Micro Mini Maxi Superfoods

What’s an entomophage, you ask? If you’ve travelled to populated places outside of North America, you’ve likely tasted some interesting and unusual ingredients. If the local language was unfamiliar, chances are you unwittingly ate some interesting food components. That would make you an entomophage!

We’re talking “bugs”—significantly tiny to raise and grow and yet substantially massive in healthy returns. Given that a big part of our planet is massively populated and that the human need for protein is equally massive, the production of bugs, otherwise called microlivestock, but also known as minilivestock, is enormously important.

The growth in this food sector is so great that it’s hopped its way onto plates in North America. Here, entomology, or bug culture, among chefs is now competing with forensic sciences to claim centre of the plate.

One example of this healthy trend is cricket powder. Extremely high in protein, providing 13 g per 2 Tbsp (30 mL), cricket powder is a highly nutritious superfood. The production of cricket protein leaves just a tiny footprint compared to raising beef, pork, or chicken. This relatively new pursuit is alive and growing in Canada.

In other parts of the world, though, eating bugs in various forms has been commonplace since time began.

Mexico? Head into the interior regions, and you’ll find a variety of respectable bugs that are commonly made into a meal. Chocolate-covered grasshoppers and candy-covered worms are a definite delicacy.

Thailand? Fried bugs are a regular appetizer on most menus, coupled with tea or a beer. And sidewalk vendors offer up crispy insects such as grasshopper, woodworm, bamboo worm, and water beetles.

Ghana, Africa? We might have expected that Ghanaians might consume insects, but did you know that bugs account for up to 90 percent of the required protein in rural Africans’ diets? Yes, 90 percent!

And in China? Larvae, from bees or silkworms, is commonplace on restaurant menus, while ant soup offers a warm boost in colder weather.

Recognizing the need for an alternative health-sustaining protein in North America, we’re beginning to see the value of a cricket well beyond its evening chirp. Today, we can easily purchase crickets whole or dried and milled into powder, providing immensely valuable protein.

This isn’t the only bug being ground into a high-protein powder that we can add to our diets and recipes. But for our latest recipes, we’ve taken a minilivestock leap into the world of entomophagy by incorporating cricket powder into some deliciously chipper recipes. Truthfully, you can’t tell the difference—other than the extra spring of energy in your step.