MACA & MORE: SUPER BOOSTERS Treat your body like a temple by integrating a pair of nature’s most nourishing plant foods into your daily drinks. These two ingredients have been used—and revered—by people in far-flung locales for millennia for their strengthening, energizing, and balancing properties. But only recently have they entered our modern-day pantries under the tag line of superfood—eatables that have an exceptional amount of wellness-enhancing qualities housed in one turbo-charged package. RAW CACAO Solids from the cacao bean that are usually cooked to make chocolate candy bars, but that lose many of their beneficial properties when roasted—can be added to a smoothie as raw cocoa powder or crunchy cacao nibs for a hearty boost of antioxidants, iron, and magnesium. MACA ROOT An Andean tuber that has a faintly golden-malted taste—is available as a powder to sprinkle into all kinds of juices and smoothies—delivering a gentle boost in alertness and a handful of significant health benefits. These pick-me-uppers can replace the lift of morning caffeine for some people, without the edgy side effects and with lots of extra benefits: Cacao has been called the “food of the gods” for its phenomenal combination of compounds that nourish the body, increase alertness and, thanks to the “bliss chemical” anandamide as well as tryptophan and serotonin, noticeably raise the mood. (Plus, science is now showing how these compounds help protect us from a myriad of modern-day problems like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.) Maca, used as a daily staple food by high-altitude mountain dwellers in Bolivia and Peru, is a famed adaptogen—a tonic herb that strengthens the body against stress and delivers endurance, as well as reproductive health and virility! What’s not to enjoy about this superduo of superfoods? Juice Smarts: A raw-foods chef’s secret weapon, Irish moss is a seaweed that delivers a luscious, creamy texture to smoothies and desserts without the caloric boost of nuts and seeds, and with important iodine and iron, as well as antioxidants. (Carrageenan, used in boxed nondairy milks, is its processed and concentrated extract.) The authentic, whole-food ingredient is a cold-water seaweed harvested off the coast of Ireland and that should come fully dried—as always, check the source and quality of your purchase—and it can turn an everyday drink, as well as a thick blended dessert or creamy pie, into an out-of-this-world experience. Soak it for about 20 minutes in water to rehydrate before blending.
JUICY TIP Cacao taken in large amounts can make some people feel “wired” and overstimulated, so it is still important to tune in to your body’s response to evaluate how it works for you and in what quantity. Seek out 100 percent raw, organic cacao products. A Fair Trade stamp on the package helps you