Worries solved
Stars are buzzing about the perks of insect-infused foods. But can noshing on bugs really rev energy, ease inflammation and speed fat loss? FIRST health and wellness columnist Jorge Cruise weighs in
“The little grasshoppers have a smoky flavor to them. It’s the way they cook them, and it’s really good.”
—Salma Hayek
When we think of ballpark snacks, peanuts and Cracker Jacks come to mind… not fried crickets! But Seattle Mariners fans can’t get enough of the toasted insects, ordering more than 18,000 individual chirpers during the first three games of the season. And it’s not just baseball lovers who are chowing down on bugs: Tinseltown beauties including Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie have shared that they love snacking on the crunchy buggers too!
While eating insects is just starting to gain popularity in the States, insect appetizers actually date back centuries around the globe. In the 8th century BC, locusts were served at royal banquets in Mesopotamia. In ancient Greece, cicadas were a prized delicacy.
Now modern-day science shows that the little bites come with big benefits. A 1⁄2 cup serving of grasshoppers has roughly the same amount of protein as the same size serving of chicken breast. That’s a real plus since protein-packed foods can increase metabolism and slash appetite by as much as 298 percent to help make sticking to any diet a breeze.
Insects are also an impressive source of energizing nutrients: Some varieties contain more iron than spinach, twice the vitamin B12 of salmon and nearly five times as much magnesium as beef. And crickets and grasshoppers are especially rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which ease joint pain by 60 percent, slash blue moods by 50 percent and increase metabolism by 25 percent.
More food manufacturers are now jumping on the bug bandwagon, selling “f lour” (also called “powder”) made from crickets and mealworms. The flour, which has a mild, nutty flavor, is used in smoothies and snack bars as a protein powder or mixed with traditional flours to create a protein-rich baking mix.
Despite the nutty taste, though, insects are actually more closely related to shellfish than seeds. As a result, if you’re allergic to shellfish or dust mites, proceed with caution. With potential reaction symptoms ranging from itching to nausea to anaphylactic shock, it’s best that women prone to allergies consult a physician before trying.
Want to try a bug-enriched bite? To ease in, replace up to one-third of the flour in baked-goods recipes with cricket flour (like Entomo Farms Cricket Powder, $11 for 4 oz., EntomoFarms.com) or blend 2 Tbs. into shakes. Or consider Exo Protein Bars ($36 for 12, ExoProtein.com) —each bar contains 40 crickets!