Hello. This time I must admit it has really been too long and I think I may start every post like this… I have finally come out of my writing rut and got myself to a library to write. I am glad I have as I have interesting and informative information to share with you. I forget how much I enjoy researching new articles to share with you, taking pictures of tasty treats and thinking of things that will help benefit me and if you use my information wisely will help you too.
I recently picked up a copy of the The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth in order to get some information and inspiration. Actually it was not recently as this book is now overdue at my library and has been sitting next to my bed collecting dust. I was going to write about the The Things I like until I came up with this article that still contains ‘The Things I like’.
This book holds ‘The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should and Why’ it has been declared to be “…packed with sound, useful information that will help you make the right choices in eating for health and pleasure”.”(Lea Galland, M.D. Author of the Fat Resistance Diet and the Four Pillars of Healing) The book is broken up into 14 Sections Vegetables, Grains, Fruits, Nuts Seeds and Nut butters, Soy Foods, Dairy, Meat Poultry and Eggs, Fish and Seafood, Specialty Foods, Beverages, Herbs Spices and Condiments, Oils and Sweeteners. I am going to going to go over several of the Categories and identify with you my favourite selections or my most consumed selections from majority of the categories. I did not actually include the Herbs Spices and Condiments section until I realized how much I like LOVE condiments. I just made this long article even longer for you reading pleasure. The categories I have chosen not identify are Meat, Poultry and Eggs as I do not include meat or poultry in my diet and my favourite eggs are organic free range and I try to not eat caged eggs if I can help it. Also, not included are beverages, Oils and Sweeteners.
To begin, which happens to be my favourite category and the category I have found hardest to choose my favourites is Vegetables. Fortunately for me there is no such thing as an unhealthy vegetable. However, just to clarify in America the most commonly consumed vegetable is iceberg lettuce, ketchup and French Fries. I do like the three and eat them all on occasion, well ketchup is consumed a bit more then on occasion but I would never consider them to be vegetables. Iceberg lettuce is basically just crunchy water and does not contain any nutrients at all.
My favourite vegetables of the top 150 healthiest foods on earth include:
- Spinach- “…green leafy vegetables like spinach provide more nutrients then almost any other food on the planet. “
- Kumara/Sweet Potato- “Sweet potatoes are not actually related to the potato-they’re a member of the morning glory family…and…been around since prehistoric times. And there are lots of reasons to eat them.”
- Brussel Sprouts-“Brussel sprouts contain a chemical called sinigrin, which suppresses the development of precancerous cells.””
- Kale-“Kale is definitely a superstar vegetable.”’
- Broccoli- ‘’One cup contains more the 2g of protein, 2g of fibre, 288mg of potassium, 43 mg of calcium, 81 mg of vitamin C, plus folate, magnesium, phosphorus, beta-carotene, vitamin A, and 1,277 mcg of eye nutrition…”
In this particular confession of the 150 healthiest foods on earth there are only two grains that star, which made is very easy to choose my favourites. However, the two food superstars are already immensely featured in my diet and these include Oatmeal and Quinoa.
- Oatmeal- ‘’The Muhammad Ali of foods…” Oatmeal assists your immune system and has more protein then most store bought cereal.
- Quinoa-“Mother of grains”
In other news, one the healthiest changes you can implement in your diet is switching from white rice because of its high glycemic impact.
Like vegetables there are no bad fruits. Some fruits of course are better than others among them “Apples and blueberries, for example. And guava. If this list were and all-star basketball team going to the Olympics, they’d be the Kobe Bryant’s.’’ This was another category I found painfully hard to choose as I adore all fruits, besides papaya. Out of 150 healthiest foods on earth minus the poultry and meat section papaya is the only food I do not enjoy, not even a little bit.
Because I told myself I could only choose 5 here they are:
- Bananas- Author of Food as Medicine, Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa, has said that “a woman who wants to remain youthful for like should eat one banana every day.” I agree. I definitely, if I have it my way, enjoy a banana every day.
- Cantaloupe-“…contain a relatively high amount of water, fiber, and air (and a relatively low number of calories)….”
- Strawberries-“…like are berries, are a real health bonanza.”
- Watermelon- “ Watermelon owes its claim to fame as one of the world’s healthiest foods to three facts: its high water content…, its high content of lycopene; and three, its high levels of vitamin A and carotenoids….”
- Apples-“An apple a day keeps the doctor away is a good of example of one of those old clichés that actually turned to be right.”
Nuts, Seeds and Nut butters.
Along with the classic saying about an apple the same goes for a handful of nuts. Some may say see nuts and seeds as bird food but I see them as one of my favourite snacks and as opposed to grains there where many options to choose from. My favourites include:
- Almonds-“you can make great ‘milk’ out of almonds by combing almonds and water in a blender.
