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No Fear No Favour

10 Super-Healthy Food Trends You Haven’t Tried Yet

“You are what you eat eats.”
Check out this list of healthy food trends!

1. Chia



Health-conscious eaters are getting serious about—and going crazy for—chia seeds (yes, like the “pets”). It’s no wonder: they deliver as much protein as some nuts as well as heart-healthy alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the plant-based omega-3 fat. Per tablespoon, chia delivers 2 grams protein, 4 grams fibre and 1.75 grams ALA. Chia seeds may have celebrity status as the newest superfood fad, but they’ve been around for centuries (they were prized by the Aztecs). The seeds absorb liquid easily, gelling and making a creamy addition to oats and pancakes.

2. Coconut Flour

The popularity of coconut doesn’t end with hot-right-now coconut water and coconut oil. Coconut flour is a healthy way to add decadent coconut flavour to baked goods (as we used in the Coconut Dark-Chocolate Truffles, pictured left). As for health benefits of coconut flour: it packs a whopping 5 grams of fibre per 2 tablespoons (with only 2 grams of total and saturated fat) and it’s gluten-free. Coconut flour has health benefits for people with diabetes, too: adding coconut flour to baked goods lowers the glycemic index (a measure of the rate that a food increases blood sugar). In your market, look for coconut flour near other gluten-free flours.

3. Vegetable Smoothies

Smoothies are often a tasty delivery device for fruit. But adding vegetables—especially spinach and kale to make green smoothies—is all the rage these days, possibly thanks to a renewed interest in juicing. Even beets and sweet potato are making an appearance in smoothies (not together and typically in combination with fruit).

4. Skyr



Skyr is the traditional yoghurt of Iceland and is comparable in texture and nutrition to Greek yogurt—delivering just as much protein, but for slightly fewer calories (perhaps because it’s always made with skim milk)

5. Seaweed

Dulse (say it like “pulse”) is one example of a growing infatuation with eating seaweed. Dulse is a good source of potassium and iron—and boasts loads of iodine, necessary in the regulation of the thyroid gland and usually found only in seafood or iodized salt. It has a salty, of-the-sea flavour. You can enjoy dulse in many forms. Look for it in natural-foods markets, where you’ll find it either in flakes or in bags of dried strips, and crumble it over soups or salads.

6. Hemp

Hemp-seed sales grew 156 percent between 2008 and 2010. As versatile as, and similar in taste to, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds can be eaten raw, toasted, sprinkled on yoghurt or salads or ground into seed butter. Per tablespoon, hemp seeds boast 16 percent of your daily value for phosphorus and magnesium, 1 gram of ALA and a little under 1 gram of fibre.

7. Kefir

Think yoghurt in a glass. This fermented dairy beverage is packed with beneficial probiotics that may help give your immune system a little extra edge. With 29 percent of your daily value of calcium per 8-ounce serving, kefir is the perfect choice for adding to smoothies in place of yoghurt or as an on-the-go breakfast.

8. Rooibos Tea



Green tea isn’t the only super-healthy tea out there. Rooibos tea—a red-coloured herbal tea made from the leaves of the rooibos bush—may protect your heart.

9. Almond Milk

At the grocery store, your milk choices go beyond what cows produce. Plant-based “milks” are increasingly popular. If you find yourself wandering into the alternative “milk” category, go for almond milk. It’s naturally high in calcium and if you buy one fortified with vitamin D, it’s comparable to cow’s milk.

10. Amaranth

It’s a boon for vegetarians because it’s high in both iron and zinc, nutrients that can be tough to get on a vegetarian diet, as well as protein. It’s also rich in calcium and magnesium—and is gluten-free. Grown as an ornamental for its pretty blooms as well as for its grains, amaranth grains have been cultivated in Central America for an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 years. When cooked, amaranth has a thick, porridge-like texture—great in soups, stews, breakfast porridge or puddings.

We think you’ll find at least one food on this list to add to your diet.

By-Devanshi

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