Homemade Super Green Powder

Super Greens

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One of the trends right now in health food stores and at drug stores is super green powders. I have seen this on the shelves for as long as I can remember. While working at Shoppers Drug Mart when I was in high school, I remember seeing this container of "Vegetable Green Powder" in the natural health aisle. I remember thinking, who would want to put that stuff into their mouth! And here I am now duplicating my own version. Crazy how things can change over time!

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So what is super green powder? Well from my understanding it is a powdered supplement that you can add to food, baked goods and drinks to enhance the nutritional value. Super green powder is packed with healthy plant based greens. Doctors have proven through medical research that consuming super green powder supplements, can be a convenient and reliable way to help you get your necessary daily intake of green vegetable and superfoods which in turn can reduce risk for several chronic illness and potentially even reverse some.

What exactly is in super green powder? Who knows. Every brand has different greens in each of their super green powders. The most common types include young cereal grasses, including wheat, barley and alfalfa, along with algaes, such as spirulina and chlorella. Considering I follow a gluten free diet, these products do not really fly with my diet. So I decided to recreate my own version, leaving out the wheat and barley. Also many of the brands I looked at had hidden ingredients that act as enhancers and preservers. I even found one brand that was hiding some green food colouring in their super green powder. Which is far from the health benefit I was hoping for.

What did I decided to put into my super green powder? After doing a done of research online, in magazines, and cookbooks - I have come up with what I think is the perfect combination of healthy green supplement powders. Obviously everyone's body is different and you may want to add something to your powder that I do not have in mine. But that is the best part about, you can add whatever you'd like, no limits! So lets get to it... Here is what is in my homemade super green powder:

Chlorella - Chlorella is a single celled, water grown algae. It comes in a powder form that is a dark green coloured. Chlorella is known to contain a high concentration of chlorophyll. It is packed with protein, iron, zinc, vitamin A, and B vitamins. One tablespoon of chlorella provides 320 percent of the RDA of iron and 120 percent of calcium. There are so many benefits of chlorella which include; treating ulcers, colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulosis, constipation, bad breath, hypertension, radiation treatment side effects, preventive for cancer, colds and boosting the immune system, energy detoxifying the body, decreasing asthma attacks, relieving premenstrual syndrome (Burke, 2014).

Spirulina - Spirulina is another single celled, bluish green spiral algae that grows naturally in lakes and waterways all over the world. It is now known commercially for its health benefits and purposes. Spirulina has been used for centuries. Studies have proven that spirulina works to boost the immune system and helping to protect against certain allergic reactions. Spirulina is packed with protein, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper, manganese, B vitamins, vitamins E and K, omega-3 and -6 fatty acids. There are tons of traditional uses of spirulina which include; weight loss, stress, fatigue, anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), treating precancerous growths inside the mouth, boosting the immune system, improving memory, as well as digestion and bowel health, protecting liver health, increasing energy and metabolism, lowering cholesterol, preventing heart disease, and healing wounds (Burke, 2014).

Matcha - If your a fan of green tea your going to love this ingredient. If your not a fan of green tea, your going to love it even more! Matcha comes from the same plant (Camellia sinensis) as green teas, but is processed and prepared differently. Even though matcha is not technically labelled as a super food, it still has so many health benefits. Matcha has been said to help prevent cancer, boost memory, reduce fat absorption, improve sports performance, enhance skin health, fight stress, and increase longevity (No Match For Matcha, 2015).

There you have it! These are the powders I mixed together and threw into a jar (One third of each powder). I use this powder mix in my smoothies, my morning pancakes, my energy bars, muffins, soups etc. I know that many of the super green supplement brands have other ingredients such as broccoli, spinach and other green veggie powders - but when I look at it, I would rather consume these vegetables in their natural state. Throw some fresh spinach or kale in your morning smoothie! Nothing can duplicate fresh and natural vegetables in my opinion. Hope you enjoy!