#179 Superfoods that actually deserve the title
Beef liver, bone marrow, colostrum and more...
Everything is labelled a superfood these days. Sea moss. Kale. Even chia seeds. Don’t get me wrong, I love adding some chia seeds to a bowl of yogurt but superfood? Probably not…
Open Instagram and every other month there’s a new ingredient claiming to be the next big thing. Sometimes it’s actual food. Other times it’s a weird brown blend or some green dust powder. Yet when you look under the hood, the ingredients almost always let you down.
So as usual, we made a list of our own. Not the prettiest looking. Not the easiest to turn into a pill. Just the foods we’ve been eating as a species forever. These are superfoods that actually deserve the title.
Animal Renaissance
Beef and animal foods in general have been villainized for far too long. In my humble opinion, whenever anyone talks about superfoods, the first thing they should mention is animal foods.
Beef liver is the APEX. The most nutrient-dense food on the planet. Just one tablespoon feeds you more retinol, B12, copper and folate than most multivitamins manage.
Beef heart is absolutely underrated. It’s the best whole food source of CoQ10 - the molecule your mitochondria use to make energy. Heart strengthens your heart. Like for like.
Beef kidney feeds you selenium, riboflavin, and biotin for skin, hair, nails, metabolism, and thyroid.
Bone marrow (an incredible spread for your sourdough btw) gives you calcium, phosphorus, collagen, and a richness that runs through every great traditional cuisine, from osso buco to pho to bone marrow on toast. There’s a reason it’s known as “Butter of the Gods”.
Colostrum is the first milk a mother cow produces. Concentrated immunoglobulins and growth factors designed by nature to support your gut.
Berries, Fruits and Vegetables
You must be thinking… Rocky, are you sure a CHERRY is that good to be given the superfood title? Well, acerola cherry isn’t any other cherry. Pound for pound, it’s the best whole food source of Vitamin C on the planet, with all cofactors intact.
If you’re looking for ANY Vitamin C supplement, always look for one based on acerola cherry. Nothing else comes close.
Then we have bilberry. You've probably never heard of it. Think of it as blueberry's wild Scandinavian cousin, picked from forests that don't get sprayed. It's been studied for decades for blood sugar regulation and eye health.
Goji is a classic. It’s been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Bergamot is great for your skin, supporting antioxidant defense and it also smells incredible.
Cacao for magnesium, copper, polyphenols, and the simple fact that it tastes like beautiful chocolate. Carrot root for sharper vision, stronger immune function, and thyroid support. Date for natural sweetness and prebiotic fiber that feeds the microbiome. Rosehip for stronger joints and lower inflammation.
Other Notable Mentions
Kelp is the marine superfood, with one of the highest iodine concentrations of any food on the planet (which is why it supports thyroid and metabolism so directly). Whenever you’re at a Japanese restaurant, notice how they always serve you a side of wakame. Elite ball knowledge.
Bee pollen carries 250+ bioactives in a single granule. Amino acids, minerals, enzymes, anti-inflammatory and immune-supporting effects.
Mineral sea salt IS a superfood! We used to fight entire wars over some salt. Good quality, hand-harvested salt with trace minerals is one of the most important things you should consume - on a daily basis - especially if you’re someone who engages in long distance running, cycling or any cardiovascular sport for more than an hour a day.
Coconut water for potassium, the electrolyte involved in cellular hydration, energy metabolism, and recovery. Paired with salt, you’ve just unlocked elite level hydration.
Lion’s mane is called the brain mushroom for a reason. Compounds that support nerve growth factor production, studied for memory and cognition. The texture, cooked fresh, is spookily similar to crab.
We’ve always been against weird green powders that don’t seem to do anything. We’ve always only pushed for REAL food that gives you actionable results. So it was interesting to see OMNI¹ on the same mission.
They’ve somehow managed to put 30+ of these foods into a single daily scoop - foods you don’t usually find in regular “superfood blends”. ACTUAL superfoods we’ve been obsessing about for years.
Beef organs from grass-fed regenerative cattle. Real bone marrow. Wild berries picked from Scandinavian forests. Functional mushrooms grown whole. Mineral sea salt and real coconut water for electrolytes. No fillers. No artificial anything. Plus it contains added soil-based probiotics to support gut health.
