Nutrient Rich Vegetable Blend of Power Greens and Vegetables
Barley & Oat Grass
These ancient grains are considered to be some of the first crops to be domesticated by humans, and consumed in the diets of ancient Middle Eastern and Asian cultures even back to the Paleolithic times.
The Early Mumun Pottery Period in the Korean Peninsula around 850 BCE, included the cultivation of grass plants, and crop reports of the barley grain were found recorded in 2440 B.C. by the ancient Egyptians.
In the early 20th century, interest in the nutritional value of these cereal grasses increased their popularity in the health food industry by putting them into the green foods and green drinks category. Barley and oat seeds sprout into tender green shoots and leaves that absorb nutrients from the soil and are then harvested with all the rich phytonutrients still intact.
There nutritional profile includes active enzymes, more calcium than cow's milk, more iron than spinach, more vitamin c than oranges, potassium, magnesium, copper, beta carotene, folic and pantothenic acid, and vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12 A, E, K, essential amino acids, antioxidants, and high levels of protein. (Oat Grass comes after carrot in order of amounts in the Feast and Feast Supercharged)
Alfalfa Leaf
The name of this herb is derived from its Arabic version, al-fac-facah, which translates to "father of all foods". The ancient Arabs are known for cultivating alfalfa over 2,000 years ago and was highly valued as the preferred livestock forage for their horses.
Spanish missionaries from Mexico brought it to the western parts of North America in the early 1800's dispersing the crop throughout the plains regions and now, 98% is exported to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada, and Mexico.
Alfalfa is very nutrient dense providing essential active enzymes, amino acids, A,D,E,B vitamins, and is the best natural source of vitamin K and calcium. It is also high in protein and is loaded with an abundance of trace minerals.
Wheat Grass
Although its history dates back to ancient antiquity, wheat grass surfaced in the modern era of the 1930's and 40's when nutritional discoveries were made by Dr. Charles F. Schnabel an agricultural chemist. "Tins" of Schnabel's dry grass powder were sold as nutritional supplements all over North America.
Around 3-7 weeks, the green chlorophyll grasses of the vegetable plant pull up minerals and rich nutrients from the soil and store them in preparation for reproduction. At this "jointing stage", the nutrient density is off the charts containing active enzymes, chlorophyll, potassium, calcium, beta-carotene, phosphorus, zinc, amino acids, C, A, E, K, & B vitamins, and high amounts of protein.
Carrots
Native to Europe and Southwestern Asia, these wild root vegetables were originally grown for their aromatic leaves and seeds. Domesticated in Central Asia, Eastern carrots are commonly white, yellow, or purple filled with rich anthocyanin pigments and the orange Western variety cultivated by the Dutch, are known for their abundance of carotenes.
Carrot plants are favored by the Black Swallowtail butterfly for their white lacey blossoms and one teaspoon can hold 2,000 of their tiny seeds! Containing the highest content of beta-carotene (vitamin A) of all vegetables, they are also an excellent source of vitamin C & K, trace minerals, fiber, and potassium.
Dunaliella
Included in the power greens category, but not actually a vegetable, this unicellular algae grows in hyper-saline environments like oceans and salt lakes worldwide. This marine plant is named after Michael Felix Dunal who is credited with the first sightings in the South of France around 1838.
This photosynthetic micro-algea is nourished by the sunlight and produces massive amounts of carotenoids like Beta Carotene, Alphacarotene, Xanthophylls like Zeaxanthin, Cryptoxanthin, and Leutin. Dunaliella produces carotenoids on a level many times more powerful than regular vegetables and is easily adaptable to harsh environments. Harvesting through commercial production as a nutritional food source started with Australia in 1986 and was followed soon after by the U.S. and Israel.
Kelp
This nutrient rich sea vegetable has been harvested by ancient costal cultures all over the world including Japan where it was once considered to be a delicacy served to honored guests and royalty over 10,000 years ago.
Like plants, but classified by color as algae, kelp "stems" or stipes are supported by air bladders instead of root systems that facilitate their growth upward closer to the penetrating sunlight near the surface of the water.
