Find out all you need to know about the Greek super foods used by the Caravia Beach Chefs & the health benefits of adding them to your daily diet.
Are super foods a trend or is it that genuinely healthy ingredients are slowly taken their place back onto our plates?
After decades of processed foods, with the corresponding health consequences, it is easy to see why super foods are now making a comeback.
High in fiber, these mostly plant based foods are full of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins, vital for men and women to deal with their stressful lifestyles.
Apart from broadly documented super foods such as Açai and goji berries, maca and chia seeds, there are a number of less known super foods that in fact originate from Greece.
Our chefs at Caravia Beach make frequent use of them all so you can enjoy the very best ingredients during your holiday.
Here are 8 that you might consider adding to your diet:
Almonds
A rich source of magnesium and vitamin E, this diamond shaped seed contains fiber and healthy fats, ideal for snacking in between meals.
Capers
This savory bud adds all the saltiness needed either in a salad or a cooked meal. It originates from small shrubs that grow near rocky sites and are preserved in a rich brine. Low in calories they are a prime source of calcium, magnesium and fibers.
Carob Flour
With its natural sweetness, carob flour is an ideal ingredient for the healthy conscious. Low in fat but high in calcium and fiber it has a distinct pleasant taste and unique texture, that looks like cocoa powder.It originates from the pod of a tree popular along the Mediterranean Sea, that once picked is dried, roasted and ground into a powder. It is used extensively for making breads and rusks.
Corinthian Raisin
The Corinthian raisin or otherwise blackcurrant is used extensively in Greek cooking: as an additive to sweet breads, in the rice mixture of stuffed tomatoes or cabbage leaves as well as in salads. It is rich in iron, potassium, and vitamin and Β.
Dittany
Known from antiquity for its therapeutic capacity, Dittany or else Oregano, is a healing plant that grows wild on the mountains of Crete. Its leaves are used in herbal teas with antioxidant and antimicrobial elements.
Olive Oil
This golden liquid that is the result of pressing whole olives, is the queen ingredient of Mediterranean cuisine. Greece is the third largest producer worldwide, and its benefits have been known since antiquity, with Homer citing it as liquid gold and Hippocrates using it as a healing agent.
Pomegranate
The symbol of prosperity and ambition in antiquity,
it is high in fiber and antioxidants ideal for healthy arteries and promotes weight loss.
Saffron
Today’s valuable culinary ingredient was known in ancient Greece for it’s rare pharmaceutical qualities.
Fast forward several centuries, and modern medicine has come to reinforce those qualities suggesting that it can be used to protect from cancer, increase vitality, enhances memory and is a health stimulant.
PhotoCredits: Carob Powder – www.scratchmommy.com