Strange Snacks
Algae, and ostrich, and seeds—oh my!
Written by Kit Sesterhen
Hit up a health food store and you can’t help but notice the strange products on the shelves. It might be hard to filter through them and find the gems, so we’ve scoped out local health hideaways for the strangest grub we could find, striking gold with this funky foursome. Decide for yourself whether the benefits outweigh the wackiness.
Gateway Market
Our first stop on the health food store tour is Gateway Market, located at 2002 Woodland Ave. in Des Moines. Employees Liz and James recommend:
Rustico Black/Red Pepper Cheese
This cheese is made from sheep’s milk and is used like mozzarella. “It’s a favorite pizza topping in Italy,” Liz says.
Where it’s from: Rustico, Italy, a region of Emilia-Romagna.
How to serve it: “Most people eat cheese with crackers, but I recommend eating it with fruit,” Liz says.
Why we love it: There’s twice as much protein and 50 percent more calcium in sheep’s milk as cow’s milk.
Why it’s bizarre: Most people are more familiar with cheese made from cows or to a lesser extent, goat’s milk.
Ground Ostrich
After contemplating for a few minutes, James came back with a huge heap of ground ostrich meat. “I think it is the most bizarre food we have here,” James says. “I’ve never seen it sold anywhere else.”
Where it’s from: Iowans are lucky to have one commercial ostrich farm in the state: Arthur & Henry Wall from Alden, Iowa own Obviously Ostriches, the Market’s supplier.
How to serve it: It can replace ground beef. “I’d fry it as a burger or maybe put it in my spaghetti sauce,” James says.
Why we love it: Ostrich has the same amount of iron and protein as beef, and less than half the fat of chicken.
Why it’s bizarre: “Most people would think twice about eating ostrich. I probably would,” says James.
Campbell’s Nutrition
Another Des Moines healthy hot spot, Campbell’s Nutrition (located at 4040 University Ave.), is next on our list. Without employee expertise, we had to resort to searching alone for a food find. Nonetheless, a discovery was made:
Quinoa Flakes
Quinoa Flakes are an organic, gluten-free product from Ancient Quinoa Harvest. The flakes are actually tiny seeds less than the size of a mustard seed.
Where it’s from: Quinoa originated from the Incas and dates back over 5,000 years. This particular brand is grown in the South American Andes Mountains.
How to serve it: They can be combined with water and heated to form a nutritious hot cerea or mixed into pancakes, waffles, muffins, breads, and cookies. The box lists recipes for Crispy Quinoa Cookies and Banana-Quinoa Muffins.
Why we love it: The flakes are a great source of protein, calcium, and iron.
Why it’s bizarre: We needed to look in the dictionary to pronounce it [keen-wah, kee-noh-uh].
New City Market
The last stop on our tour of Des Moines health food stores was New City Market, located on the corner of 48th and University. Irene was eager to show us the most bizarre food item at her work place. She went straight to Spirulina, an herbal supplement.
Spirulina
We found the blue-green Spirulina powder in large bins on shelves full of herbs and spices. Customers can scoop their own, depending on their recipe needs.
Where it’s from: It can be found growing on The Earthrise Farm in the Sonoran Desert in southeastern California.
How to serve it: Spirulina is an energy releaser when eaten with other vitamin-rich foods. “I would say it is a catalyst of sorts,” Irene says. She recommends blending it into a fruit smoothie or mixing it with oatmeal.
Why we love it: Spirulina is high in Zinc and Vitamin C.
Why it’s bizarre: Spirulina is actually algae—and is over 3 billion years old.
