Paper Palate

The Power of Superfoods

The Food and Dining section of Wednesday’s Chronicle focused on “superfoods.” Superfoods are the new dietary starlets; foods full of good stuff like antioxidants, fiber, and healthy fats. The ten superfoods singled out by the Chronicle were apples, avocados, beans, blueberries, dark chocolate, kiwis, oats, spinach, walnuts, and yogurt, although some articles also mention tea and tomatoes.

I decided to spend yesterday incorporating more of these superfoods into my diet. Breakfast was easy, an apple and plain yogurt with blueberries, accompanied by green tea. Morning is probably the easiest time of the day to pack with superfoods. A yogurt with blueberries and kiwi, followed by a morning snack of an apple and a few walnuts, and you’d have knocked off five of your ten superfoods before lunch. As the Chronicle mentions, though, it’s important to avoid blind devotion to these ten foods at the expense of their other, almost-as-super, brethren, like raspberries and blackberries.

For lunch, I made the Chronicle’s Super Spinach Raita.

Spinach Raita

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound baby spinach leaves
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper to taste
2 cups thick Greek yogurt (I used the full fat kind)
2 garlic cloves, chopped, or as desired (really, garlic should be super too)
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, or large pinch of cumin, turmeric, dried ginger
Squeeze lemon if needed

INSTRUCTIONS:

Lightly stir-fry the baby spinach leaves in the olive oil until they wilt and darken in color.
Remove from the heat; when cool enough to handle, squeeze dry and season with salt and cayenne pepper. Save the cooking liquid for soups or to add to pilaf, stews, etc.
Coarsely chop the cooked spinach, then stir into the yogurt; add the garlic, green onions, dill or spices, and a squeeze of lemon if needed. Chill until ready to serve. Serves 8.

I used cumin and turmeric, but no dill or ginger, and served the spinach raita with toasted pita wedges for lunch. The Greek yogurt gave it a rich creamy texture, and the cayenne, cumin and turmeric added a necessary punch. The garlic also added a strong flavor element, but I wouldn’t eat this before a first date. Although it’s a healthy superfood, spinach raita tasted particularly naughty and decadent.

For my afternoon snack, I enjoyed some Valrhona Guanaja (70% cocoa) dark chocolate. This chocolate does not mess around - a little goes a long way.

For dinner. Right, about dinner… Although barley, hops and fried pork dumplings didn’t make the Chronicle’s top ten, I’m sure they’re at least in the top 25? Seriously, I was going to whip up some red beans and rice topped with avocado slices but, because I was feeling so super from my earlier meals, I tackled an extensive apartment closet overhaul project that left me too hungry to resist the lure of Grand Sichuan and some Harpoon IPA. Ah, the dangers of superfoods.

Also in the Wednesday’s food section: tasters were unimpressed by canned split pea soups; what’s new? Spicy chocolate; and redefining slow food at Chez Maman in Bernal Heights.