[drunksunflower]

Does anyone know anything about 'black foods', which include black beans, grains, rices, etc?

My colleague is Chinese / NZ and she gave me some to try the other day. This form is like a delicate porridge, I guess, and it has cocoa in it - so is all CHOCOLATELY ... :>

Anyway, it's supposed to be a sort of 'power food' combination. I have looked at the nutrition breakdown and it's low fat and not even ridiculous in carbs, and these 'whole' foods are supposed to be excellent in terms of nutrition / health.

Anyway, I just wondered if anyone has tried anything like this ... here is the funny / silly part: I have lost the bit of the packet that has an English translation on it ... so I don't know how to cook it (although I can work that bit out I am sure). I want to know more about what's in it and what makes it good, but obviously I can't read Chinese - LOL.

It is kinda a breakfasty thing ...

AND THE INTERNETS IS NOT HELPING AND GOOGLE IS NOT MY FRIEND TODAY!

Any advice / info appreciated ...

never heard of it, but i eat black beans and brown rice at least five times a week. not together.....in different styles. my cholesterol has dropped 40 points on this style of eating. and my blood sugar is 70. my weight has stablized at 112 for six months.

i'm a strong, strong believer in this type eating......xoxox pat

let me know how it tastes!!!

[Juliana]

I have never heard of it. I love black beans, though. I eat a lot of beans and lentils. I also love wild rice... and pumpernickel is my favourite bread. Would wild rice and pumpernickel be considered black foods? And, of course, I love coffee and dark chocolate. Those are black.

[drunksunflower]

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fayerody said:
never heard of it, but i eat black beans and brown rice at least five times a week. not together.....in different styles. my cholesterol has dropped 40 points on this style of eating. and my blood sugar is 70. my weight has stablized at 112 for six months.

i'm a strong, strong believer in this type eating......xoxox pat

let me know how it tastes!!!

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Hmmm do you have any tasty recipes to share??

[drunksunflower]

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Juliana said:
I have never heard of it. I love black beans, though. I eat a lot of beans and lentils. I also love wild rice... and pumpernickel is my favourite bread. Would wild rice and pumpernickel be considered black foods? And, of course, I love coffee and dark chocolate. Those are black.

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haha ... Hmmm ... I don't know what is technically ...

FYI, this tastes like chocolate pudding ... but oaty and grainy ...

[drunksunflower]

Just a couple of snippets:

Black foods, beauty foods and amino acids are currently among the most popular products for health-conscious consumers in Asia but none of these have yet been exploited on European soil, said analyst David Jago.

Black foods often include ingredients like black vinegar, black soybeans or black sesame, all with growing reputations for health benefits, especially in Japan. Foods with such a dark colour often contain more anthocyanins, isoflavones and minerals than more lightly coloured foods.

"These really fit into that ying-yang philosophy, and are typically protein-rich, strongly flavoured and suited to winter consumption," added Jago.

One such product proving popular in Japan is an Itoen drink containing 17 kinds of vegetables and 15ml of black vinegar. Another is a black sesame paste available in China for stirring into hot water for a good start to the day.

This is interesting:

There are still more black foods, likeblack rice, black sesame, black sesame tofu, pudding, Nori, Hijiki, sea vegetables, squid ink (Santos, all your dishes are so great!! I am always so impressed). If you do'nt like or can't find black food around you, one good feature of black food is found in other products: Cyanidin is found in red wine, grapes, bilberries, blueberries, black cherries, cocoa powder, and similarly dark-colored foods.

And this:

Black/dark foods come from both plant and animal origins. Foods from plant origin include black rice, black soybean, black sesame, black plum, black mulberry, purple seaweed, kelp, and black mushroom. Foods from animal origin include sea cucumber, black chicken, cuttle fish, grass eel, turtle, black snail, and frog. Studies on proximate composition, dietary fiber, amino acids, minerals and other minor elements show that foods in black color contain higher levels as compared with other colour foods.

Hmmm, I don't know ... it does make sense that there are health benefits to those types of foods I guess?

yes, it makes sense. let's continue this tomorrow evening. i've got to go to bed...........pat

[Maven]

I hadn't heard of that, either, DSF, but thanks for the info. I'm always skeptical of these kinds of diets--not that they don't help one lose weight, get healthier, etc., but that they're any better than simply eating healthy in general (except, perhaps, individually, if they result in balancing something a person might have unbalanced).

On the cocoa part, chocolate is actually used in many dishes, not just sweet ones. There's an authentic Mexican restaurant in Atlantic City, where my boyfriend has had a dish they have made with a chocolate sauce, but it's not sweet or anything. Personally, I'm not a big fan of it, because I do prefer my chocolate sweet. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like it in other dishes; my experience is limited to this one dish, and I only had a bite of it from my bf's dish.

I like my foods colorful, so I prefer a variety.

I didn't know you could eat squid ink. But I've seen a lot of cultures eat and drink stuff I consider "weird." I say that, not in a negative way, but meaning that it's something that I'd not heard of, never would have considered eating before (and may not now, LOL!), or seems unusual to me. And some things, admittedly, sound disgusting. There are a lot of things I'll try, though.

[InACorner]

my boyfriend is philipino and they have like an oatmeal kinda thing (alittle heavier) and its made with chocolate... champorado.....its made with rice and cocoa ...you can eat it cold or hot ....personally i dont like it ...it made me throw up a few times but it sounded good....dont know if thats what your talking about or not...

[drunksunflower]

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Maven said:
I hadn't heard of that, either, DSF, but thanks for the info. I'm always skeptical of these kinds of diets--not that they don't help one lose weight, get healthier, etc., but that they're any better than simply eating healthy in general (except, perhaps, individually, if they result in balancing something a person might have unbalanced).

On the cocoa part, chocolate is actually used in many dishes, not just sweet ones. There's an authentic Mexican restaurant in Atlantic City, where my boyfriend has had a dish they have made with a chocolate sauce, but it's not sweet or anything. Personally, I'm not a big fan of it, because I do prefer my chocolate sweet. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like it in other dishes; my experience is limited to this one dish

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Hmmm, I don't think I'd call it a diet, just something else - a 'group' of foods, if you like, that is supposed to be reasonably healthy. I think a lot of grains, beans are pretty good. I dunno, I am always looking for something new and interesting to try.

Inny it sounds like a variation ... thanks for the info

[Maven]

A "diet" is any style of eating, not just something to lose weight. Your diet is the usual foods and drinks you consume.

[Perna]

Here's a couple articles: http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templat...3068&zoneid=45

http://www.springsgreetingcards.com/...35&catid=22647

http://www.cookingwithcolor.com/