South American Health Foods

Travel doesn’t always mean buying an expensive plane ticket to another continent. Global foods can take your tongue on an adventure without leaving town, and South American super-foods give you all the nutrients you need to renovate your diet.

Quinoa
This seed, which functions like a grain, grows in the highlands of Peru. The super-food grain boasts fiber, magnesium and folate and can be prepared like couscous or like oatmeal.

Lucuma
This sweet fruit is also from Peru and has a flavor similar to a sweet potato. Lucuma powder hit the market recently and can be added to smoothies and drinks to increase iron, calcium and beta-carotene in your diet.

Purple Corn
Like the blue corn from the American Southwest, purple corn from Peru is much more nutritious than sweet, yellow corn. The kernels boast extra antioxidants. You’ll be most likely to find dried purple corn kernels in health food stores or online.

Acai
This Brazilian berry is perhaps the most popular ingredient to be included in juices and smoothies in recent years. This berry contains fiber and powerful antioxidants. The flavorful juice can be added to any number of drinks and frozen pulp can be found in many health food stores.

Maca
The root of the maca plant from Peru, once again, is often made into a powerful powder than can be added to drinks and smoothies for a boost of energy.

Next time you’re craving an adventure, take a quick circle around your health food store. You’ll be surprised what you find there.