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Vegetable Powder – Going Beyond Greens
Vegetable powder is often overlooked in the search for superfood supplements, yet is a valuable addition to your superfood store cupboard. In the nutrition stakes, greens powder generally gets all the glory. Yet, whilst it may be true that green leafy veg are some of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet, the overall goal of nutrition is one of variety, and vegetable powder has a lot of good things to offer.
The power of veggie powder
Veggie powders are an excellent way to boost the nutrient content of your diet, especially if this is one area in which your diet is lacking. Despite increased nutritional knowledge, and the increase of interest in all things plant-based, many people do not get enough vegetables in their daily diet.
Vegetable powder is made of dehydrated vegetables that have been ground to a fine powder. They have a much longer shelf life than fresh produce, and retain their nutrient value for longer too. They take up less space and are also easy and convenient to use. Not only do they make a great addition to smoothies, but are also an excellent way of sneaking extra vegetable goodness into your cooking. Add to soups and stews, dips and dressings, or even cakes and breads.
Other than our popular greens powders we have two kinds of vegetable powder; beetroot, and carrot.
Nutrients in Greens
Green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, and even broccoli, all share a basic nutritional profile although each does have it’s own special brand of magic.
These plants are all rich in the life essence chlorophyll and abundant in minerals; especially calcium, iron and sulphur. They are also excellent sources of vitamins C, and K, and are chock-full of anti inflammatory antioxidants.
Greens support bone health, provide major antioxidant support, help to lower cholesterol, and have anti-cancer properties.
Nutrients in Carrots
Carrots are well known for their starring role in promoting eye health. Rich in beta-carotene, as well as antioxidant lycopene and lutein, they help us to maintain good eyesight. But there is more to carrots than eye health.
High in the insoluble fibre pectin, that is also abundant in apples. It helps to regulate blood sugar levels by slowing down digestion and decreasing the uptake of sugars. It also decreases the absorption of cholesterol so is effective in helping to lower total cholesterol levels.
A good source of the mineral potassium, which is essential for the fluid balance within cells, carrots can also help to regulate blood pressure.
Carrots also contain silicon, for healthy skin and nails.
Nutrients in Beetroot
Beetroot contains a unique group of antioxidants known as betacyanins. Responsible for their deep purple colour, these protective pigments offer support to the liver, help to improve circulation, and purify the blood. Not just an old wives tale!
Along with iron, that feeds the red blood cells with oxygen, the antioxidants in beetroot detoxify the liver and purify the blood by promoting excretion of toxins.
Also rich in potassium, beetroot is highly effective at lowering blood pressure.
More Benefits of Vegetable Powders
Carrot powder and beetroot powder have another advantage over greens powder. They add sweetness. Not sugar-rush sweetness, but the sweet taste that is often needed to round out flavours and make food more palatable. Green smoothies aside, a spoonful of carrot powder will round out any residual bitterness in a tomato sauce way better than a pinch or two of sugar. Mix beetroot powder into cacao powder to add sweetness without sugar or sweeteners. This blend has tons of uses, but try dusting it over popcorn. It’s great!
Have you explored our range of store cupboard superfoods? Available to buy in bulk online now! Boost Nutrients vegetable powders are all made from 100% organic Australian grown produce.
This article was reproduced on this site with permission from Opera Foods the “Vegetable Powder Suppliers”.
See original article:- Vegetable Powder – Going Beyond Greens
A Guide to Superfood Powders
Superfood powders are an easy way to enhance the nutrient power of your diet and their scope goes way beyond just super greens. Fruit powder, vegetable powder, protein powder (and yes, greens powder) can all help you maximise your intake of superfood nutrients. In this article we explore the subject of superfood powders and look at some of these in more detail.
Before we begin, why not read our article on superfoods and nutrition first? It is a great nutrition primer and introduction to superfoods.
What is superfood powder?
