Food News

Superfood For The Soul

SoulFresh Proteins makes a superfood better than spinach


At first glance, Larry Dressler’s farm looks like a diabolical science experiment – long, cylindrical blue-green tanks filled with water that tower over the staff. But this is not the work of a mad scientist. The tanks actually contain a weigh protein algae called spirulina that his company SoulFresh Proteins uses to create nutritious snacks.

Larry says that he “fell in love” with spirulina, and you can understand why. Spirulina is a superfood. The earthy, powdery substance has “more iron than spinach, more antioxidants than blueberries, more calcium than milk, more beta carotene than carrots, and more protein than steak.” Larry explains that the algae is grown in high pH water and later harvested by extraction and dehydration. Once the product is dehydrated, it is then made into a powder and sold for use.

SoulFresh Proteins’s snacks are fruit, nut, and spirulina clusters that have been dehydrated together to form what Larry’s company calls “CrunchLina”. The farm also sells the algae in the form of different flavored powders like pumpkin spice and cinnamon, and the products are ubiquitous.

“We have runners, bikers, hikers, campers – and these people will eat it [spirulina] right out of the bag or they’ll put it as a topping on cereal and salads and oatmeal, put it into baked goods and even on ice cream.” Find SoulFresh Protein’s spirulina products at local grocers all over Rhode Island.