All About Dried Goji Berries, The Superfood Raisin

These dried berries look a lot like cranberries or raisins, but they're even healthier to eat. If you want to learn all about dried Goji berries, the superfood raisin, here's your chance. Bursting with nutrients, Goji berries are a healthy snack for anyone interested in healthy foods and eating healthy. They're also a fun food for kids, can be used in countless healthy recipes, and, with their tangy, sweet-sour flavour, they can complement a wide variety of dishes.

Goji berries, sometimes called �wolfberries�, grow naturally in Asia. They come from the Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense species, which are both from the nightshade family. Goji berries, therefore, are distant relatives of the tomato, potato, chili pepper, and eggplant � all healthy foods in their own right. Goji berries were used as medicine in ancient Tibet and are still used to this day. According to legend, the Goji berry was first discovered by a doctor as he researched an ancient civilization still living in an isolated area of the Himalayan Mountains. Some of these people were over a hundred years old, and they were still living a very high quality of life � their hair still had colour, they had few wrinkles, and they still had all of their teeth. Upon closer examination, he found that Goji vines were growing over their wells and the berries were falling into the water as they ripened. He soon realized the Goji berries were adding precious nutrients to the drinking water, and this is why these people were living so well for so long.

Although this is just a legend, scientists are only just beginning to discover the nutritional value and health benefits of Goji berries. Goji berries contain vitamins B1, B2, C, and niacin as well as beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin. Goji berries also contain more than thirty trace and essential minerals like calcium, copper, iron, selenium, phosphorus, and zinc. They're also an excellent source of amino acids like tryptophan, isoleucine, arginine, and leucine. With all of these nutritious properties, you really can't go wrong by including Goji berries in your diet. In North America, Goji berries are available mostly in dried and powdered form and they can be used in all different kinds of healthy recipes. First of all, however, you need to make sure you are using organic Goji berries that don't have any additives � for example, some companies add sugar and use sulphur dioxide as a preservative. Once you've found your pure source of Goji berries, you can add them to your favourite breakfast recipes, cereal recipes, rice recipes, and salad recipes. Eating Goji berries on their own or mixed with seeds and nuts is an amazing healthy snack. Goji powder makes an excellent dietary supplement and tastes delicious in smoothie recipes. You can even put Goji powder into a shaker and add it to your favourite dessert recipes.

This helpful article on dried Goji berries comes from the Bon App�tit website, a knowledgeable food, restaurant, and travel resource. If you would like to learn more about Goji berries and Goji berry recipes, Bon App�tit is well worth a visit. Here, you can also find all kinds of other healthy recipes, like smoothie recipes, chia seed recipes, blood orange recipes, power breakfast recipes, medicine soup recipes, salmon recipes, quinoa recipes, salad recipes, roasted vegetable recipes, and so many more.*