Superfoods in the Spotlight: Bee Pollen

I think it's great that more and more people become aware of what they eat and are focussing more and more on eating healthy. As part of my philosophy on healthy & clean eating I incorporate Superfoods into my daily meals. So I decided to start writing posts about Superfoods, and each time I will put one I frequently use in the spotlight! I will list all posts as well as the first introduction section of this post about superfoods on a separate page on my blog: simply click the Superfoods tab!

But first, what are Superfoods?  

Superfoods are products that, in countries from which they originally came from, are eaten for thousands of years, so they are sort of ancient foods. In comparison to other foods they contain up to fifteen times the nutritional value. By eating Superfoods, your body will be supplied, through the same amount of food, with many more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients. Unfortunately, by eating 'regular' fruits and vegetables we don't get enough good nutrients in our system. You really need to eat a lot more fruit & vegetables then you do right now to really have a healthy lifestyle. A recent study by TNO (a Dutch research institute were I'm currently doing my PhD) showed that only 42% of the Dutch people eat at least 200 g vegetables each day and only 35% of eats 2 pieces of fruit every day. 2 pieces of fruit each day and 200 g vegetables are the Dutch guidelines which I personally think are both still too low. I believe you should have vegetables at minimum at lunch (salads) and dinner and for breakfast and snacks I always have fruit. But the numbers clearly show that we, in general, are eating even less fruit and vegetables then the guidelines state we should eat. Could you imagine how few people would met the guideline if we even needed to eat more fruit and vegetables?!

And on top of that the nutritional value of non-organic fruit and vegetables has declined with more than 70% since 1945! So we need to eat a whole lot more of these products to get the same amount of nutrients in our systems compared to 70 years ago! I think that's shocking. So by eating Superfoods you will get a lot more healthy nutrients in your system!


Superfoods can be taken in replacement of some products you already eat, but I like to add them to my meals (especially breakfast) in order to supplement it and really see it as an additional to my diet. They are in general expensive, but you only need a little bit to start feeling the benefits. So I would advise you to slowly start adding Superfoods to your pantry so you can spread the costs and it fits your budget! And all Superfoods have different but natural tastes. Some take some getting used to but it is so worth it!

If you want to learn more about Superfoods, How to start with it and some great recipes you really need to buy the Dutch Book: 'Superfood Recepten' van Jesse van der Velde!

And were can you get them?

I usually bought mine at the local organic store. In general they have a wide assortment of Superfoods. I like to go to Heerlijk Wormerveer or to GooodyFooods Zaandam. But when I was going through all the advertising leaflets this week I noticed that the Dutch drugstore Etos is now also selling Superfoods. I think this is great because in this way it's more accessible to consumers who aren't that familiar with going to organic stores, and they sell it in smaller portions so you can try it out against a low price! So in my opinion, perfect!

Bee pollen

And now on too the first Superfood that will be in the spotlight: Bee pollen! Definitely one of my favorite Superfoods because, besides the fact that they are super healthy, they have a sweet honey-like taste! I like to add them to my breakfast and smoothies. But you could also consider to use them in salads or in salad-dressings, as garnishing on healthy desserts or sprinkle them over a bowl of strawberries!

Bee pollen are made by honeybees and are the food for the bees. They are made from the pollen of flowers that bee carry with them. The pollen adhere to their hind legs and hairs. When the bees carrying the pollen arrive at the hive, the bee will add some substances and forms granules.

They are considered one of nature's most complete nourishing foods as they contain nearly all nutrients required by humans. Bee pollen can be used to balance your state of mind and strengthen your immune system because they contain the immune system stimulants RNA and DNA which both support cell growth, cell renewal and cell repair. So they enhance tissue repair and delay aging and are great for your skin. Bee pollen are also natural energizers as they enhance your energy levels and overall vitality but also your concentration levels and endurance will improve. Moreover, they regulate the digestive system and hormone levels, which are often disordered when you are experiencing stress or show depressive feelings.

And of course, here is the recipe for one of my favorite breakfasts (especially this week!) to which I add bee pollen. And yes, I do have the feeling that I get more work done during the day when I add 1 tablespoon of bee pollen to my breakfast.

Breakfast recipe: Blended apple-banana quark

The ingredients for 1 serving:

• 4 tbs quark or Greek yoghurt
• 1 banana
• 1 apple
• 1 tbs blueberries
• 3 tbs homemade granola
• 1 tbs bee pollen

What you do:

1. Slice the banana and cut the apple (remove the skin). Put the quark, banana & apple (except for a couple of pieces to put on top) in your blender and blend until smooth. 
2. Pour it into a bowl and top with the muesli, the rest of the banana & apple, blueberries and bee pollen.

 

Enjoy!

 

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