Nutritarian

21 Comments

I’m a nutrient nut.

And I’m thrifty.

Combine the two and I’m a nutritarian!

I’m all about getting the most nutritional BANG for my calorie BUCK.

Breakfast fit that description perfectly.  Each ingredient was thoughtfully choosen for what it would add in terms of overall taste and nutrition.

It all started when I received a little box in the mail yesterday.

Inside were a few treats direct from Peru.

My lovely friend Cristina did a little shopping for me on a recent trip South.  Bee pollen and maca.  Sure, you can get both products here but in Peru they are fresh, inexpensive, and easy to come by.  And they will remind me of both Cristina and Lima each time I use them. 🙂

Bee pollen is a rich source of antioxidents and protein.  It is energizing, can improve metabolism, and is excellent for the immune system due to it’s high levels of vitamin C.  Bee pollen has a strong flavor and is best used a teaspoon or so at a time. *People who are allergic to bees should avoid consuming bee pollen*

Maca, “the gift from the andes” as the bag reads, is a powder made from a turnip-like root that grows high in the mountains of Peru and Bolivia.  Maca is known for balancing hormones (who couldn’t use a little help with that!) and is 22% protein, providing you with nearly two grams for 30 calories.  It has a slightly sweet, slightly butterscotchy flavor.

Not planning a trip to Peru any time soon?  Both of these products are commonly found at health food stores.

I thought there was no better way to add these superfoods into my breakfast than a jar of overnight oats!

Want to most nutrition from your morning oats? Soak ’em!

Last night I mixed up

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • ~1 cup plain homemade yogurt + a little extra whey (for protein, probiotics, and calcium)
  • 1 tsp. chia seeds (for protein and Omega-3’s)
  • 1 tsp. maca
  • 1 tsp. bee pollen
  • cinnamon (to stabilize blood sugar)
  • stevia

I let the mixture sit at room temp for a few hours them put it in the refrigerator overnight.  Soaking oats at room temperature with a little acid (from the whey in the yogurt) aids in the digestion of the oats.  Don’t worry, the acid prevents the mis from going bad.

This morning I added antioxident-rich serviceberries from the freezer and a few Omega-3-full walnuts.

This super-nutritious jar left me satisfied but feeling light and energized.

I’m excited to experiment more with maca and bee pollen.  I recall having a particularly amazing raw chocolate pie made with bee pollen years ago…got to figure out how to recreate that!

I’ll leave you with this classic Hippocrates quote to mull over when choosing what to lunch on.

“Let thy food by thy medicine and medicine by thy food.”

21 Comments

  1. I love bee pollen & maca & use them both regularly, though I would love more creative ways to use the pollen. You are so lucky to get them fresh from Peru!
    (Do you like popcorn? Sometimes I’ll sprinkle a little maca over air-popped corn as a fun snack.)

    Reply

  2. Thanks for the info on bee pollen. I found some at the farmer’s market when I was in search of some locally produced honey. The beekeeper was telling me about how she uses the pollen but I chose not to buy it at that time. I did get the honey and it’s dark and lovely. When I go back this weekend I’ll buy some. I’m into nutrients as well.

    Reply

    • You’ll have to share what she told you & how you use it (in a post or something)…please. 🙂 How neat to find it fresh from a local beekeeper! I’ll have to keep my eyes out for that.

      Reply

      • One of things she said is that some people have a tough time developing a taste for it. I assume it has an intense flavor. She says she just puts a spoonful mixed in with her honey and eats it that way – straight off the spoon. She also mentioned that she’d read a lot of research about the consumption of local (it must be local) honey and the pollen as well helping with allergy symptoms. It seems to have a desensitization effect and that it doesn’t happen overnight.

        Reply

        • I’ve been trying to come up with a description of the flavor and it’s really hard for me to pinpoint! One thing I will say is to start slow, like a tsp. or less mixed into something. I made the mistake of way overdoing it a few years ago and it turned me off of bee pollen for a while. It has a thickening component that makes it a nice addition to smoothies, especially when mixed with bananas.

          Reply

  3. I’ve seen local bee pollen here in Charlotte, from one of our honey bottlers. I have never used it though. Actually, this might be a stupid question – but if one is allergic to pollen in the air in springtime, etc – would you want to consume bee pollen? I’m not allergic to bee stings (that I know of – but that can always change)… and obviously have no issues with local honey… but I am curious, yet cautious in regard to the pollen itself…

    ~

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  5. LOVE this post! Looks delish, plus, we’re beginning to research beekeeping in our backyard, and I’m thrilled to learn more about bee pollen! Thanks, Faith!

    Reply

  7. […] We were out the door in 12 minutes.  And Tate shaved.  No cuts either!  And I made him an egg sandwich (which he has yet to get a spare moment to eat).  Luckily I had a true grab ‘n go breakfast waiting for me in the fridge, overnight oats. […]

    Reply

  12. I am originally from Russia and serviceberries grow in almost every garden there and I love them! I didn’t know what they were called in English and never came across them here in the UK. So happy I saw this blog post, now I know what I am going to look for! I also have a sample sachet of maca powder which has been lying around for awhile, now I know where to use it and I have bee pollen too! Totally adding it all to my oats next time. Thank you!

    Reply

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