If the infographic above is the “starter pack” as you would call it, OMNI¹’s blend is the upsized version. They’ve added another twelve ingredients on top of what we mapped out. Here are a few that stand out.
Collagen. The amino acids that build skin, hair, nails, joints, and gut lining. Modern diets are wildly deficient because we throw away every part of the animal that contains collagen. Adding it back is one of the simplest upgrades you can make to a real-food diet.
Bee propolis. The Greeks called it defense of the city because bees use it to seal the hive against pathogens. Strong anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity, used for centuries for wound healing.
Hawthorn berry. A cardiovascular tonic in European folk medicine for centuries. Vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium. One of those ingredients you don’t see often, which is precisely why it deserves a spot.
Cordyceps. The energy mushroom. Used in Tibetan medicine for endurance and lung function. The reason it now lives in every legitimate athlete’s stack. OMNI¹ also uses Cordyceps militaris, the superior form, with significantly higher levels of cordycepin (up to 90 times more).
Reishi. The immunity mushroom. Used in Eastern medicine for over 2,000 years for stress, mood, and immune balance. Bitter, earthy, called “the mushroom of immortality” for good reason.
Eleuthero root. Sometimes called Siberian ginseng (technically it isn’t ginseng, but the effect is in the same neighborhood). Long history of use for endurance, immune function, and recovery.
The three Bacillus strains. Most probiotics on the market use refrigerated lactic-acid strains that don’t reliably survive your stomach acid. OMNI¹ uses three soil-based strains, which are exactly what they sound like. Bacteria that evolved in soil, the kind your great-grandmother got every time she pulled a carrot out of the ground. B. clausii for immunity. B. coagulans for bloating and IBS, which has the strongest evidence of the three. B. subtilis to support the gut barrier itself.
Magnesium. The electrolyte most modern people are short on. Involved in over 300 reactions in the body, from sleep to muscle function to energy production.
We’re real food first here and always will be. The best version of this stack is to actually eat the food. Sear a slice of grass-fed liver in tallow once a week. Simmer bone broth on the weekends. Spoon bee pollen onto your yogurt. Eat berries when they’re in season. Find a sea salt you love and use it generously. But for most people, the time, the sourcing and the cooking aren’t always there. And till now the alternative has usually been a synthetic multivitamin or some kind of green powder that doesn’t do anything for you.
OMNI¹ is the cleanest version of this category we’ve found. 30+ whole foods in one scoop. Grass-fed, regenerative, organic, wild-harvested. No fillers, no artificial colors, no added sugar.
It replaces around twelve separate supplements (organ complex, colostrum, collagen, soil-based probiotic, electrolyte mix, mushroom blend, adaptogen, sea salt, magnesium, vitamin C complex, prebiotic fiber, and a wild-berry antioxidant).
The whole point of the word “superfood” was supposed to be foods that punch far above their weight nutritionally. Foods you should be eating regularly. OMNI¹ is putting that meaning back where it belongs. One scoop, thirty real foods, no fluff.
What’s on your superfood list? Which one ingredient do you swear by? Let us know in the comments.
Disclaimer: This isn't medical advice. Everyone's body reacts differently to supplements, especially blends with multiple ingredients. Use at your own discretion, and consult with your doctor especially if you're on medication or managing a condition.
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“The first time I recall encountering passion fruit was during a high school trip to Australia. It took nearly 24 hours of travel across the world and hemispheres to meet the wrinkly, fragrant fruit, with its vivid, liquid gold, and mouth-puckering tropical flavor. I first tasted it drizzled over the most heavenly pavlova (which I proceeded to order every night I could for dessert during my visit, but that’s another story), and fell in love.
Over the years, passion fruit has been that treat I could never resist — whether traveling in Hawaii and enjoying all the lilikoi (passion fruit) treats, tasting passion fruit desserts on trips to South America, or marveling at the climbing passion fruit sprawling beautifully on my sister’s fence down in San Diego. To me, it’s the flavor of vacation, the scent alone enough to make me feel instantly relaxed.”