Superfood powders are nutritionally dense foods, most often fruits and vegetables, that have been dehydrated and ground to a fine powder. Convenient, easy to use, and with a longer shelf life than fresh produce, they are an easy way to increase your nutrient intake.
Boost Nutrients superfood powders are made from high quality fruits, roots, leaves and seeds that, where possible, are organic and sourced from within Australia. We support minimal intervention, pesticide-free farming and try to reflect this in our products as much as we can.
Some superfood powders are blended, and are often targeted at specific concerns. They contain a range of different ingredients and provide an overall spectrum of nutrients. Some may ‘boost vitality’ whilst others are designed to ‘strengthen your immunity’. They may, not always, contain smaller amounts of the most expensive ingredients.
Here at Boost Nutrients we make pure superfood powders, made of a single ingredient, that gives you ultimate control. Each powder, fruit or vegetable, is a superfood in its own right, with its own unique nutrient profile. They range from the exotic, like maca root powder, to the down right boring, like kale. Sorry, kale.
How are superfood powders made?
Our powders are not freeze dried. Despite what a superficial search on the internet may tell you, current understanding actually shows that there are better ways to preserve nutrients in dehydrated fruit and vegetables. We make our superfood powders with a totally different technology, that retains a higher percentage of nutrients, flavour, aroma, and colour. The resulting powders form a crystalline structure that is also more easily dissolved for maximum efficiency. This process is called low temperature continuous evaporation. A low heat method of vacuum drying, it is considered to be ‘the ideal method for drying oxygen sensitive materials, such as fruits and vegetables’.
Is superfood powder good for you?
Superfood powders are a great addition to you diet, especially if it is lacking in fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables.
As we have seen, fresh produce deteriorates rapidly whilst powdered fruits and vegetables are processed as close to harvesting as possible. They are already ahead of the game when it comes to retention of vital nutrients.
The nutrient profile of a single ingredient powder is the same as the fruit from which it is made. As with whole produce, the best way to experience a wide range of benefits is to broaden your food choices and incorporate as much variety as possible in your daily diet. Mix it up!
One thing most superfood powders have in common is high levels of antioxidants.
Do superfood powders contain fibre?
The fibre present in fruits and vegetables is still there in powder form as the only thing that has been removed is the water. It has been broken down, so you do lose the mechanical benefits of fibre on digestion, but other than that the fibre remains.
Soluble fibre is often a contributor to superfood status, so produce that is high in insoluble fibre (such as the pectin in raspberries) will retain all of its nutritional benefit.
How to use superfood powder
Can you mix superfood powders?
Our pure, single ingredient, superfood powders are easy to mix together to come up with fresh tasting ideas or specific combinations of nutrients. Just be sure to stay within the individual dehydration guidelines for each specific powder. It is pretty impossible to overdose on fruits and vegetables but a little goes a long way.
How to make superfood powder taste good.
Many superfood powders taste great already. Fruits such as mango, or berries, taste pretty much the same as they do when fresh. Vegetable smoothies, especially green smoothies, can take a bit of getting used to even when made using fresh produce. Using a powder doesn’t change that, so you may need to get a little creative.
How much superfood powder in a smoothie?
It all depends whether you want to simply boost a smoothie that has been made with fresh produce, or reconstitute a larger amount of powder in order to substitute the fresh produce. Amounts vary depending on the powder in question so it is best to go by the individual guidelines.
Does superfood powder expire?
As a food product, all superfood powders will have a best before date. Whilst they don’t expire exactly, they will slowly degrade over time and their nutrient content will diminish, especially once opened. That said, they will be good for several months at least, just take care to reseal it well once open as the powders will absorb moisture and be exposed to oxidation.
On the flip side, fresh produce begins to lose its nutrient value the moment it is harvested. Even before it begins to break down and become inedible it has lost a good percentage of its vitamin and mineral content. A banana in the fruit bowl will probably last a week, max.
