Nope, Chlorella is a super food.  And lately, it’s been on my radar.

Chlorella is a green algae. It’s high in protein, essential fatty acids, amino acids and a slew of vitamins and minerals. It’s an immune enhancer and when dried and processed, it looks like it would make great fake grass in your kid’s next diorama project.

The first time I paid attention to Chlorella was when I read about it in Thrive by Brendan Brazier. I paid close attention to his few pages on this food item when I was brushing up on nutrition for athletes during last minute marathon training at the end of the summer. My eyebrows perked up when I saw that Chlorella can help speed muscle repair and recovery, as well as slow the signs of aging when consumed regularly.

Slow the signs of aging? Well let’s HURRY UP and get some!

Chlorella is a known detoxifier and helps remove heavy metals (like mercury) from the body.  It’s also a great plant based source of Vitamin B12, something that is of particular importance for non-meat and non-dairy eaters.

Now as awesome as Chlorella sounds, it seems to me that there are a million of these obscure miracle plants out there that claim to do much of the same stuff.  How on earth does one keep them all straight? After a while my eyes start to glaze over and it seems a heck of a lot easier to just make a salad and forget about them all.

Maca. Spirulina.  Dulse.  Acai.  Goji.  Samoas. Trefoils. Thin Mints. (OK, so those last three might be Girl Scout Cookies.) What about the stuff the guy in the seafood department scrapes off the side of the lobster tanks? That’s probably good for us too!

The best I can do with this myriad of possible snake oil supplements is to focus on them one at a time, answering the call of whatever sea vegetable/mystery fruit is beckoning to me at the moment. And like I’ve mentioned, these days I’ve been on the hunt for Chlorella.

Except Problemo Numero Dos; Chlorella supplements are crazy expensive! I nearly fell over in the supplement aisle when I went to check them out in person. I’m sorry, but I’m not dropping $50 on what feels like an experiment. The brands that are cheaper make me question their source and cultivation and leave me wondering if someone just dumped the contents of their lawnmower bag into a bottle and are now trying to sell it to me.

So for me, given that I’m just starting to learn more about some of these super foods and what they can do for us, I’m content to find it in foods on the store shelves in the health food freak section of the grocery store.

One place I know I can find Chlorella is in the Multi Green Kombucha – my favorite green shrubbery drink.

(If you’ve never had Kombucha, you don’t even notice the green bits or weird things floating around there, especially if you keep your eyes closed when you tip the bottle up. And besides, it’s super good despite the floaters. Really.)

But see?

Chlorella! And even spirulina! Score! And maybe even some lobster tank scrapings!

(Dear GT’s Kombucha, I’m just teasing. I know you don’t put lobster tank scrapings in your bottles.)

(I hope.)

I just recently discovered this Salad Booster by Living Intentions.

I found this by chance in the salad dressing aisle and was very happy to see “Chlorella!” blasted on the front of the package. I decided to give this product a try and recently we’ve been adding it to salads.

I’ll be honest that the taste of this is just “OK”. Knowing that it’s good for me makes it easier to power through. (I’m really selling this, aren’t I? YOU’RE WELCOME LIVING INTENTIONS!)

To be fair, my taste buds are a bit picky right now when it comes to the vegetable department, so don’t necessarily take my word on it. The husband likes this just fine, and I haven’t even blathered on and on to him yet about how good Chlorella is for you.

So that you have it; a Chlorella primer. Ever heard of Chlorella? Got anything fascinating or interesting (or even boring!) to share with the rest of us about this miracle plant? I’d love to hear it!

Until then, I’m off to pick the green floaters out of my teeth.