How Our Powders Helped a Friend on a Month-Long Desert Retreat

Both Flavor and Nutrition Were Priorities

Recently, a friend went on a self-designed retreat with a couple of her friends in a remote area of Southern California. Because they had to take with them all their food, she asked us to recommend several powders to include on her adventure.  She wanted an assortment that would provide both taste and nutrition.

All along, the guiding principle of Dr. Cowan’s Garden has been that by adding vegetable powders to your diet, you would help re-create the huge diversity of plant consumption of the healthiest traditional peoples.  The powders are not meant to substitutes for the regular consumption of garden vegetables, nor are they meant to be used as the main component of your diet.  Plants, in general, are the medicinal part of a normal human diet. The wider the variety, the better, and they are needed only in small amounts. 

With this in mind, I counseled my friend to take four powders, ones that would provide the greatest diversity and the highest medicinal value.  I also advised that if space or weight was an issue, such as a backpacking trip, it was fine to carry the powders in their refill packets.   The powders I recommended were any one of the Threefold blends, which would provide the nutrients from at least one root, one leaf, and one fruit-vegetable each day.  The Threefold blends can be used in the largest quantity, 1 teaspoon, two to three times a day, mixed with any other food.  Then I chose the powders with the highest medicinal value, which are probably Ashitaba and either Turmeric or Burdock Powder.  (She took Ashitaba and Turmeric, as Burdock Root Powder was out of stock. We replaced that with our Sea-Vegetables Powder, also a nutrient-dense choice). These can be used about ¼- ½ teaspoon a day, again, mixed with any food.  She also took along Leek Salt, which packs a lot of flavor, as does our Leek Powder. She and her friends sprinkled the Leek Salt on their food to taste.

Upon returning from her trip, our friend let us know that adding these three simple powders to her food alleviated any concerns she had around receiving adequate nutrition.  She felt strong and healthy the entire time, even though her food was simple, if not, at times, a bit meager.  She also commented that the powders improved the flavor of her food enough to make what might otherwise have been flavorless and boring meals a bit more exciting. After weeks in the desert, she and her friends did miss the texture of eating whole vegetables, which is certainly understandable.

We hope this story inspires you to take our powders along with you whenever you’re traveling, especially for an extended period of time, and especially when you know organic vegetables won’t be available. 

In health,

Tom Cowan, M.D.


Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.