw Honey” found here.

Draxe.com, “The Many Health Benefits of Raw Honey” found here.

The food world is always looking for the next “new thing.” One year, it's walnuts, then it's almonds, then it's pistachios. The humble raw cashew, however, may be due for its day in the sun, as this nut is not only delicious and nutritious, but it has culinary versatility other nuts can't match.

The cashew nut (technically, a seed, but it's lumped in with other tree nuts) comes from the cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) and grows on the outside of the cashew apple, inside a hard, resinous shell. The shell can be used to make oils and lubricants, but is also toxic, which is why you'll never see cashews in the shell in stores anytime soon.

Raw cashews themselves are a significant source of protein, antioxidants (including several B-vitamins), and trace minerals copper, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, and magnesium. Even though they are almost half fat, that is primarily the “good” unsaturated fat, and cashews actually have less fat per ounce than almonds, walnuts, or peanuts.

Unlike other tree nuts, raw cashews are high in starches, up to 10%, which accounts for their smooth, buttery flavor. This high starch content make them ideal to use as natural thickening agents, something many Asian cuisines discovered centuries ago.

Raw cashews are great just by themselves, but their taste and health benefits makes them ideal in other applications, raw or otherwise. Throw them in with some raisins, goji berries, cacao nibs, and granola, and you've got homemade trail mix. Similarly, chopped cashews add a smooth crunch to raw energy bars, or as a topping on anything from breakfast oatmeal to dinner salads, and everything in between. Cashews are great for the raw food diet, but once they get heated, they start to lose their crunch.

Like other nuts, cashews not only make an excellent nut butter, but also a nut milk. Why not? You've had almond milk before, why not cashew milk? All you need is a nut milk bag and a quality blender and you've got a unique and tasty nut milk you can use in the same way as almond milk.

Cashew oil, like other nut oils, can be used for cooking, or raw for use in dressings or other applications. Cashew oil is low in fat and high in heart-healthy oleic and palmitoleic acids. You can find it at oileries and on the internet, or, should you happen to have your own cold press at home, you can make your own. Sadly, we're not quite to the day where everyone has their own cold press yet.

For those wanting to bake gluten-free, cashew flour can be mixed with other gluten-free flours, like almond flour or coconut flour. It's ideal in quick-baking recipes, such as pancakes, cookies, and cakes, or “un-baked” into raw cookies or other desserts. If you're experimenting with Asian cooking, cashew flour makes an ideal thickener for curries and other Asian dishes.

There's really little this kidney-shaped nut can't do. So why don't you give this year's “it” nut a try and see what you can come up with, because raw cashews aren't just good, they're good for you.

Cashew Nut Milk Recipe (courtesy of About.com)

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 2 cups water
• Sweetener (raw maple syrup, agave nectar, or raw honey), optional
• Sea salt (optional)

Instructions

Cover raw cashews with water and allow to soak for at least one hour (more is better, if you can wait a bit a longer!). Drain and rinse.

Place soaked cashews and 2 cups water into a blender or food processor and process until smooth, at least one full minute. Add a dash of raw sweetener, such as agave nectar to taste.

You can use more or less water to vary the thickness of your raw cashew milk, depending on your personal preference, but in general, you want a 1:4 ratio of cashews to water.

You may also choose to strain your raw cashew milk using a nut milk bag, depending on personal preference.

Sources

Wikipedia.com, “Cashews” read here.

SmartKitchen.com, “Cashews” read here.

Cacao, the Superfood

Chocolate: we love it, we crave it, we can't get enough of it. Too bad it's so bad for us. That last statement is not entirely true. Processed chocolate, which is full of sugars, preservatives, stabilizers, and fats, isn't the best snack you could go for. But cacao, from which delicious chocolate comes, is actually one of the most amazing superfoods around, and people have been consuming it for centuries.

Cacao comes from the Theobroma cacao tree, native to the tropical regions of Central and South America. It's been cultivated by Mesoamerican cultures as far back at 2000 B.C., most notably by the Mayans, who believed that cacao was given to them by the gods (the scientific name, in fact, literally means “food of the gods”).

Pods and Beans

The seeds of the cocoa tree grow in large pods, which each contain 40-60 beans when fully mature. It is these beans, once dried, from which cacao powder is products are derived.

The Original Hot Chocolate

The Mayans consumed cacao with water, chiles, and spices in a frothy, unsweetened drink that was reserved for the societal elites. Columbus was likely the first European to encounter cacao, and the first to bring it back to the Old World.