Fruit powders
The difference between fruit powders and fresh fruit
Although fruit powders retain many of their nutrients they have a very different composition to fresh fruit. Nothing can replace the sensation of biting into a ripe peach and juice dripping down your chin, or the scent of the seasons first strawberries. There are many reasons for enjoying food, and not all of them are nutritional.
But fruit powders do have certain advantages. They have a longer shelf life, for more convenience and less waste. They are also easy to prepare and exceptionally versatile.
What can you do with fruit powder?
- sprinkle on porridge
- mix into milk or yoghurt
- add to your homemade granola mix
- stir into your baking (including frosting)
- stir into ice cream
- mix into spice blends and dry rubs
- add to your herbal tea blends
- stir into salad dressing (mango is great)
and of course…smoothies!
Explore our range of fruit powders
Vegetable powders
Are powdered vegetables as good as fresh?
In the same way that there needs to be a place in the diet for whole fresh fruit, fresh vegetables should be making up a huge percentage of your daily meals. Yet, other than their shelf life and versatility, vegetable powders (especially greens) do have one huge advantage; many, many people quite literally will not eat their greens. Most people enjoy fruit as it is sweet, but there a lot of people that miss out on the nutrients that vegetables offer. It is all too easy to tell people to focus their meals around vegetables, but what if they don’t? Given a choice between beetroot powder baked into a chocolate muffin or no beetroot at all, we know which we would choose.
How to use vegetable powder
- sprinkle over popcorn
- add to soups, stews, curries and sauces
- add to salad dressing
- mix into your muffin and bread mixes (even cake)
- stir into dips
- create savoury spice blends
- stir into rice
- add to scrambled eggs and omelettes
Explore our range of vegetable powders
Greens powders
Greens powders come under the same category as vegetable powders but they deserve a special mention. Greens are the holy grail of the vegetable world, and quite often the one group of produce that we could all do with more of. Eating a bowl of berries is easy, or even a plate of carrot sticks, but working your way through a big plate of greens is another story entirely.
Many commercial greens powders are blends of highly nutritious green foods. Seaweed and algae are top of the ingredients list. A little goes a very long way, which is a good job as they generally taste vile.
Boost Nutrients greens powders are single ingredient powders made from good old Australian-grown greens. You can use them anywhere in your cooking that you might add a handful of greens, and in foods that maybe you wouldn’t. Throw them in a curry sauce, or a soup, or to make your fresh pasta dough green.
Don’t forget, matcha is a powerful green superfood powder too!
Protein powders
Protein powders are slightly different from superfood powders in that they are designed to provide little other than additional protein. Some foods are considered superfoods because of their levels of protein, or the amino acids they provide, but these are more likely to be part of a broad spectrum superfood powder than a protein powder.
However, protein powders are a valuable addition to the nutritional supplement arsenal. We do make protein powders (both dairy and vegan) but will not go into further detail in this particular article.
Why not explore our range of superfoods, and even save by buying in bulk today.
This article was reproduced on this site with permission from operafoods.com.au the “Superfoods powders suppliers”.
See original article:- A Guide to Superfood Powders
Boosting your diet with super greens powders
There are many reasons you may want to boost your diet with super greens powders. But why are green vegetables just so good for you?
Are green powders healthy?
Green powders are an excellent way to boost your nutrient intake with the power of green vegetables. Designed as a nutritional supplement rather than an alternative, green powders are great for when you need extra nutrients in your diet or, for whatever reason, are finding it difficult to make your fruit and veg targets.
Why are green vegetables good for you?
Green vegetables are full of a pigment called chlorophyll. They also contain a whole host of other nutrients for very little calories which makes them some of the most nutrient dense foods around. Find out why green vegetables are some of the most super superfoods around.
What is chlorophyll?
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in plants that helps them to convert sunlight into energy. For humans it acts as a powerful anti-oxidant. Generally, but not necessarily, the more green the vegetable the more chlorophyll it contains. That said, if you choose dark green vegetables to include in your diet, you can be sure of a good source of chlorophyll as well as plenty of other nutrients.