Algin, a colloidal material that is extracted from kelp is commonly used as an emulsifying agent in many foods and products like ice cream, salad dressings, candy, and toothpaste. Offering the broadest range of sea minerals, kelp also proves to be an excellent source of iodine, A, E, C,K and B vitamins, and amino acids.
Spinach
The cultivation of this wild vegetable has its roots in the Middle East, but was taken from Nepal to China around 647 A.D. This "Persian Green" was not introduced to Europe until the 11th century and it was rumored that Catherine Medici the Italian Queen of France so loved spinach that she moved her own cooks from Italy to prepare the dish just the way she liked it.
Today, meals prepared on a bed of spinach are referred to as "a la Florentine" after Catherine's home town of Florence. Spinach is a very rich source of 13 different flavonoid phytonutrients, carotenoids, trace minerals like iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, as well as high amounts of protein with excellent quantities of vitamins C, A & K, B1,B2, B3, B6, folate, and tryptophan.
Sweet Potato
This tropical vine-like root crop from the morning glory family has been cultivated in the Southeast Asia, Polynesia, and the tropical Americas since the early voyages of the European explorers. George Washington Carver developed 118 different products like adhesive for postage stamps, 73 dyes, 14 varieties of candy, writing ink, and a rubber compound all from the sweet potato!
Native to the Americas, these tubers were a widely valued food staple by the early pioneers and soldiers of the Revolutionary War. Their nutrient dense profile includes carotenoids, vitamins A, C, B6, manganese, copper, potassium, iron and dietary fiber.
Beet
Since prehistoric times, the wild beet has been found to grow along the shores of North Africa, Asia, and Europe and was mostly consumed for its chard although the Romans are credited as one of the first civilizations to cultivate the beet as food for its root and green leaves.
An Assyrian text records beets growing in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon around 800 B.C. and Theophrastus, Aristotle's pupil described them as garden plants with versatile uses. Beets contain phytonutrient pigments like Betacyanin and Betaxanthin that work as powerful antioxidants in the body and are an excellent source of folate, manganese, potassium, fiber and many other trace minerals.
Dulse
This nutrient rich sea-plant, found growing along rocky northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, was believed to be harvested 1,400 years ago by the Christian monks of St. Columbia. Also known as "Sea Parsley" in Nova Scotia, this reddish-purple sea vegetable is sold at produce markets and continues to be collected in baskets by women in Dublin Ireland.
An old Irish ordinance in Brehon Law recorded increase in land value with sea borders full of this sea vegetable and penalties were enforced if anyone harvested a neighbor's crop without permission. Dulse seaweed is a very protein rich source of trace minerals from the sea, and offers high contents of vitamin B6 & B12, potassium, fluoride, magnesium, iron, calcium, dietary fiber, iodine, and is also low in sodium salts.
Klamath Lake Algae
Nature's most basic photosynthesis prototype birthed at the dawn of earth's creation, accounts for 80% of the oxygen on our planet and has three to five times the amounts of pure chlorophyll of any other whole food algae.
This particular type of blue green algae is named after its unique fresh water ecosystem of the mineral rich lake waters and sunlight of the Upper Klamath Lake near the Southern Oregon Cascade Mountains. This micro-algae is considered one of the most nutrient dense super-foods full of high-quality proteins, beta-carotene, live active enzymes, multiple amino acids, a wide range of B vitamins, fatty acids, and loads of trace minerals.
Chlorella
This single-celled super-food algae gets its name from the Greek word "chloros" for green, and the Latin suffix "ella" for small, and is known for having the highest concentrations of photosynthetic pigments called chlorophyll. In 1931, Otto Heinrich Warburg, a German biochemist won the Nobel Prize of Physiology of Medicine for his research on the photosynthetic properties of Chlorella.
In Japan, it is fed to oysters to increase pearl production and continues to be a popular dietary supplement for over 5 million people in the Japanese population. Chlorella is the richest source of RNA, DNA, a unique polypeptite called GCF, all essential amino acids, trace minerals, B-vitamins including B-12 & vitamins A,C, E, essential fatty acids, beta-carotene and is 60% pure complete protein.
