Because I’m my parents’ child (Caribbean skeptics, go fig”>, I definitely have mixed feelings on the term “superfood”.
On one hand, it definitely can’t hurt to incorporate a higher concentration of healthful ingredients into your everyday when you can—on the other hand, since there are exactly 0 established parameters for what makes a superfood so super, you could literally put the term on the label of some caramel-covered shortening without worrying about the FDA stopping by. Given the sugar content of some of these “antioxidant-packed” drinks out here, I’m not certain I’m too far off. But I am certain that your diet is going to be one of the keys to better overall health, which is going to show itself via your hair in a major way, and I am very certain that living off of canned soup and my multivitamin is going to catch up with me at some point.
With that in mind, I set out to make myself a good, hair-healthy, super filling meal with some of the foods we know to be actually loaded with the nutrition we need.
Shoutout to the NaturallyCurly design team for letting me take home the professional camera, and shoutout in advance to y’all for appreciating the fact that I am, hmmm, not skilled in photography. Or possessed of a dining room table. I’m just living too fast for being either…honest.
Appetizer: Savory Quinoa “Shakshuka”
Eggs and quinoa are going to be the curl-friendly stars of this dish considering the loads of growth enhancing protein and biotin that they both provide. I fell in love with the original North African dish (jury’s still out on which country exactly, and I’m not taking sides”> of eggs poached in spiced tomatoes, sometimes served over starches like butterbeans, chickpeas, or in this case, the starch-esque quinoa.
I cheated with pre-made tomato spread and a separately cooked sunny-side-up egg, but you can’t argue with the results, or the taste! Quinoa cooks with exactly the same rules as rice, so it’s simple as boil, season, bon appétit!.
Main Course: Smoked Salmon and Mini Carbs
While I’ll eat pretty much anything, I’m actually not the biggest fan of most fish, especially the powerfully flavored salmon. The hair/skin hydrating (hint, your scalp IS skin”> omega 3 and vitamin E content of its meat did make me stop to reconsider though. Millions of bears can’t all be wrong, and they’ve got great hair. After a bit of taste testing, I settled on smoked salmon, topped it with a few spices and with lemon, some crunchy carbohydrates, and a double duty garnish/light salad it was game on.
Check out the dressing dots I added for extra fanciness!
Dessert: Candied Almonds, Cottage Cheese, and Fresh Fruit
Almonds and cottage cheese are the last stop on our hair-health meal train, but that doesn’t mean they’re just desserts. Like salmon, almonds are chock-full of proteins, vitamin E, and omega 3s, but they’re also packing a good load of zinc, which aids cellular response to stimuli like our other nutrients here. Keeping things simple with a handful of candied almonds suits me fine, although I will keep in mind that marzipan is made of almond meal for next time.
Cottage cheese doesn’t have much in the way of vitamins, but it is abundant in the way of whey! Whey protein is easily absorbable, keeps our tummies full, and including it in the diet rather than supplementing with shakes is (unless you’re an actual athlete, which I am 300% not”> a much better method to getting healthy growth! The casein protein in it also contains glutamine, which is shown to stimulate hair follicles. It’s like a Russian nesting doll of growth ingredients, and it paired great with this peach.
Dinner for two—me, and my hair!
Do you have any favorites in the way of these ingredients?
Let us know what hair-healthy meals you like to make!
Want more healthy living and lifestyle tips like this? Sign up for the NaturallyCurly Newsletter!
