Feeling sluggish and foggy? These tasty energy boosters will wake you up, and keep you going – while providing valuable health benefits.
Every year, grocery companies gather to showcase their latest products at Grocery & Specialty Food West in Vancouver. At the recent show, we found some new and tasty energy boosters you want to include in your “Feel Good” list.
Wake Up to Ginger Honey
Kick start your day with a dose of goodness. The sweet and sassy combo makes a great energy booster. It’s also packed with vital antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that:
• Support heart health
• Reduce respiratory problems such as, a cough, cold and sore throat
• Ease joint pain, migraine and menstrual cramp
• Improve blood circulation and digestion
• Strengthen the immune system, and reduce the risk of cancer
Ginger honey concoction is an all-day food that can increase your wellness. The soothing pick-me-up blend is an ideal warmer on a cold day.
Honey for Health and Flavour
Queen Bee Ginger Honey is a 100 percent Canadian honey product blended with American-grown ginger, says Diane Stubson of Kidd Bros Honey/Western Sage, Canada’s oldest honey company.
When buying ginger, the American cultivated variety is a safer choice than Chinese-grown ginger – which has been known to contain high levels of toxic pesticide.
Kidd Bros Honey/Western Sage has been making raw, natural and unpasteurized honey since 1884. Their unpasteurized ginger honey is ideal for:
- Making energy booster drinks such as, smoothies, anti-cold cocktails, and soothing hot drinks or chilled lemonade
- Use as a spread on your morning toast, waffles or pancakes
- Drizzling over your freshly grilled corn
- Glazing meats and seafood
- Adding extra flavours to your favourite stir-fry, rice or pasta
The ginger honey flavour will soon be available in Metro Vancouver stores.
A word of caution. Those on medications may wish to consult their doctor before consuming the product. Ginger consumed along with certain medication may slow blood clotting, cited emedicinehealth.com
Kidd Bros Honey/Western Sage also features other flavoured honeys including those infused with blueberry, lychee, lemon, cool mint and cappuccino. Raspberry, glacier cream and cinnamon are their top sellers.
Bee Magic is another top seller. The supplement made of honey, pollen and royal jelly, helps enhance immunity and detoxify the body.
Superfood and Tropical Smoothies
The Apple & Eve smoothies will fill you with an easy, on-the-go breakfast or as a delicious midday snack.
The smoothies infused with spices and fruits evoke the pleasures of vacationing in Northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai province. Among the favourite combo flavours are:
- Mango with coconut and turmeric
- Strawberry with hibiscus and dragon fruit
- Pineapple with banana,spinach and macha
If your kids are fussy about eating vegetables, they may like the pineapple, banana, spinach and macha smoothie.
Apple & Eve’s Vegan Protein Smoothie was winner in the best health and wellness category at the show.
Bite of Chocolate Boost Your Mind and Mood
Chocolate is a product of cacao fruit, native to Central and South America. The origin of chocolate is not definitive.
According to Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian cultural art curator, Hayes Lavis, the Olmecs of southern Mexico are thought to have used cacao – as a ceremonial beverage around 1500 B.C. They later shared the cacao knowledge with the Mayans, who not only consumed cacao as a drink but revered it as “Food of the Gods”.
Cacao found in chocolate is rich in flavonoids – phytonutrients that may help to protect the heart, according to a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health research.
However, not all chocolate are created equal. The amount of flavonoid content in chocolate depends on two factors: the processing method, and other core and secondary ingredients added to the final product.
Chocolate also contains caffeine and theobromine, all of which will boost your energy level and mood.
AOG Foods recently introduced a new line of innovative packaged Ecuadorian chocolate made with Arriba cacao. The tasty discs and bars offer exotic super foods combined with delicious dark chocolates.
YAAL’s chocolates do not undergo alkalinization, unlike many big chocolate productions. Alkalinization process destroys many beneficial antioxidants and flavonoids.