Spirulina
Another species from the blue green algae family, this tropical, aquatic, multi-cellular, spiral-shaped, plant food was enjoyed by the ancient Aztecs who harvested it by skimming the surface of the water with ropes, and then drying the algae into square cakes for consumption.
They called Spirulina "Teocuitlatl" meaning "stone's excrement" and their method for harvesting was illustrated in the ancient manuscript of the Florentine Codex. Containing twelve times the digestible protein of beef, more beta carotene and good amounts of iron, GLA, over 100 vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, and phytonutrients, it's no small wonder that Spirulina has been tagged as a "super food".
Broccoli
Originating in the Mediterranean, this cultivar of the wild cabbage was recorded by Pliny the Elder (23-79CE), an Italian naturalist, as a popular crop enjoyed in ancient Rome. In the 1700's Thomas Jefferson noted the planting of this vegetable in an experimental garden at his Monticello home in Virginia.
But the D'Arrigo brothers who emigrated to the U.S. from Messina Italy, were the first to grow broccoli commercially in 1922. Miller's Gardner's Dictionary called this vegetable "Italian Asparagus" and it contains twice the vitamin C of an orange with almost as much calcium as whole milk! Other nutrients include high amounts of vitamin K, folate, and fiber as well as vitamins A, B1,B2,B3,B6, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, selenium, carotenoids, and protein.
Kale
One of the most common vegetables in Europe during the middle ages, and another derivative of the cabbage family, Kale continues to be one of the hardiest among other vegetables with the ability to grow in all kinds of soil rarely suffering from pests and diseases.
The "Dig for Victory" campaign in the U.K. during World War II encouraged its growth to ease the effects of rationing. And in Scotland, this vegetable's popularity can be seen through the common cultural dialect of "off one's kale" which means that someone is too ill to eat.
"Ornamental cabbages" are actually kale and their leaves of bright white, red, pink, lavender, blue or violet rosette centers are still edible. The nutritional profile of this vegetable includes beneficial sulfur compounds, antioxidant carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, calcium, iron, vitamins A, C & K, fiber, seven times the beta-carotene of broccoli and an ORAC value of 1,770 just below spinach!
Tomato
As a true fruit, native to southern North America and botanically classified as a berry, the tomato was in fact legally categorized as a vegetable by the U.S. Supreme court in 1893. Imposing tariff laws were placed on vegetables, but not on fruits. The final ruling classifying the tomato as a vegetable was based on its use as a dinner food and not a desert item!
There is a single plant vine listed in the Guinness World Record Holder for its harvest yields of 32,000 golf-ball sized, tomatoes growing in Florida's Walt Disney Resorts experimental greenhouse, and can be seen at Epcot's "Living with the Land" boat ride. Yong Huang, the manager of agricultural science at Epcot, brought the plant seeds back from Beijing, China and the harvested fruit is still served in Walt Disney World restaurants!
Famous for its licopene contents, tomatoes also serve up powerful carotenoid antioxidants like lutein, beta-carotene, and zeaxanthin, as well as vitamins A, K, C, B1,B2,B3,B5 & B6, fiber, and loads of trace minerals.
Squash
Squashes are true cultivars of North and South America dating back to at least 5,000 BCE and archeological remnants of their seeds and stems were discovered in the Tamaulipas Mountain caves of Mexico. Botanically considered fruits for their shell, flesh and seeds, squashes were referred to as the "apple of God" and highly valued in the ancient American Indian civilizations as a staple food crop symbolizing fertility.
These members of the Curcurbita family are widely varied in size, shape, color and texture with names that resemble their unique characteristics. Winter squashes like butternut, acorn, spaghetti, and pumpkin, are harvested at maturity in the fall and are stored for later use.
Yellow crookneck, patty pan, and zucchini are harvested earlier in the summer before their stage of maturity and are commonly enjoyed in many light dinner dishes. Squashes are full of pro-vitamin A in the form of alpha- and beta-carotenes, vitamins B&C, potassium, fiber, manganese, omega-3 fatty acids, and other trace minerals.
