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11 ways to use goji berries
What are goji berries and what do you do with them? We explain everything about this bright red superfood right here, including 11 ways to use them!
Summary
1What are goji berries?
If you’ve just heard about goji berries, where have you been?! Because these vibrant little berries have been rising in popularity for several years…
2How do you eat goji berries?
Goji berries are one of those things you can enjoy pretty much however you like! What we mean by this is that they’re available in lots of different…
3Where to buy goji berries
Goji berries can be found in some supermarkets and most health food shops, including Holland & Barrett. A handful (20 to 30g) of goji berries…
Are you wondering what goji berries are? What they’re good for you and how you eat them?
Panic not because this is your guide to goji berries – the best way to use them, how many to eat a day and more!
Keep reading for all you possibly wanted to know about these little bright red bites of goodness!
What are goji berries?
If you’ve just heard about goji berries, where have you been?!
Because these vibrant little berries have been rising in popularity for several years in the UK now.
While in China, they’ve been around for thousands of years and have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Also referred to as Wolfberries, Duke of Argyll’s Tea Tree or Matrimony Vine, goji berries can be found growing on evergreen shrubs worldwide, with the vast majority of them being imported from the Tibetan plateau and China.
How do you eat goji berries?
Goji berries are one of those things you can enjoy pretty much however you like!
What we mean by this is that they’re available in lots of different forms.
We’ve listed some of the most common (and popular) ways to use goji berries below.3
That’s right, you can eat them directly from the bag.
There’s no need to wash them beforehand, simply grab a few at a time and enjoy! Because of this, they’re a great alternative for other snacks that may not be so nutritious.
Goji berries are also available in juice form, such as Optima’s Healthcare Goji Berry Juice.
It’s made from pure, unrefined goji juice, making it a powerful antioxidant goji berry drink. Simply drink 20ml a day from the bottle or dilute the juice with water.
Do not exceed the recommended dose because goji berry juice is a supplement.
Goji berry tea is a thing!
Add a handful of goji berries to a large glass of hot or cold water or herbal tea and let them sit and hydrate for 5 to 10 minutes. You’ll find they become plump and juicy.
You can drink the tea and eat the hydrated berries, which are loaded with antioxidants.
Smoothies and goji berries go hand-in-hand!
Try this - soak a handful of goji berries in water for 10 minutes. Once they are plump and juicy, add them to your favourite smoothie.
The great thing is, they won’t dramatically change the consistency or taste, but they will give your smoothie a nutritious hit!
Brighten up your usual nut mix with a handful or two of gojis.
You can either add them to ready-made nut mixes or make your own from scratch.
Either way, your goji berries are going to give your mixture lots of added goodness!
Because gojis are so small, they’re great for sprinkling over your morning porridge or breakfast cereal mixes.
Hot or cold, they work well on top of most breakfast creations!
You may also want to create this healthy smoothie breakfast bowl, which is the perfect sweet and simple morning treat!
Goji berries aren’t too dissimilar-looking to raisins, which means they’re great for using instead of or alongside raisins when you’re baking, especially muffins, scones and flapjack-type bars.
While this may sound a little unusual, goji berries have been added to Chinese cuisine, including soups, for thousands of years.
Given their size and the fact they don’t taste overpowering, they aren’t going to alter your soup too much either, only make it far more nutritious!
There are lots of recipes out there that have goji berries on the ingredients list.
There are, as you now know, plenty more recipes you can transform by swapping out the usual ingredients and adding some gojis instead.
But if you’re looking for a dedicated goji recipe, give these ago:
- Goji energy bars:
- Blend a handful of goji berries together with a cup of walnuts, ½ cup almonds, and 5 to 6 dates in a food processor.
- Roll the mix into balls or spread in a deep pan to make bars.
- Chia pudding
- Take 40g of chia seeds, soak them in 230ml of almond milk or coconut milk.
- After 20 minutes, your pudding will be ready to eat, but you might want to make it extra special by adding a handful of dried goji berries.
- You can make your chia pudding chocolatey by stirring in a teaspoon of cacao powder too.
You can take supplements that contain goji berries too.
Examples include our Grapeseed Complex 60 Capsules that contain a combination of acai, bilberry, pine bark and goji berry extract.
Take them once a day, preferably with a meal.
While Starpowa’s Triple Immune Support Vitamin Summer Fruits Flavoured 30 Gummies contain ingredients, including vitamin C, vitamin D3 and zinc alongside ginger, garlic and goji berry (35mg).
Simply take one of these gummies a day for immunity support.
Goji berry can be found in many ready-made powder formulas too, such as Bioglan’s Superberries Power Blend 70g, which is an immune-supporting blend of colourful berries and superfoods including goji, acai, pomegranate and coconut water.
Meanwhile, Naturya Organic Superberries Breakfast Boost 150g gives breakfasts, baking and smoothies a boost with its blend of goldenberries, mulberries, goji berries, blueberries and acai powders.
- Goji berries are an incredibly versatile fruit
- You can snack on them straight from the packet
- Or you can get really creative with them and add them to smoothies, bake with them, pop them in your tea or make some of the many goji berry recipes that are out there
Where to buy goji berries
Goji berries can be found in some supermarkets and most health food shops, including Holland & Barrett.
Summary
- A handful (20 to 30g) of goji berries a day is plenty!
- You can also enjoy them as a juice or powder
- They go well with so many other things, including oats, bananas and coconut
Takeaway
How good are goji berries?
Not just because they are so incredibly versatile, but because they contain such a vast amount of goodness, and you only need to eat a handful of them every day to benefit from their amazing nutritional make-up!
Handpicked content: ‘Why Maqui berries and acai berries are ultimate superfoods.’
You also asked...
They may be small, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be mindful of how many gojis you’re eating on a daily basis. As a general rule of thumb, aim for no more than a handful of dried goji berries a day, which is around 20 to 30g.
If you are having goji berry juice instead, it’s not something you should drink by the glassful because it’s actually a food supplement. Due to the fact the vitamins and nutrients are more concentrated in goji juice compared to the dried fruit, don’t consume more than 30ml a day.
The great thing about goji berries is that you can snack on them on their own, straight from the bag, just like you can with raisins, or you can pair them with lots of other ingredients.
They go especially well with:
- Oats
- Coconut
- Bananas
- Coconut oil
- Almonds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Dates
- Cinnamon
- Maple syrup
- Chia seeds
- Flax seeds
- Quinoa
- Raisins
- Hemp seeds
- Pistachios
- Vanilla extract
- Strawberries
- Honey
Disclaimer - The advice in this article is for information only and should not replace medical care. Please check with your GP or healthcare professional before trying any supplements, treatments or remedies. Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
Last updated: 20 September 2021
