Staying Cool With Blue

Blue foods this summer might just help us turn the heat down. Blueberries are one of the best antioxidants that nature provides. The flavonoids that naturally blue foods provide turn out to be rare but major superfoods. Personally, I have blue borage flowers growing on my balcony to add a little blue garnish for summer fun. Blue rarely occurs as natural edible color - but the foods that have it tend to be superfoods. At the top of the blue pyramid sits blue spirulina. Blue spirulina is an algae most noted for its bright, blue, hue. Combined with certain foods like almond milk, it can almost take on a metallic blue hue. Bright blue drinks and foods using blue spirulina tout it as a superfood, but what is this strange-looking algae? Blue spirulina is mainly harvested out of alkaline freshwater ponds in Hawaii. However, the culture known for consuming it daily was the Aztecs who formed the bright proto-algae into dried cakes and it was called “Aztec Cheese”. The Spanish removed accessibility to spirulina by draining the very alkaline lakes that the superfood requires. Spirulina had a comeback in the 1970’s when NASA turned to it as a potential astronaut food. Spirulina contains more protein than beef or soybeans per part. It is antioxidant-rich (like blueberries) and contains the entire spectrum of B vitamins and also has the right amino acids that humans need. It’s a strong natural anti-inflammatory and some studies have shown a daily supplement to lower cholesterol and triglycerides. Spirulina refers to the unprocessed algae that is bluish-green. Blue Majik or any brand of blue spirulina separates the blue pigmented algae from the green. Supposedly this makes it flavorless and easy to add into recipes or use as natural food coloring while the green spirulina has more of a fishy flavor. Put into beverages, I have not noticed a flavor from Blue Majik but one writer’s efforts to incorporate Blue Majik wasn’t as easy as most blog posts make it sound.” Here is a simple blue chia recipe that looks like a dreamboat.