maca.

ok. one more post. another book i have to return to the library is david wolfe's superfoods.
since having the "super ex" smoothie at organic lives, i have become convinced that maca is one of my favourite things. when i am feeling BLEH or hungry or not in the mood for ANYTHING, i have maca in my smoothie (often with cacao and frozen banana) and i'm SET. i am happy and ready to go! i'm not the only one this happens to either, i swear!
so perhaps it's best that i list some things that david wolfe shares about maca, also known as peruvian ginseng...

this root is known to improve the following conditions:

• anemia
• chronic fatigue
• depression
• infertility and sterility in humans and livestock
• lack of libido
• malnutrition
• menopausal symptoms
• menstrual discomfort and disorders
• poor memory
• stomach cancer
• stress tension
• tuberculosis

pretty good, huh?

maca is great with cacao and it's also great in salad dressings and broths... it has a slightly malted flavour, kind of coffee-ish to me sometimes (though i don't drink coffee, i only know the smell). this root's powder is a great emulsifier: it can draw fats/oils together with starches/sugars in a beverage or dessert. 

the recommended amount to have daily is two heaping tablespoons and it's recommended you take one week off per month of consistent use to keep it working nicely for you! 

i generally seem to have a smoothie (with maca!) thursday mornings - seems to be the day i enjoy the boost the most!

food planning in korea last day, day 23

this probably will be my last post until i get back from costa rica. as when i get home from korea, i will be packing to move (though eating lots of gorilla food and organic lives in vancouver to make up for lost time!) and then i'm gone for 10 days... woo!
but here is my last korean cafeteria meal this morning... i had way more chia cereal left than i expected (and i was just remarking how the package says to serve 2 tablespoons for a meal and i don't know, i guess i'm used to more in my bowl so i eat at least double that. anyways...) and the salad was extra nice (orange peppers and other greens! excitement!) and apples! quite nice, indeed.













i saved some snacks for the airport and 10 hour plane ride (including a package of sprouted teriyaki almonds, a kaia spiced apple fruit leather and a lydia's organics raspberry bar). i ended up going to smoothie king, though, for some extras. the passion fruit smoothie can't be all that full of goodness but it's vegan and vaguely represents something fruity. there were packages there of nuts and fruits so i picked up some macadamia nuts and dates (wow, do i miss medjools). i love the packaging as it says NO artificial preservatives/NO artificial flavors/NO artificial colors/NO artificial cents. cents? scents? love it. anyways, they did the job. i can expect my vegan meals on the plane to have a side salad and fruit salad so i won't be too thrown by the cooked entree. so excited to get on the plane. flying makes me feel like it's vacation.