Moringa and Tulsi!

Organic India asked me to try a couple of their products, and I have to admit, neither were anything I'd ever heard of. And as a vegan, I thought I knew everything about exotic health food stuff. But nope, Moringa and Tulsi were new to me.

Moringa is a plant that grows in parts of Africa and Asia, and its leaves are nutritional powerhouses. They're high in protein with a pretty sweet amino acid profile, and they've got a ton of B12, riboflavin, and thiamin, and little bit of vitamins C and A, as well as calcium and iron. Organic India sells it in leaf powder form.

Only a half teaspoon of powder contains 106 percent of your daily RDA for B12 and 130 percent of your RDA for riboflavin. But what do you do with it? The canister, which contains a whopping 226 servings (!!!), recommends mixing it with water, juice, tea, or a smoothie.

Even though I drink smoothies several mornings a week, I'm not a huge fan of adding superfood mix-ins aside from my usual Vega powder. So I tried mixing the moringa leaf powder into a cup of hot lavender tea. Not the best combo. The leaf powder totally overpowered the gentle lavender. This might be better with matcha or something. But I decided that, each morning, I would just stir that serving into a small glass of cold water and shoot it. It doesn't dissolve all the way, and it tastes very grassy. But I know it's good for me, so I just shoot it down. Go B12!

You can, however, use the powder to make date snacks. I found a YouTube video on making almond moringa power snacks using dates, coconut oil, cinnamon, cacao, and almonds. Haven't tried it yet, but I bet they'd be delicious!

Tulsi (better known as Holy Basil) tastes awesome. They sent me the Original flavor, but it comes in 18 flavors (think chai, cinnamon rose, red mango, raspberry peach). It comes in tea bags for easy steeping, and it makes a lovely tisane.

The box claims its "stress-relieving and energizing," and I'm usually a skeptic about such claims since I can drink a whole pot of coffee and go straight to sleep. But you know what? That box was not lying.

I've been drinking this stuff at my desk everyday when I start to fade (around 2:30 or 3 p.m.) from staring a computer for too long. And it perks me right up. Faster and better than coffee. Tulsi is revered in India as a sacred plant with healing powers, and now I see why. Besides the uplifting energy boost, tulsi is said to reduce stress, support the immune system, balance metabolism, aid in digestion, and have anti-aging properties. Pour me another cup!