Processing

Raw cacao beans can be consumed whole, broken into bits called nibs, or ground into powder. When dried at low temperatures, they retain their enzymatic integrity and retain all of their healthy nutrients, and what a list it is.

Curious About Cacao's Nutrients?

Cacao is incredibly high in antioxidants. Raw cocoa powder has an ORAC score of over 55,000*, more than forty times that of blueberries, another titan of the superfood realm. Cacao is rich in polyphenols, flavonoids, particularly anthocyanidin, and epicatechins. Cacao leaves other cardioprotective antioxidant rich foods such as red wine and green tea in the dust. Cacao is also is the highest plant-based source of iron**, double that of spinach, and is rich in magnesium and calcium, two critical minerals your body needs for cardiovascular, muscular, and skeletal health.

Cacao for Happiness

There's also a reason that chocolate makes you feel better; cacao contains the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, anandamide and phenylethylamine, chemicals associated with making you feel happy and blissful. Cacao is also rich in caffeine and theobromine, a caffeine-like cardiostimulant and potent diuretic.

Cacao vs. Processed Chocolate

But before you start chowing down on chocolate bars for the health benefits, chocolate and cacao are two different things. Almost all commercial chocolate products have undergone what is called Dutch processing, or dutching, a process that removes many of the harsh, bitter elements of cacao – unfortunately, all those alkaloids are the ones that have the most health benefits. That said, dark chocolate retains the most alkaloids of cacao, so if you're going to go for chocolate, go dark. We’re talking at least 70-85% dark chocolate to reap all the healthy benefits.

Now that you're on board, what can you do with cacao? It goes great in any raw chocolate recipes, and makes a great addition to a paleo diet (most paleos agree that unsweetened cacao is acceptable). Add it to smoothies, sprinkle over fruit, use it instead of chocolate when baking brownies or cookies.

The culinary uses of cacao are vast, and so are the health benefits. So why not give cacao a try in your every diet? Sometimes, what tastes good is good for you too.

Sources

* ORACValues.com "ORAC Values of Dry Cocoa Powder" found here

** Be Good Organics "Benefits of Cacao, the Amazonian Superfood" found here

Authority Nutrition "7 Proven Benefits of Dark Chocolate" found here

Medicine Hunter "Cocoa, the Health Miracle" found here

This recipe is fabulous, and I was initially drawn to it because of the all the superfoods it contained, but then found out it was created by a registered dietitian nutritionist, so of course I dig that. It’s a chewy, crunchy, all-natural protein bar. I love how this recipe uses dates and dried tart cherries to bind everything together, instead of relying on sugary syrups…and an added bonus, no cooking! These are all raw with no fuss of baking.

These bars are loaded with heaps of nutrients, plant-proteins, fiber, omega-3 fats, monounsaturated fats, and good carbohydrates. They’re a lovely combination between sweet, crunchy, chewy, and creamy. Not to mention, they’re packed with nutritious ingredients and superfoods—9, to be exact—to make one delicious bar!

Chewy Superfood Hemp Protein Bars are a great, on-the-go snack for both myself and my two toddlers. I’m always looking for something high in protein and healthy fat, which makes the bar very filling. With the cacao, it also satisfies a sweet tooth.

Cherries: Cherries are one of my favorite fruits, and provide anti-inflammatory properties. The antioxidants in both sweet and sour cherries have been found to inhibit enzymes involved in the creation of pain sensations in the body, thus acting as pain relievers.

Hemp Seeds and Hemp Powder: One serving of hemp protein provides roughly 20 grams of protein, along with omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. It’s a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids, and provides a nice, nutty flavor.

Spirulina: Is an excellent source of chlorella, which is important for cleansing the liver and removing toxins such as heavy metals and other pollutants from the blood.

It’s high in protein (4 grams per 1 Tbsp), and also adds a nutty flavor to these protein bars. Spirulina has potent antioxidant activity, particularly phycocyanin and beta carotene, antioxidants that can help protect cells from damage. Spirulina contains a variety of B-vitamins, and a very high concentration of bioavailable iron, which makes it excellent during pregnancy and for those with anemia.

Cinnamon: It tastes delicious, and is great for blood sugar regulation! Compounds in cinnamon improve the activity of insulin and the cells’ ability to use glucose, which helps to lower fasting blood glucose levels.