Cabbage
Native to the Mediterranean region, this flowering plant was domesticated from wild, leafy, kale into the "garden plant with a head" possibly around the first century A.D. by European farmers. The ancient Greeks and Romans were known to have cultivated the hardy vegetable in their gardens, and Cato the Elder considered it to be "the first of all the vegetables".
French navigator Jacques Cartier brought it to the Americas in 1536, and the English name is derived from the French word "caboche" which means "head". In its raw state, cabbage is filled with nutrient rich sulfur compounds, vitamins A,K,C, B1,B2,B6, folate, fiber, manganese, other trace minerals, 3 anitoxidant carotenoids, and Omega-3 fatty acids.
Cauliflower
During the 1500's this cruciferous vegetable was known as "Cyprus coleworts" after the Island of Cyprus which continued to be a seed source for English gardeners and was commonly sold at the London vegetable market around 1619.
Though not as hardy as their cabbage relatives, these compact underdeveloped flower buds called "curds" are hidden from the sun deeply nestled in their heavy green leaves, and in more common varieties, harvested white from the lack of chlorophyll.
The unique nutrient compounds in this crispy vegetable will actually react with aluminum and iron cookware turning these curds yellow, brown, or blue-green colors! One cup of cauliflower contains almost as much vitamin C as an orange, K and B vitamins, folate, trace minerals, Omega-3 fatty acids, and are highly fiberous with rich sulfuric compounds.
Bell Pepper
The sweet pepper, an easily adaptable bell shape fruit classified as a berry, originated in South America, and even though their seeds were distributed throughout the world by Spanish and Portuguese explorers, they were named by Christopher Columbus.
All sweet peppers have been cultivated from their wild ancestors and every fruit produced on the plant starts out green, although fully developed, and then matures into a beautiful bright color, increasing in nutrient density as it ripens. Red peppers are an excellent source of carotenoid phytonutrients with 11 times more beta-carotene and one and a half times more vitamin C than green peppers. They also contain 5 different power packed antioxidant compounds called carotenoids, Vitamins A, K, B1, & B6, and other trace minerals.
Parsley
This bright green herb originated in the Mediterranean regions of Southern Europe, and at one time carried such extreme superstitious affiliations, that an entire Celtic kingdom was spared from an attack by the Greeks when the defending Celtic ruler sent out donkeys blanketed with the herb causing the Greek army to retreat in fear!
In ancient Greece, parsley was considered to be sacred to the dead and used for decorating the tombs of the deceased, but the Hebraic traditions celebrate the Passover Feast using the herb as a symbol of rebirth. As one of the world's most popular seasonings, parsley is a great source of iron, calcium, vitamin E, manganese, volatile oils, flavonoids, and antioxidant carotenoids.
Cucumber
Commonly known as a vegetable, this botanically classified, vine-like, fruit is developed from a yellow flower and has been cultivated in Western Asia for over 3,000 years. They are mentioned in the legend of Gilgamesh and in the book of Numbers chapter 11 from the Bible.
The Romans believed they could scare away mice, and the gherkin varieties used in ancient Spain for pickling, were imported by Roman emperors from the Mediterranean. The inner temperature of a cucumber can be up to 20 degrees cooler than the outside air making the popular phrase "cool as a cucumber" scientifically factual!
Although the flesh of the cucumber is primarily composed of water, rich minerals like potassium, magnesium, and silica can be found in their dark, green skin. "Cukes" also hold other nutrients like vitamin A &C, caffeic acid, and the enzyme enhancing mineral molybedenum.
Brussels Sprout
Another cultivar of the wild cabbage from the Brassica family, these leafy green miniature buds were named after their place of cultivation near the modern day city of Brussels in Belgium. They were enjoyed in the Southern Netherlands and eventually made their way to the cooler regions of Northern Europe and in the 1800's French settlers introduced them to the North American shores of Louisiana.
