Mesquite is a Superfood I am currently excited about - especially because its African relative grows prolifically on our homestead. For years I was ignorant of the fact that my beloved goats are gorging their fat selves on this incredible Superfood. So what is all the fuss about Superfoods? Are they really all that (us) health nuts claim them to be? Why incorporate Superfoods in your diet if you can pop a supplement?
These questions can be easily answered by quoting Hippocrates; "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food". Our modern fast-everything lifestyles have taken us away from simple living - simple eating. Foods have become so contaminated and processed that much of what is labelled as food has lost its healing properties. This is why supplements have become so popular today. But it is far better to receive your nourishment and healing from basic foods. What distinguishes a Superfood from your average plate of food is that Superfoods are extremely nutrient dense. Usually Superfoods come in a powdered form. Cacao (the raw organic version of cocoa), baobab, moringa, maca, hemp and spirulina are a few.
But Superfoods are not limited to a powder you buy at a high price in a health store. Interestingly enough many of us eat Superfoods without knowing it. Some foods we consume regularly qualify as a Superfood. Avo, cruciferous and dark, leafy green veggies, many nuts and seeds (chia, walnut, flax) as well as specific spices (tumeric, ginger and cinnamon). The difference between food versus a supplement is that your body understands and can assimilate food. Supplements are not as readily digested and a lot of its value is lost along the way. Also, many supplements have fillers and are another processed form of the original.
So how do goats fit in to a discussion about Superfoods? Well my theory is that if my goats can eat something it is safe for me. Of course that doesn't mean I will think something particularly tasty. However, the idea of sustainable living intrigues me. I feel we have lost the art of harvesting from the land both food and medicine. We have become food snobs ignorant of what our forefathers relied on for survival. It is time to get back to what other creatures inherently understand about indigenous vegetation.
Recently I commented to a friend that her goats are particularly fat and glowing with health. She attributed it to the thorn trees and the fact that the goats gorge themselves on the ripening seed pods. Well that started the ball rolling as another friend who has been helping us on the homestead with her handyman husband then made the exciting connection to the mesquite, which is found in South America. Using all the homeschooling tools at her disposal she has discovered that our Acacia Karroo or soetdoring (Sweet Thorn) can be used in a similar manner to the mesquite. The trees are currently loaded under their burden of pods so we have harvested a bucket to roast and grind.
Comparing our Soetdoring pods to what I am learning about the mesquite I believe the flavour will be totally different. The pods are very dry and short in comparison. And while it is called a sweet thorn the proof will be in the tasting. So watch this space because we are going to try to make a hot drink with it - if not exactly a healthy coffee alternative. The discovery of coffee beans is generally attributed to a shepherd's wayward goats. So we may yet have to thank my goats for educating us on this remarkable food source.