What are dark green vegetables?
All vegetables (and fruits) have some nutritional benefit, and the best health advice you can follow is to eat the rainbow. Quite simply this means to eat a wide range of fresh produce, choosing as many different varieties and colours as you can. Fruits and vegetables all contain pigments that give them their colour. These pigments are known as phytonutrients (or plant chemicals) and they are what makes this food category so unique, and so beneficial. The more colours you eat, the higher your intake of beneficial plant chemicals.
Dark green vegetables are a group of vegetables that share similar nutritional characteristics. Other vegetables that are green but do not share the same nutrient profile belong in a different group. Celery, for example. Or iceberg lettuce. These both contain vital nutrients, just different ones. Dark green vegetables may share similarities yet they each have something unique to offer. So within that rainbow, choose many varieties of each colour as well as individual colour groups.
Green leafy vegetables
Most dark green vegetables also come under the heading of leafy greens. There are salad greens, such as rocket and watercress. Then there are those such as kale and chard, which are generally cooked. Broccoli is related to kale, yet also to cauliflower. Some varieties of broccoli are more leafy than others. Baby spinach is seen primarily as a salad leaf, whilst mature spinach tends to need cooking.
Kale and spinach are both examples of leafy greens, and are pretty much nutritional royalty.
Is spinach good for you?
Yes, spinach is super good for you. Not only a good source of chlorophyll, it is packed with vitamins and minerals including over a dozen antioxidant flavonoid compounds to protect against heart disease and bolster your immune system. Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin K that is essential for blood clotting and maintaining healthy bones.
Is kale good for you?
Kale is also exceptionally good for you. Beyond giving that chlorophyll boost, kale is full of amazing nutrient properties. Did you know it contains a substance that can help to balance oestrogen? It also helps to protect bones with calcium and magnesium alongside vitamin K. Kale is also rich in beta-carotene and vitamin C.
How much protein in kale and spinach?
Whilst not protein powerhouses, kale and spinach do not do too badly in the protein stakes. We explore protein supplements in this post about protein powder.
How to use greens powder
Our spinach powder is an excellent way to boost your nutrient intake and ensure you are not missing out on healthy ingredients. This kale powder will also make sure you are getting the nutrients you need.
Simply stir into water, juice, milk or smoothies. You can also add to soups and stews, or even dips and salad dressings. They work particularly well with egg dishes such as scrambled egg or omelette.
How to make green powder taste better
It is true that greens powder can be fairly unpalatable. Luckily we wrote an entire post about green smoothies and how to make them taste nice.
Buy your greens powder online today, and take advantage of our bulk buy savings.
Think you are getting enough greens? Why not check out some of our veggie smoothie recipes.
This article was reproduced on this site only with permission from our parent co. operafoods.com.au the “Gourmet Online Wholesale Grocer”. See the original article here:- Boosting your Diet With Greens Powders
Spinach Vegetable Powder Prevents Oxidative Stress and Blood Pressure
Boost Nutrients produce multi-varied items such as vegetable powder, fruit powder and several kinds of smoothie recipes. Boost Nutrients is basically an Aussie brand which consumes mainly garden-fresh raw ingredients, from Australia where possible, and it also consumes high-quality ingredients from respective overseas suppliers. The main goal of Boost Nutrients is to provide healthy energy drinks and meal toppings and to ease the respective process of producing smoothies.
Spinach vegetable powder is one of the vegetable powders that help to prevent blood pressure, cancer, and several other severe diseases. Spinach vegetable powder is rich in phytonutrients, antioxidants, flavonoids as well as carotenoids. It is produced by the process of drying whole spinach leaf pulp. Spinach powder is green in color and it has a mild flavor of spinach. Using this powder, people can make smoothies and juices of spinach. Moreover, it can be used in soups, salad dressings as well as savory dishes.