The next superfood is quite a shocker and the last thing you would think of when you hear the word “salad”. In some ways, it is a vegetable haters dream because it has to do with the antithesis of salad, and that is sugar! Well, molasses to be exact. Am I suggesting that there is a superfood made of sugar? Yes, I am.

Backstrap molasses is the next superfood. Many of us don’t know or have much of an appreciation for this food item. It is either something we put in our slang to explain “slow” or something we know makes a gingerbread cookie taste really good.  Before you get all excited, I will disclose that ultimately you are still talking about sugar. Don’t go buy a jar of it and mix it with ranch dressing and call it salad.

Backstrap molasses is the byproduct of the third refining process of sugar. The reason why it causes positive attention is that it contains a high concentration of the original nutrients of the sugar cane plant. We all know that refined sugar is naturally devoid of anything healthy. That is because the last stage of refining removes all the nutrients. The byproduct is the brown sweet syrup backstrap syrup and the product is that pure white stuff you put in your coffee.

Backstrap molasses is a great source of calcium and iron. We all know calcium is required for strong bones. We all know that as we age (especially women) calcium is harder to come by. We also know that children (especially teenagers) need calcium during their growth years. American’s main source of calcium is in milk products followed by fruits and vegetables. One teaspoon of backstrap molasses has 20% of calcium. That is pretty decent for a non-salad.

So, pick up some backstrap molasses at the health food store and throw some in a smoothie, batch of cookies, baked beans, or pancake mix. It is a little potent in terms of flavor. Like I said, it tastes like grandma’s ginger cookie. It is definitely not a salad replacement by any means as it is also devoid of any significant source of protein and fiber. It will also give you some reassurance when your finicky kid is staring at his vegetables night after night and making the whole dinner experience for you…you guessed it, slow as molasses.

Many people here in middle America don’t even know what the word “vegan” means. Once I explain, they say “Oh, you eat a lot of salads and want to save the animals”. For some, this is true. For us, neither of these are true. The idea of eating salad around the clock is enough to make me contemplate heading to the Siberian goulags for a better meal. Our children would also be emotionally scarred and melt down at their first school birthday party at the sight of pizza. “Does not compute. Does not compute. Does not compute.”

If you have picky eating children or a “salads are for sissys” kinda husband, I want to introduce you to a bunch of superfoods you can sneak into just about anything. I would have never come across these foods had I not started eating vegan. The reason why I stumbled upon these foods is because I started studying how to get a daily balanced nutrition without animal products and without having to gorge myself on raw broccoli (yeah baby). What I found is that you can get a whole lot of your protein, fiber, carbs, and vitamins from a couple very small sources. These food pack vegetable power in 1 teaspoon doses. For those of you who want to balance out your nutrition (vegan or not), you can incorporate these throughout your day and boost your nutrition by 50%.

The first food is closely related to your Chia pet from the 80’s. “Cha-Cha-Cha-Chia Pet!” Remember? Well, you can eat part of your Chia pet. I am not suggesting that you buy one, bust it with a hammer, and stir it in a soup. Specifically, I want to talk about the chia  seeds that you spread all over a Chia pet. Chia seeds are the first power food I want to discuss. These seeds have ancient roots and were known as an energy, strength, and endurance food for the Aztec indians.

Chia seeds pack 8x more omega-3 than salmon and 30% more antioxidants than blueberries. A tablespoon serving has 17% of your fiber intake, 5% of your protein, and around 10% of your different mineral requirements. It’s completeness in nutrition makes it a great morning energy booster. This is what you do: the tiny seeds can can be ground into a fine powder (your coffee grinder) and put in just about anything as they have little to no taste. Put it in a morning smoothie. Drop the powder into your pancake mix. Mix it with some peanut butter and spread it on your toast. Stir it in a glass of water or OJ.

You can pickup white chia seeds (Salba seeds) from http://www.salba.org OR you can just head to Whole Foods or a decent health food store and pick up a bottle. A decent sized bottle will run you between $15 – $25. And if you get bored with them, you can always rub them on a piece of clay and try to grow a Jerry Garcia head.