- Pumpkin Seeds-Did you know that “It’s hard to pick up a vitamin supplement geared to men these days-especially a ‘’prostate support’’ formula-without seeing pumpkin seed extract in the list of ingredients.”
- Sunflower Seeds- “The kernel can be considered a functional food. Functional foods are generally defined as foods that provide benefits beyond basic nutrition.”
- Hazelnuts-Starred in the “Inside Secrets to Make you Younger and Healthier”, a book featured on Oprah, which resulted in the rise of sales in Hazelnuts.
- Peanut Butter- “…Peanuts aren’t nuts. They’re actually legumes-like beans and peas-and they grow underground…and Peanuts rank as high as strawberries in Antioxidants.”
Fish and Seafood
Adopting a healthy lifestyle can be confusing as many experts have conflicting views on what is considered healthy. It is comforting to find a principle where everyone agrees on including eating more fresh fruit and vegetables, as we learned previously there are no such things as an unhealthy piece of fruit or vegetable. Another shared belief is that seafood is included in the one of the healthiest categories on the planet. Fish is considered to be high in protein, low-calorie, loaded with various health benefits. Some seafood is considered to be healthier than others including wild salmon from Alaska, Atlantic mackerel and herring, sardines, sablefish, anchovies and farmed oysters. My favourites include:
- Tuna-“Tuna is the second most popular seafood product…if other healthy foods were that popular we would be in good shape.” Also, Forty-two grams of protein in just one of Light Tuna’’ makes a great source of protein in the diet.
- Salmon- “Wild and farmed salmon are two very different animals.” Only wild salmon is considered to be the ‘’Best source of Omega-3’s on the Planet.”
- Prawns- Are found in the Crustacean category, which are a class of arthropods which characteristically have segmented bodies. And they’re very, very tasty.” Prawns are just really big shrimp also called the Black Tiger.
- Mussels-Are found in the Mollusks category, which include all the shelled creature of the sea. “3 ounces of mussels provides more than 100 percent of the Daily Value for manganese, an important trace mineral that’s essential for growth, reproduction, wound healing, peak brain function, and the proper metabolism of sugars, insulin and cholesterol.”
- Orange Roughly-Found in the White-Fleshed Fish category is a “small saltwater fish imported from New Zealand…and has become quite popular…”
You may ask yourself what a specialty food and in this book a ‘specialty food’ is categorized by being superbly healthy and they don’t fit in any of the other categories. It is considered that a list of the world’s 150 healthiest foods cannot be complete without any of them.
- Dark Chocolate- ‘’the flavonoids in cocoa prevents clogged arteries…”but make sure find “a label that’s says a least 60 percent cocoa…”
- Seaweed- “Sea vegetables have long been acknowledged for their ability to impact beauty and health and to prolong life.” My favourite type of seaweed is wakame and “it has four times the iron in beef.” It is also a good source of protein, iron, calcium and sodium similar to my other favourite Nori, the seaweed used for sushi.
- Sprouts-have the unfortunate reputation of people who are referred t o “…as ‘’health nuts’’-granola-eating folks in granny glasses and Birkenstocks wandering around Woodstock and growing organic food.”
- Greenfoods and Drinks-Including cereal grasses: barley grass and wheatgrass; and microalgae: spirulina, chlorella, and wild blue-green alga. One thing they all have in common is “chlorophyll, the substance that makes plants appear green, is natural blood purifier.”
- Licorice- “Licorice root soothes the throat and lungs…and…makes the top six lists for anticancer activity.”
Herbs, Spices and Condiments
It is well known that herbs and spices are a great way to add flavor to food. However, there is much more than just the taste and flavor to herbs and spices they provide many health benefits. More then you may even realize, “you know the old saying “variety is the spice of life’’? Well, it should be the other way around. Spice is the variety of life.”
Nonetheless, my favourites include all the benefits to keep a young active girl youthful forever and they consist of:
- Cinnamon, can I just point out I put cinnamon on everything from my coffee to my tomato soup and broccoli. Luckily for me cinnamon “can help with pain with pain and stiffness in muscles and joints…digestive function, can reduce blood sugar and ‘bad cholesterol’ and is a homemade treatment for blood sugar.”
- Cumin-is apparently considered and aphrodisiac in several party of the Middle East. Beyond that cumin is also considered to decrease allergy symptoms and is also a good source of iron.
- Ginger-“known as the universal remedy’’ it can also help soothe an irritable stomach and end nausea. While pregnant, it acts as a great remedy for morning sickness.
- Oregano-“In homeopathy, oregano is used to increase sexual excitability. It’s also really good on pizza J
- Turmeric- ‘’if there were ever a contest for a spice that deserved a whole book written about it, turmeric would be the clear winner….not only for its encyclopedic list of health benefits but also for its incredible taste.’’