❋ Brown Butter Banana Pudding Cupcakes by Kiley Heard
“Each cupcake is filled with a smooth, creamy classic vanilla pudding right in the center — so when you bite in, you get that nostalgic banana pudding flavor that simply…never gets old. Then they’re finished with the lightest, fluffiest whipped buttercream that just melts in your mouth, and a generous sprinkle of crushed Nilla wafers on top for that perfect little crunch.
Every layer is doing something — and together it all just works so beautifully. Nostalgic, dreamy, and honestly so fun to make (and perfect for Mother’s Day if I do say so myself)!” — Kiley Heard
“Last week, on a much-needed grocery shopping trip, I couldn’t help but spy, tucked into the corner of the produce section at Whole Foods, a ton of fresh rhubarb.
It was just sitting there, silently willing me to pick it up and take it home with me. Fully expecting it to cost a small fortune, I searched for the price and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was only $2.49 a pound.Not cheap in the grand scheme of things, but for rhubarb, practically a steal! I took it as a sign. Without any sort of plan or recipe in mind, I snatched up a lot of it. About two pounds to be precise.
I could have made a pie, a crumble, and any other number of delicious creations. But after a bit of deliberation, I ended up preparing it one of my favorite, go-to ways.A ridiculously simple rhubarb compote made with just four ingredients: rhubarb, lemon peel, sugar, and vanilla. It is delicious as a topping on yogurt for breakfast, tastes even better on steel-cut oatmeal, or can even be swirled into ice cream.”
❋ Fluffy Sourdough Cottage Cheese Pancakes
“These Sourdough Cottage Cheese Pancakes are soft, fluffy, and packed with protein. Made with sourdough discard, they have a slight tang that pairs perfectly with the creamy texture of cottage cheese. These pancakes are easy to make and a great way to use up extra sourdough starter.
They cook up golden brown with a light, airy inside, making them a delicious and satisfying breakfast. Serve them with honey, fresh fruit, or your favorite toppings for a wholesome meal. Whether you’re looking for a healthy pancake recipe or just love sourdough, this simple recipe is sure to become a favorite!”
❋ The world reveals itself to those who travel by foot by Henrik Karlsson
“One of my more important learning experiences was when I was sixteen, and my best friend Christoffer and I biked from Sweden to the Åland Islands in Finland. We didn’t have any cell phone connection abroad, so my parents didn’t know where we were (and were admirably chill about that). And we weren’t allowed to stay on camping grounds, since we were underage (and also didn’t have any money), so we had to convince strangers to let us put our tent on their land.
On the first night, after biking for eight hours, we sat in a square in Hallstavik—a town of 4,000 inhabitants—feeling a bit depressed because we couldn’t figure out where to sleep. A man with a white van stopped and asked us if we needed somewhere to stay.
Christoffer said, “…yeah.”
The man, who said we could call him Biker Pete, knew a place further out into the woods. We could put our bicycles in the back. We said we’d bike after him rather than get in the car (we had heard stories of men with vans).” — Henrik Karlsson
❋ Bialy with Courage Bagels’ Arielle Skye
“Partnering with her fiancé, Chris, together they have perfected their “baby bagel of our dreams: a charred, complexly flavoured bagel with a shattering glassine crust and a delicate inviting interior.” We spent a chilly Los Angeles morning in the couple’s sunny bungalow learning how to bake the bagel’s not-so-distant cousin, a well seasoned bialy.
Their recipe has been created with the home cook in mind and updated with the always-appropriate za’atar seasoning. Sourced from the local markets, the ingredients are simple yet thoughtful and full of flavour. The hot bialys were served alongside creamy labneh, ripe tomatoes, finished with grassy olive oil and flaky grey salt. But if you happen to live outside of a warm utopia where tomatoes aren’t in season, other servings are always welcomed including a Courage favourite, cucumbers and salmon.”
More links:
❋ The London flat of Phoebe McDowell
❋ NYC’s Best Bread + Butter Service
❋ How countries split their meat and fish
❋ Name of animals vs cooked meat
Enjoy your weekend!
— Rocky
❋ All our digital issues are free to peruse. Explore our latest:
❋ Winter 25/26 Coffee Table Book (Print)
❋ Explore the full WARKITCHEN archive here.
❋ Got an article or recipe in mind? We’d love to hear more! Please send your pitch to rocky@warkitchen.net.