My friend Blackstrap Molasses is the topic for today. I've been using molasses for a nutritional boost for at least a year or so. Its a sweet & inexpensive way to get in some key nutrients. I bought my Tree of Life brand 32oz bottle for about 6 bucks at our local health food store. Go for the unsulphured kind, not Grandma's Molasses. Organic is even better.

So, what does this natural sweetener do for you?

I looked it up today on The Worlds Healthiest Foods and here's what I found out. Check out the WHF website for a more in depth look.

It's an excellent source of manganese and copper and a very good source of iron and calcium. I also like that it gives me some vitamin B6 and selenium. I am low on vitamin B6-like a lot of Americans. It's especially helpful for menstruating women who have higher iron needs. This website suggests 2 tsp a day in your coffee, smoothie or even your beans, but I just take a regular sized spoonful alone each day. I love getting vitamins and minerals from real food, not just my multi-vitamin.

Molasses has a funny (well, kinda) history-In 1919, the year my Grandma was born, there was a leak in a Boston molasses storage tank holding something like 2 million gallons of the thick, sticky liquid! That's hilarious to imagine, but its sad that some lives & property were lost. Can you imagine a flood of molasses moving down your street at 35 mph? The site says there were 30 foot tidal waves! My brain just can't get there!