Spinach the Superfood

June 6, 2019June 6, 2019 Marvin Wilson

Even before the term “Superfood” became vogue, centuries ago, many people knew of spinach’s health and wellness benefits and, if there had been such a term back then, certainly “Spinach the Superfood” would have been three words put together in sentences a great deal.

Moms in the USA during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, used to have a hard time getting their kids to eat spinach; I know I was one of those kids, because it was usually canned spinach, not fresh, and if not seasoned well or mixed into a tasty dish as one ingredient, well … it just didn’t taste good.

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Gourmet Open Fire Cooking

March 15, 2019March 15, 2019 Marvin Wilson

Ever since being a boy, I have loved camping. Real camping – the rustic kind, sleeping in tents, fishing and foraging for food, and cooking meals over an open campfire. I was taught, early on, how to do gourmet open fire cooking.

Photo Attributed to Author: محمد بوعلام عصامي

I cringe when I see other campers preparing their “meals” – which most often are hot dogs, or marshmallows, or maybe, for the more “advanced” campers … even a grilled hamburger!

As far as “side dishes” typically go, they are munching on potato chips or Doritos, and perhaps some store-bought deli items.

Not me. Nothing against hot dogs and hamburgers, I love ’em and will sometimes cook and eat them.

I also do love a good open fire-roasted S’more as much as anybody. But when I go camping, whoever is with me is going to eat very good. I’m talking about real …

Gourmet Open Fire Cooking!

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5 Health Benefits of Red Palm Oil

December 14, 2018December 14, 2018 Marvin Wilson

The title of this post, 5 Health Benefits of Red Palm Oil, really falls short of the vast amount of benefits one could list.

Red palm oil, home crafted in Liberia (Photo Attributed to Author: Antoshananarivo)

Red palm oil, in addition to its many culinary uses as a rich food high in nutrients, also has a long list of beneficial health and medicinal qualities. For the purposes of this article, though, we will concentrate on 5 of the most beneficial qualities it has.

Red palm oil is usually thought of as having originated in Africa but, in fact, it was revered and used in ancient Egypt as far back as 5,000 years ago. Beloved by Pharaohs as a sacred food, they prized the oil so highly that it was common to entomb Pharaohs with a bottle of palm oil – so they could have some in the afterlife.

Palm oil, for centuries has been (and still is now in modern times) produced primarily in the tropical belt of Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil. And it is a commonly used oil and food ingredient in those countries.

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Why Cassava is Good for You

October 7, 2015October 8, 2015 Marvin Wilson

There is an extensive list of reasons why cassava is good for you to eat, as a balanced part of your overall diet.

Traditional dishes in many Asian, African and Caribbean countries include cassava as one of the more common vegetables used in their cuisines. In these regions, cassava is in high demand, and, much like plantains, it is grown in mass quantities on large plantations. This provides not only locally favored foods ingredients, but a healthy export business to help fuel the economies.

Cassava Plantation (Photo Attributed to Author: Judgefloro)

Cassava Plant (Photo Attributed to Author: Willy Ochayaus)

Cassava (also called Yucca) is in the same family as other tropical root vegetables, like yams and taro, and is also related to the potato. Cassava thrives in fertile, moist, well-drained tropical soils. A perennial plant, it will, when mature, achieve heights ranging from about 3 to 5 feet.

Much like growing sugar cane, cut-stem sections are planted just under the surface of the cultivation fields. Newly planted cassava plants will produce the first harvest after about 8 to 10 months. Its elongated, globular roots (tubers) grow downward and deep (anywhere from 2 to 4 feet) in a radial pattern from the bottom end of the stem.

Cassava Tubers (Photo Attributed to Author: Thamizhpparithi Maari)

Depending on the type of cultivar, each mature tuber will weigh anywhere from one to several pounds. The tubers are brown-gray and have rough, woody-textured, tough skins. The inside of the tuber is bright white. This white “flesh” is a starchy, slightly sweet substance, and is what you eat. However, the cassava should only be eaten after cooking – for reasons that will be explained a little later on in this article.

But enough on background. Let’s get into the main topic at hand, and find out-

Why Cassava is Good For You

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Curries Health Benefits and Ingredients

September 11, 2015 Marvin Wilson

Yellow Curry Powder (Photo Attributed to Author: Thomas Steiner)

Curry Powder is a popular spice mix that has a number of valuable health benefits, including the prevention of cancer, protection against heart disease, reduction of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, ease from pain and inflammation, boosting bone health, protecting the immune system from bacterial infections, and increasing the liver’s ability to remove toxins from the body.

Curry powder originated in South Asian and Indian cuisines. However, during the 19th and 20th centuries, when it was discovered by colonial visitors to the East, it soon gained immense popularity and large scale exportation of curry to the West began. By the middle of the 20th century, with the global popularization of Indian cuisine, which relies heavily on curries, the tasty spicy powder became even more readily available all around the world.

Curries Health Benefits and Ingredients

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Homemade Red Sumac Tea

September 4, 2015September 5, 2015 Marvin Wilson

Red Sumac Shrub, indigenous to North America

If you live in Northern America, you know the Sumac bush grows everywhere. It is a lovely wild bush, an attractive sight as you hike or pass by on the roadside. But not many people know that its berries are tasty, healthy, and medicinal. Homemade Red Sumac Tea can be made from the fruit of the sumac, and this post is all about how to show you how to do it.

Its scientific name is Rhus typhina, and is commonly known as “staghorn sumac” or “stag’s horn sumach”. A species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae, Red Sumac is native to eastern North America. While it is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant throughout temperate regions of the world, it is primarily found growing naturally in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and the Appalachian Mountains, as well as Southeastern Canada.

(Photo Attributed to Author: Oneconscious at English Wikipedia)

And it is the berries that sumac produces that provide the tasty health benefits that we applaud and encourage here at Ethnic Foods R Us. Homemade Red Sumac Tea is easy to make, and oh-so-good for you!

Here are some of the health benefits of homemade red sumac tea:

Loaded with vitamin C
Treats asthma, colds, fevers, and scurvy
As a tonic, it provides relief of and cure for: diarrhea, dysentery, sore throats, infections, asthma, cold sores and even serves as a tonic for general overall health.

And the good news? Homemade Red Sumac Tea is easy to make!

Just follow these simple instructions:

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Healthiest Ethnic Food on Earth

May 18, 2015May 18, 2015 Marvin Wilson

Everyone who comes to this site often, from all over the planet, has a love of ethnic foods. You are all like me, enjoying tasting the foods of many different cultures. Recently, one of the readers posed the question, “Which culture has the healthiest ethnic food of all?”

So I did some research. I wanted to know, myself. I had a hunch it would probably be one of the Asian cuisines. And, while lots of Asian cultures do have cuisines that rank very high on the list of “Healthiest Ethnic Food”, well …

I was wrong.

Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan are on most Top Ten lists I found, often all three were in the Top Five. But guess which region, out of all the cultures on Earth, actually does have the healthiest diet of all?

Mediterranean Cuisine has the Healthiest Ethnic Food Anywhere in the World.

Healthiest Ethnic Food

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