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From a Phys.org story:
Algae is evolving as the next new alternative protein source consumers are anxious to bite into as an ingredient in crackers, snack bars, cereals and breads, according to a July 12th presentation at IFT15: Where Science Feeds Innovation hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in Chicago.
Algae, quinoa and pulses are considered by some food technologists to be the best protein sources and strong alternatives to slow meat consumption, reduce food waste and help feed the world's growing population.
Algae is a new vegan source of protein with a comparable carbon footprint to existing vegan proteins, such as rice and soy, according to Beata Klamczynska who leads food application development at Solazyme. It contains 63 percent protein, 15 percent fiber, 11 percent lipids, 4 percent carbohydrates, 4 percent micronutrients and 3 percent moisture, she said, and is easily digested and considered heart healthy. It's found in the ingredient lists of some protein shakes, crackers or bars, cereals, sauces, dressings and breads.
"Are consumers ready for algae as an ingredient? Yes, they are ready and excited about algae," she said. "The more they learn, the more excited they get. Just a little education eliminates any doubts.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday July 14 2015, @03:23PM
My wife has a thing for superfoods so we try them a lot. Quinoa, kale, etc. I grew up eating meatloaf, tuna casserole, your basic meat & potatoes diet. Steak is my favorite food. But I find I quite like the superfoods. It's not a sacrifice on taste or satisfaction at all. Quinoa is an easy substitute for pasta in a pasta salad and has a great crunchy texture like al dente farfalle or orzo. Kale is ridiculously good. Who'da thunk? Chop it up with minced onions, olive oil, lime juice, salt, and a little sugar and it's an excellent salad. Toss it with olive oil and salt and put it in the food dehydrator and you get chips you can't stop eating. The latest discovery is chia. Yes, the same stuff Americans paste on terra cotta shapes and grow green shoots as a decoration. It makes a great dessert reminiscent of tapioca. You put 1/2 cup mixed with 1-1 1/2 cups of milk, tsp of vanilla, and sweeten to taste and it makes a pudding with velvety texture. You feel great after eating it, too.
I have been trying to cultivate spirulina as another superfood as well, because it is a complete food and you can theoretically do it in a small volume. But I gotta say I cannot get the stuff to really take off and the online resources to help you troubleshoot are thin or non-existent.
It's been an interesting journey to go from eating thousands of empty calories in the form of potatoes and starch to smaller portions of highly nutritious stuff that you feel better after eating. It's a different mindset. You don't realize how ingrained your food choices are until you change them.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by goodie on Tuesday July 14 2015, @03:50PM
I think that there is definitely an issue with empty calories in foods, especially in North America. The other day, I was in France and watched a documentary where they compared some organic crops with "equivalent" GMO, intensive crops (e.g., tomatoes). When they were analyzing the nutrients in the foods, they realized that there was so much more in the organic version that it would take them a lot less to feed somebody. It's all about portioning and getting foods that leave you full (but not gross!) for a long time. From personal experience, I'd say that it's much easier to achieve in Europe than North America simply because there tends to be more choice and alternatives to the meat/potato combo (no matter how good that can taste).
We eat quinoa once in a while. I am personally not a huge fan of the taste (too nutty?) but my wife loves it and basically wants that instead of wheat semolina that we usually put in couscous, tabouleh etc. It's versatile for sure (we make quiche with it for example, I have friends who make pancakes with quinoa flour as well). Kale I can't do but I'm no veggie lover to begin with. My wife uses is a lot in smoothies instead of spinach. Kale chips are good, but then again, so is fried nori ;).
My argument is that it's perhaps one of the many things we can use in cooking, in moderation like everything else. Marketing hype touts it as the best thing in the world (restaurant menus as well...) but originally, like someone else pointed, it wasn't what it was destined for.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday July 14 2015, @04:43PM
I liken it to eating out in NYC. For $8 I can get a Big Mac meal at McDonald's that will make me feel sick and instantly make me weigh 5 lbs more. Or, I can spend the same money to eat nutritious food from nearly any food culture in the world, expertly prepared.
Same thing with cooking. You can subsist off a diet of hot dogs and prepared food, but in the end it will cost you more and make you feel worse than making your own. Prep time is not a deciding factor either because there are many very healthy meals you can eat by throwing a handful of this and a dash of that together.
The difference is choosing ingredients that have flavor. Who in their right mind wants to eat the flavorless mush that is frozen spinach? Well, the manufacturers of frozen spinach want you to. But real people would choose real spinach grilled on the pan for 5 minutes with a crushed clove of garlic, every time. You can cook squash picked weeks and weeks before it is ripe to get to market without rotting and have it taste like exactly nothing, or you can grow your own or get it from a local greenmarket when it was picked, ripe, and have a taste explosion that makes you say, "Holy crap! I had no idea."
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2015, @03:54PM
eating thousands of empty calories in the form of potatoes
Empty calories? Potatoes have more vitamin C than apples. Potatoes are more nutritious than popular cereals like wheat and rice: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2770/2 [self.com]
Not really that inferior to quinoa: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/10352/2 [self.com]
Which is probably why many more survived with potatoes as a staple (till stuff like the great potato blight).
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-potato-changed-the-world-108470605/?no-ist [smithsonianmag.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2015, @03:57PM
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday July 14 2015, @04:09PM
Kale is special in it's own unique way and I let my family eat it. I eat it, if it's chopped fine like shredded lettuce and there's not a whole lot of it. It probably reminds me too much of seaweed. Which I also avoid eating as much as possible, but sometimes I "Get to go to a Sushi place" to eat. Red Bean Paste isn't that edible either, but I know some that love it. To each their own.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday July 14 2015, @04:58PM
I find kale is in many ways analogous to collard greens, which many are familiar with if they like Southern comfort food. It's a green that strangely and satisfyingly has texture. You can sink your teeth into it. Prepared differently, as you have described, it can be light like cabbage sprinkled over a salad of greens at a salad bar. Or dehydrated, you can eat it like the most sinful snack while watching Marvel-inspired movies or sports (if you happen to be one of those), and not feel empty and used at the end.
Me, I come from a Scottish heritage and have a genetically received reverence for parsimony, that is, killing many birds with one stone. Kale is such a thing.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1) by TheMessageNotTheMessenger on Tuesday July 14 2015, @05:02PM
I think you kinda get it.
You can have your superfoods AND have your steak.
Hello! :D
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday July 14 2015, @06:15PM
My wife has a thing for superfoods so we try them a lot. Quinoa, kale, etc. I grew up eating meatloaf, tuna casserole, your basic meat & potatoes diet. Steak is my favorite food.
Steak is actually pretty good for you so long as you don't over-consume (like everything). High in protein, low in calories. Have a 4oz pc of steak with some kale and quinoa and you are good to go.