moringa oleifera...moringa ole-what???

Thursday 20th November 2008

so what do you do when you find that you have one of the world's most useful trees growing right in your back garden? well you make sure that all those people who aren't in the know...get in the know...because it doesn't get much better than the moringa oleifera, my friends. this tree packs a punch of the most healthy kind. read what wikipedia has to say about it...

Moringa oleifera, commonly referred to simply as Moringa, is the most widely cultivated variety of the genus Moringa. It is of the family Moringaceae. It is an exceptionally nutritious vegetable tree with a variety of potential uses. Considered one of the world’s most useful trees, as almost every part of the Moringa tree can be used for food, or has some other beneficial property.

The leaves are highly nutritious, being a significant source of beta-carotene, Vitamin C, protein, iron and potassium. The leaves are cooked and used like spinach. In addition to being used fresh as a substitute for spinach, its leaves are commonly dried and crushed into a powder, and used in soups and sauces. The tree is a good source for calcium and phosphorus. Moringa leaves contain more Vitamin A than carrots, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, more Vitamin C than oranges, and more potassium than bananas, and the protein quality of Moringa leaves rivals that of milk and eggs.

so don't you think, after reading that, you just have to have one of these trees in your garden.. you can use it in soups, salads, casseroles and you get all that incredible goodness..i mean imagine, you might never have to leave home again...everything you need, right there, on one tree...now if only we could get it to grow money...hmmm...