My absolute favorite dessert of all time is Rita’s frozen vanilla custard with rainbow sprinkles. UH. Yes. Please. The reason I love so much? They do not hold back the sprinkles- so much colorful goodness.

I get asked all the time for THE “superfood” and hate to break it to ya folks, there ain’t such thing. There are, however, foods that can help make others ‘super’ by adding an extra little nutrient boost to your dish!

Let’s dive in.

Nutritional Yeast: This is one of my favorite/most well-known recommendations (ask any of my clients!) Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast- specifically Saccharomyces Cerevisiae (say that 5 times fast). The reason it is so ‘super’? It has tons of our B-vitamins, including B12. Check out the full nutrition panel below for 1 TBSP:

>100% of thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), B6
40% of daily B12
3g protein – a complete protein which means you are getting all 9 amino acids your body can’t produce on your own
1g fiber

Yes, it looks a tad like fish food but has a nutty, cheesy flavor and melts great! I put it over warm casserole dishes, scrambled eggs, avocado toast, on kale chips, list goes on.

Ground/Milled Flaxseed: This is a must I discuss with all my heart health patients. Just 1 TBSP per day provides 1300mg of Omega 3s, 1g protein, and 2g fiber. Fiber keeps us regular (plus!) and Omega 3’s are our heart healthy fats. We need around 1000mg of Omega 3s per day (depending on person). This tasteless grain can be sprinkled on any dish for an added boost! *Tip: make sure you get milled or ground and not whole. Our bodies cannot process whole flaxseeds and you will not get the benefits you need.

Cinnamon: The research varies and the latest and greatest comes from a meta-analysis in 2013 of 10 different studies finding that consuming ½-1 tsp of cinnamon per day produces “statistically significant” decrease in glucose, total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides while also increasing HDL or “good” cholesterol. Take it all natural over your oatmeal, in your coffee- not in supplement form! Supplements get tricky and aren’t monitored exactly what is in them.

Enjoy!!

Sprinkles!