Ways To Enjoy

The obvious reason is as a quick grab-n-go snack, but you can easily chop them into bite sized pieces for a decadent dessert topping on BanaNO Cream or Coconut Ice Cream, or on your favorite yogurt.

These bars contain a ton of nutrition, and they're also calorically dense, so either use the bar as a meal replacement, or if you’re watching your calories, cut one in half to make it into a snack size friendly amount. Keep in mind, all of our caloric needs are different, let’s focus a bit more on the goodness of nutrients in these bars more than the numbers! I would use these on a day hike.

Tips From McKel, the RDN Who Created the Bars

I purposefully make larger batches of this recipe at a time and keep some in the fridge for quick snacking and I store the others in the freezer for a later day.

Simply wrap the bars individually in clear wrap or parchment and then place into a tupperware or ziploc storage bag in the freezer. They last well and are quick to thaw- you can also pop these into a toaster oven or microwave for 30 seconds or less and get them nice and warm/soft!

If you’re on the go, these are perfectly fine to keep at room temperature! It’s only dried fruits, nuts, seeds, and coconut oil, nothing will spoil if you’re bringing it with you to work, to school, the office, etc. Simply store it in a ziploc bag or wrap tightly with clear wrap.

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

1½ cup hemp protein powder, chocolate flavor (or original just add more cocoa)  

½ cup hemp hearts, shelled  

½ cup cacao powder 

½ cup walnuts, ground into a coarse flour 

½ cup pumpkin seeds, whole 

¼ cup chia seeds, ground 

¼ cup dried mulberries  

2 tablespoons cacao nibs (optional)  

2 tablespoons spirulina powder  

¼ teaspoon pink himalayan sea salt  

dash of ground cinnamon  

Wet Ingredients

1½-2 cups dates, about 20 pitted  

½ cup dried tart cherries

5 tablespoons coconut oil, melted  

1 heaping tablespoon almond butter  

½ cup water (start with ¼ and add gradually)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions for Dry Ingredients

1. Coarsely grind walnuts and chia seeds. Pour into a large mixing bowl and combine all remaining dry ingredients (hemp powder, seeds, cocoa, pumpkin seeds, mulberries, cacao nibs, and seasonings). Set aside.

Instructions for Wet Ingredients

1. Combine all wet ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor. This mixture is very thick and sticky so you'll need a powerful kitchen appliance or mix in small batches. Start with ¼ cup of water in this mixture.

2. Pour wet ingredients into the large mixing bowl with dry ingredients. This is where you can adjust the water and pay close attention to how much you use.

3. Using your hands (the best tools for this!), massage and combine the mixture until everything has come together to form a large ball.

4. If the mixture gets too wet, simply add more cocoa or hemp protein powder. If the mixture isn't wet enough, try adding more coconut oil or a few more dates. The desired texture is a thick, chewy, sticky bar.

5. In a 8x8 or 9x9 inch parchment lined pan, evenly spread the protein bar mixture into the pan. Using your hands and fingertips firmly press the mixture into an even layer until it's even and smooth on top.

6. Chill for at least 2 hours in the fridge.

7. Cut into small pieces or 12 whole bars.

8. Keep some for later in the freezer by wrapping individually in clear wrap or keep in the fridge for later use that week.

Enjoy!

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 bar (1/12th of recipe) Calories: 320 Fat: 20 grams Carbohydrates: 26 grams Sugar: 4 grams Fiber: 7 grams Protein: 14 grams

Chewy Superfood Hemp Protein Bars Recipe from Nutrition Stripped by McKel Hill, MS, RD, LDN  

Is there anything better than a vine-ripened tomato, warmed by the summer sun and bursting with flavor? One of the best parts of summer is the abundance of tomatoes available at your local farmers market, or if you are really lucky, from the tomato plants growing in your own backyard! 

Tomato Benefits 

Tomatoes are more than just a delicous addition to your kitchen, they are also the best known source of a powerful carotenoid called Lycopene. Lycopene is the pigment that provides the signature, fire-engine red color of this fruit. Lycopene is found in our blood and tissues in greater concentration than any other carotenoid antioxidant, but we cannot manufacture it ourselves. That means we need to get Lycopene through our diet or supplementation in order to experience the free radical scavanging power of Lycopene. 

