Immune Boosting Powders

(by Mario Fabbri, TV Host, Trying Vegan with Mario)

Immune-boosting powders are an excellent way to pack plenty of nutrition into your diet in just a few spoonfuls. They’re easy to make and only take two steps: Dehydrate your favorite superfoods, then blend them into a powder.

Superfood powders are nothing new. Beet powder, for example, is used in a lot of sport supplements and pre-workouts because it’s been shown to increase the oxygen capacity of your blood cells, which can help you exercise longer. Add immune boosters to soups and smoothies or sprinkle on top of salads and oats. Below I included three of my favorite recipes, but I encourage you to get creative and try new things.

Expert tip: When blending your own powders we recommend cutting your dehydrated fruit and vegetables into small pieces and freezing them for 10 minutes before grinding. This helps prevent the sucrose in your food from gumming up your grinder or food processor. (Plant sugar tends to get sticky and tacky when warmed in the blades).

Instructions:

Vitamin C
Ingredients:
1 Orange Peel

• Chop the orange peel into small pieces to make it easier for blending later. The white layer under the orange (the pith) contains half the vitamin C of the entire orange! The pith is generally bland in taste (not bitter) so for the best nutrition - leave it in.
  
• Line the orange peel pieces on a dehydrator sheet.
• Dehydrate on 125F for 10-12 hours.
• Blend into a powder.
• To maintain maximum vitamin C content of your powder, it is best to keep it under 140F / 60C. Add to smoothies, sprinkle on yogurt. Also great for stir fry. Add at the end off-heat.

Super Greens
Ingredients:
Choose a variety of healthy cruciferous vegetables. I like kale, spinach and dandelion greens.

• Chop the greens into small pieces to make it easier for blending later.
• Line the greens on a dehydrator sheet.
• Dehydrate on 125F for 10-12 hours.
• Blend into a powder.
• Add to smoothies (of course!). Also great in salad dressings, blend with chickpeas and tahini for a nutritious hummus, or power up your homemade pesto.

Beet Powder
Ingredients:
1 Beet

• Slice the beet into small pieces to make it easier for blending later.
• Line the beets on a dehydrator sheet.
  
• Dehydrate on 125F for 10-12 hours.
• Blend into a powder.
• The intense color of beet powder makes a colorful - and unexpected - addition to all sorts of recipes. Think cupcakes, icing and pudding. Pink lattes? Why not?