Try this delicious summer smoothie recipe and treat yourself to some bee pollen.
200 ml rice/nut milk
1 cup berries of your choice
1 tablespoon plain organic yoghurt
1 tablespoon flaxseed oil
1-2 teaspoons lecithin granules (aids fat emulsification and makes it very creamy)
1-2 teaspoons bee pollen
For variation, add some or all of these:
• a handful oats
• sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds
Put all of the above ingredients into your blender and whiz until smooth.
A busy bees’ superfood
Bee pollen is one of nature’s unique and most powerful foods. It consists of flower pollen (the flower’s male seed), which sticks to bees as they delve around the flower to collect nectar.
Nutritional properties:
The tiny granules contains nearly all nutrients that we require: all amino acids, all vitamins (provitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K), all known enzymes and co-enzymes, 14 fatty acids and lipids, 11 carbohydrates and all 28 minerals found in the human body including the 14 essential trace micro-minerals. It is also an excellent vegetarian source of protein.
Important:
If you have allergies it’s very important to start with a low dose to test for adverse reactions. If you’re unlucky enough to have one, either reduce your dosage or stop eating it entirely.
Take anything up to 1 tablespoon a day. If you have hay fever, start with two or three grains per day and gradually begin upping the dose to 1 to 3 teaspoons daily.
While you’re enjoying bee pollen, hold this thought: a 6 gram dose takes one bee, working eight hours a day, a whole month, to gather.
Anja Liebe, Naturopathic Nutritionist
