From beetroot to baobab, as a nation we regularly seek out superfoods to give our health and diets a bit of a boost. But did you know there are official nutritional requirements which must be met before something can be marketed as a superfood? Meet the five foods which scientists have recently granted official superfood status.
It's not uncommon for pastry chefs to create a 'chocolate soil' or crumb as a crunchy base for their desserts, but as recent studies have shown they'd be much better off using the real thing. Packed with natural fibre and teeming with other health benefits, a teaspoon of soil makes a fantastic addition to an early morning smoothie - just remember to wash the soil thoroughly under cold running water to remove any dirt before serving.
Ever wondered why breathing feels so good? It's because air contains all but one of the vital nutrients needed to keep our bodies ticking over. Unfortunately, however, we only take a small percentage of the air we need from breathing alone, and therefore must be a little more creative to work the remaining eight glasses of air into our daily diets. Meringues, cakes and chocolate mousses are all made with a similar light folding process which traps air into the mixture, making these sweet treats a fantastic source of the superfood. If you'd rather take it neat, a special Air2Go attachment can be fitted to both bar and chamber sealers, a bottle which clips onto the back and recycles the air drawn from the vacuum into handy travel sized bottles.
Make no bones about it, aspic is king among superfoods. With bone broth causing a stir amongst foodies it seemed only natural that attention would soon turn to other stock-based products and, thanks to a mineral spawning congealing process, this glossy meat jelly is the pick of the bunch. An artisan butcher in Clapham has started selling aspic cubes as 'portable bone broth', which can be scattered over salads or simply eaten as it is as a healthy savoury snack. A bona fide health hit!
According to a recent study, the mild mannered former prime minister has 200% more vitamin C than an orange. Unfortunately, as John Major is a living, breathing and working man extraction is extremely difficult and the resulting product therefore carries a hefty price tag. Only available from flagship health shops and online.
As their sole function is to provide vitamins and nutrients it was surely only a matter of time before nutritional experts cut out the middle man and recognised vitamin tablets as a superfood. Certainly, as health credentials go theirs are not to be sniffed at - these vibrant orange discs offer 400% more vitamin C than an orange, or twice the vitamin C of John Major.
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Scientists announce 5 new superfoods