When it comes to nutrient density, these little buds are nutrient dense giants with over 60 different phytonutrients like Sulforaphane, Omega-3 & Omega-6 fatty acids, trace minerals with the highest concentrations of calcium, copper, manganese, potassium and phosphorus. They are also rich in vitamins B1, B2, B6, C,K, fiber, tryptophan, protein, and the famous pair of antioxidant carotenoids Beta-carotene and Lutein+Zeaxanthin.
Onion
Although the exact origins of the wild onion remain a mystery, the bulb has been cultivated and eaten since prehistoric times. They are mentioned in the documents, inscriptions, and tomb paintings of the first century Egyptians. The spherical rings of the onion symbolized eternal life, often being placed in tombs of the dead, and Roman gladiators used them as a rub down to firm up their muscles.
In the middle ages they were given away as gifts and even used to pay rent! Onions also contain sulfuric phytonutrients, the highest amounts of the flavonoid Quercetin, fiber, vitamins C & B6, other trace minerals, and a rare chromium mineral not usually found in most vegetables.
Celery
Celery is a versatile vegetable used all over the world as a food product and seed producer for spice mixtures known as celery salt. The seeds are also used to extract volatile oil for the production of pharmaceuticals and perfumes. It has been cultivated from the wild since classical times.
In the classical Greek epics of the Odyssey and the Iliad, wild celery is mentioned growing in meadows of violet surrounding the caves of Calypso, and the horses of Myrmidons graze on the green leafy plant in the marshes of Troy. Celery contains powerful antioxidant compounds called coumarins, and pthalides, as well as flavonoids, very high levels of carotenoids, fiber, trace minerals, and vitamins C & K.
Garlic
Known universally as the "stinking rose" this pungent bulb from the onion family has been cultivated for more than 6,000 years and was a food source for Khufu's laborers during the building of the pyramid, as well as a staple part of the Israelite diet before their liberation from Egypt.
Garlic is widely known in European folklore myths for repelling vampires, demons, or werewolves by placing it in the entry ways of houses. It is also believed that a man running a race can prevent his competitors from getting ahead by chewing on a seed clove. Another sulfur containing compound called allicin can be found in its cloves along with high amounts of calcium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, vitamin B6 & C, and is also low in saturated fat.
Cayenne
Cayenne comes from the word "kian", which is the Tupi Indian name for a type of pepper that grows native to French Guyana and was possibly named after the Cayenne River or the countries capital. This hot red chili pepper is related to the sweet bell pepper and was discovered by Christopher Columbus in North America in 1493 although, it is said to have its original roots in Mexico.
His voyages lead him in a search for a black pepper alternative and upon its discovery, named the pepper "pimento" which is the Spanish word for black pepper. Capsaicin is the compound found in the flesh around the seed casing in the pepper fruit that gives it that spicy heat, but watch out, the small thin peppers pack the hottest punch! They also contain very high levels of antioxidant carotenoids, vitamins A, C & B6, manganese, and dietary fiber.
Asparagus
The fleshy green spears of this vegetable from the lily family emerge with the coming of spring, and the shoots can be cut and harvested after a year from the initial crown planting. Asparagus is one of the only perennial vegetable plants that produce year after year unlike other vegetables that have to be planted annually.
A recipe for cooking this vegetable can be found in the pages of the oldest surviving roman cookbook known as "Apicius" from the third century A.D, and King Louis XIV of France had greenhouses built so that he could enjoy its delicacy year round. Asparagus is an excellent source of vitamins K, A, C, B-1,B-2,B-3,B-6, folic acid, nutrient rich trace minerals, protein, and has extremely high amounts of the carotenoids beta-carotene and Lutein+Zeaxanthin.
Ginger
The edible aromatic sections of the ginger plant commonly referred to as the "root" is actually a horizontal stem of the plant called a rhizome that sends out roots and shoots from its knobby nodes underground. A description of an old recipe using the spice in the 4th century can be found in the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata, and sea vessels sailing the maritime trade routes distributed the plant to other parts of the tropics.
Ginger and black pepper were the most commonly traded spices during the 13th and 14th centuries, and were so highly demanded that only one pound of ginger sold for the same price as one sheep! Along with its zesty flavor, ginger is rich in potassium, magnesium, copper, manganese, and vitamin B-6.
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