Nutrition Trend: Is Teff the Next Super Grain?
Updated: Sep. 02, 2015
We spoke to Margot Micallef, founder of Gabriella’s Kitchen, about the next nutrition trend, teff
Source: Best Health magazine, September 2015
How do we cut through the jargon on food packaging to better understand what we’re buying?
I focus on three main things when deciding what to buy: First, are the ingredients natural and recognizable? Next, are the health claims supported by Health Canada or another accredited organization? And then I ask myself if my family will eat this. You can’t sustain eating foods that nobody else in your house likes.
Is there a key nutrition trend to look out for this season?
Resistant starch foods will be a hot topic. These are foods like legumes and teff ‘ a poppyseed-size grain harvested from a type of grass in the Ethiopian Highlands of Northeast Africa ‘ that are high in resistant fibre. This helps improve digestion, regulate blood sugar levels and assist with weight management. If you haven’t heard about teff yet, you will. It’s gluten-free and rich in minerals, and one cup of cooked teff provides as much calcium as half a cup of cooked spinach. Gabriella’s Kitchen is launching a line of teff pasta this year.
What’s your number one healthy eating tip?
My motto is, "Don’t count calories; make every calorie count." That means that every calorie I consume needs to pack a nutritional punch to make me choose that food over another. You have to ask yourself, "Are these calories worth it?"