Summertime Soup

Gazpacho is a soup made from fresh tomatoes, chilled, and served cold. It is raw, vegan, and absolutely delicious. Gazpacho can be a side dish for a BBQ with friends, or the star of your family dinner. Try to save some leftovers for an easy lunch the next day, no re-heating necessary! 

Gazpacho recipes vary, and yours may differ depending on the vegetables growing in your garden along with your tomatoes, or depending on what you brought home from the farmer's market. If you are looking for a simple yet refined recipe, Food & Wine magazine offers us a classic rendition plus some tips for making your own.

Gazpacho Recipe 

3 pounds organic tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped

1 seedless organic cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 organic red bell peppers, coarsely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and coarsely chopped

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate overnight.

2. In a Vitamix blender or food processor, puree the vegetables until smooth. Strain the soup into a deep bowl, seasoned with salt and pepper, and serve. 

Tips for a Better Gazpacho

Food and Wine magazine provides a few of their Test Kitchen Tips to make your gazpacho even more sublime. 

• The tomatoes that are sold bagged at the end of the day at farmers’ markets are ideal, but a mix of heirlooms would be perfect, too.
• An easy rule of thumb is three parts tomatoes to one part other ingredients, such as red, yellow and green bell peppers, onions, garlic, scallions, peeled cucumbers and seedless watermelon, all cut into chunks. I sometimes add parsley, cilantro or any other leafy herbs that I have in the fridge.
• Pack the vegetables in the blender, starting with the tomatoes because they’re the juiciest. Add a good splash of red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar and a bigger splash of extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper, then puree until chunky or smooth.
• If you want to make a really thick gazpacho, soak a few pieces of country bread in water, squeeze dry and add them to the blender along with the vegetables.
• Pour the gazpacho into a bowl and season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and additional vinegar and olive oil. At this point, you can refrigerate it overnight. Serve it on its own or garnished with a drizzle of olive oil, finely diced vegetables, a dollop of tapenade or pesto, or crisp croutons—Tina Ujlaki, Executive Food Editor

Our Tips! 

1. You can reserve a small amount of your tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers and dice into very small peices. Garnish your gazpacho with these diced vegetables for an added layer of texture. 

2. Blend fresh, organic basil with olive oil and garlic, then drizzle over the top of your gazpacho for another layer of flavor. 

3. Stir in 1 1/2 tsp of Synergy Company Tomato Juice Powder before blending your ingredients together for an added boost of tomato flavor and nutritional benefits. 

What is your favorite summertime dish? Leave us a comment below! 

Classic Gazpacho recipe courtesy of Chef Trey Foshee at Food & Wine. 

We've got great news....Live Superfoods has a new supplier for our Almond Butter, and now we have Tahini, too!

Our supplier buys

small, very fresh batches

of almonds and hulled sesame seeds that are:

• USDA-certified organic
• Raw (dried at temps under 118 degrees F)
• Unpasteurized 

Ultra-smooth texture

is achieved by our supplier

stone-grinding

the nuts and seeds. Stone-grinding nearly liquifies the ingredients, so you'll notice that our almond butter and tahini are a more honey-like consistency. 

Tahini suggestions

- Excellent in hummus (chickpea, eggplant or edamame come to mind), as a base for salad dressings, pasta, and deliciously rich sauces for vegetables like cauilflower, carrots or sugar snap peas.

Almond Butter suggestions

- Excellent on apple slices, celery, a slice of raisin bread, or added to a smoothie or your favorite curry. Perfect for homemade energy bars by adding cacao nibs, chopped dates, quinoa (cooked, cooled and dried) or raw oats.

Both are a generous 16 fl oz, packaged in glass jars with metal (not plastic) lids.

The only drawback is we often sell out before the next batch arrives. So get 'em while you can!

Mix up a little raw, vegan love for friends, family or to win over a non-raw foodie co-worker. They'd look oh-so-sweet in a little gift box wrapped with a green ribbon.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Raw Dates
• 1 Cup Raw Almonds
• 1 Tbsp Raw Cocoa Powder (plus a little extra for rolling cookies)
• ½ Tsp Mint Extract
• 1/3 Cup Sweetened Cacao Nibs

Directions:

1. Using your large food processor bowl and blade process all ingredients except sweetened cacao nibs, until dough like consistency with visible chunks of nut.
2. Fold in sweetened cacao nibs.
3. Roll into cookie balls and dust with a little extra raw cacao powder.
4. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen.