As you prepare for the new year, why not commit to changing it up. Here’s a list of five foods you should be eating if you aren’t already and a few ideas for enjoying them:

1. Salmon

Why: Salmon is on my list because it is high in vitamin-D, omega-3 healthy fats, and is an excellent source of protein, which the body needs for muscle building and satiety, the full feeling. Salmon has more protein per ounce than hot dogs. So consider that next time you think it is too expensive.

How: Try salmon cakes with your healthy crab cake recipe. Canned salmon is inexpensive and doesn’t have a strong, fishy taste which keeps most people from trying it.

2. Walnuts

Why: I love all nuts, but if you generally don’t gravitate toward them, maybe you should. A one-fourth cup has a measly 163 calories and 95% of your daily omega-3 needs. Research shows omega-3 fats are anti-inflammatory, heart healthy disease fighters. Studies show walnuts may help increase HDL (good cholesterol) and decrease triglycerides, prevent cancers (thanks to vitamin E antioxidant), and decrease insulin resistance in diabetics. Can your 100-calorie pack do that? I think not!

How: Toast raw walnuts and use a small handful to top oatmeal, salads, and yogurts throughout the day or make a healthy trail mix with toasted oats cereal, walnuts, and dried cranberries.

3. Jicama

Why: All veggies are great, but I am surprised by the number of people who have never tried jicama (pronounced HEE-kah-mah). Called the “Mexican potato,” this veggie (OK, so it is really a tuber) has a slightly sweet, slightly starchy taste. The texture is similar to an apple or pear. Once you get through the outer “paper-like” layer, there’s loads of goodness inside. One cup has less than 50 calories, 40% vitamin C, and 25% your daily needs of fiber!

How: I love jicama and dip! This honestly is a delicious sub for chips and dip. How does this sound for guilt-free T.V. snacking? Slice a cup of jicama and dip in 1/4 cup of healthy french onion or ranch dip? See recipe in number five.

4. Quinoa

Why: Carbs are good…mmmkayyy? You might mistake quinoa for a grain, but it is actually a seed. We all know about brown rice and that’s great. But if you want to avoid food fatigue, you must try quinoa. The seed is rich in protein and has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked, which takes only minutes. One whole cup (that’s a lot) has only 222 calories, 39 grams of healthy carbohydrates, and 8 grams of protein.

How: You can eat it sweet like an oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit or savory with just about anything. I like adding chicken, feta cheese, roasted red pepper, and olives.

5. Greek yogurt (fat-free)

Why: Everyone knows about yogurt, but many have yet to try Greek yogurt. This kind is thicker and tangier than traditional plain yogurt. I like it for it’s texture and versatility. For only 120 calories, you can have a cup of fat-free Greek yogurt. You’ll also get 20% your daily needs of calcium (for strong bones) and a whopping 22 grams of protein.

How: Oh, let me count the ways. As a dip: mix with a french onion, ranch, or taco seasoning packet for a yummy, high protein dip. Use as a base instead of mayo for chicken, tuna, or egg salads. Replace oil in pancake recipes. Mix with plain yogurt and thawed frozen berries for a yummy breakfast or dessert.

Watch this video to see Rebecca’s complete list of 10 foods you should be eating:

I hope you enjoy trying some of these foods!

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

5 Foods You Aren’t Eating, but Should

Fruits and vegetables are the best sources for vitamin C; although I myself take a supplement as it ensures I get the right amount my body needs daily. Being that vitamin C may also protect against certain types of cancer and heart disease you should be sure to eat the following foods to get your daily dose:

• Peppers
• Oranges/Orange Juice
• Grapefruit
• Broccoli
• Kale
• Kiwi

Additional good sources include brussel sprouts, cabbage and tangerines.

The recommended dietary allowance is as follows:

• Adolescents 14-18 years old: 65-75mg/day
• Adults 19 years and older: 75-90mg/day
• Pregnancy: 80-85mg/day

Examples of how to reach the daily dietary allowances, although you should check with your doctor to make sure you know your correct allowance, are as follows:

• Medium green or yellow peppers – 225mg/serving
• Medium orange – 80mg/serving
• Medium baked potato – 20mg/serving

Stay tuned next week, 12/19, as the vitamin guide continues with vitamin D.

View the entire vitamin guide:

Vitamin A

Vitamin B12

Vitamin C

Vitamin D

Vitamin E

Vitamin L

Zinc

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Vitamin Guide A to Zinc: Vitamin C

Not only are cranberries a sweet, tart little berry that brighten the flavor of anything they are added to, they boast a wealth of benefits that everyone should take advantage of.

Cranberry Health and Nutrition Facts

Some of the many benefits this tiny red fruit offers include:

• Heart Health: Cranberries are good for the heart! With all the antioxidants, resveratrol, anti-inflammatories and anti-clotting agents, fat and cholesterol have a hard time sticking to the arteries. This lowers LDL and raises HDL cholesterols.
• Oral Health: Each sip of 100%, no-sugar-added cranberry juice makes your mouth a healthier place, too. The juice has compounds that reduce bacteria that cause decay and rid your mouth of germs.
• Cancer Protection: Again, the antioxidants and resveratrol make this a positive force in your fight to reduce certain cancers.
• Avoid Ulcers: Thanks to the cranberry’s natural inclination to fight bacteria, you’ll have less ulcer-causing bacterias lurking in your stomach, as well as keep your entire digestive tract free of unwanted bacteria.
• Prevent UTIs: Stop a urinary tract infection before it starts, or start recovering from one naturally, by drinking 100% cranberry juice.
• Fight Colds: Try fresh-squeezed cranberry juice to prevent the sniffles.

If the cranberry included a nutrition label, it would have to start by stating its position as a super food, and would then mention these important nutrients:

• Antioxidants: You’ll find more of these disease-fighting molecules packed into the tiny cranberry than you will in larger fruits like apples, red grapes, strawberries, bananas or oranges.
• Resveratrol: This particular antioxidant has gotten a lot of attention this year for findings that link it to anti-aging, heart health and even reducing cancer risks.
• Vitamins: Cranberries are a generous source of Vitamin C, which can help fight colds, and Vitamin K, necessary for calcium absorption.
• Minerals: A generous source of manganese, which can help fight fatigue and improve memory, as well as potassium and calcium.
• Dietary Fiber: An ideal source of dietary fiber, which promotes digestive health.
• Low Calorie: A one-cup serving of fresh cranberries yields only 44 calories.

How to and Not to Eat Cranberries

As with any fruit, you’ll always reap more nutritional benefits by consuming the whole fruit, rather than a variation. That’s why you want to seek out the freshest cranberries possible, no matter how you plan to serve them.

• DO buy local, fresh cranberries (in season October-December)
• DO buy frozen cranberries with little to no additives
• DO prepare them, juice them or eat them whole
• DO eat dried cranberries as a snack, but watch for additives like sugar or high fructose corn syrup
• DON’T use canned or jellied cranberry sauces, which can yield more sugar than a candy bar!
• DON’T drink juices without reading the label to ensure it’s 100% cranberry juice
• DON’T forget a single serving of cranberries is one cup, or 3.4 ounces

Healthy Cranberry Recipes

Spicy Cranberry Dip

Cranberry Bread

Cranberry Cosmo

Cranberry Salad

Simple Mashed Cranberries

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

Cranberries are Winter’s Super Food: Nutrition Facts and Recipes

At least one-third of annual cancer deaths in the United States are related to dietary factors. Increased fruit and vegetable consumption can reduce cancer risk, but less than one-third of U.S. adults eat the recommended servings of fruit and vegetables every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Eating healthy, including fruits and vegetables loaded with phytochemicals (powerful antioxidants), and following a low fat diet helps people manage weight and prevent disease! Think about it, every day you have choices of what to eat. You have the power to keep yourself healthy from the inside out.

What’s even more is that if you do get breast cancer, you can actually prevent recurrence by following a low fat diet.

The Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study (WINS) has shown that breast cancer survivors who cut their fat intake and increase their fruit and vegetable intake reduce their recurrence rate by 24 percent. For survivors with estrogen-receptor-negative tumors, the reduction is 42 percent.

Forty-two percent chance of preventing cancer recurrence?! That’s just amazing to me.

Here’s a run down on the fruit and veggie colors and what they can do for you:

• Red – Contain nutrients such as lycopene, ellagic acid, and Quercetin. They lower blood pressure, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and reduce the risk of cancer. Anti-inflammatory properties help with arthritis too.

• Orange and Yellow – Contain beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, flavonoids, lycopene, potassium, and vitamin C. They promote eye health, reduce the risk of prostate cancer, lower LDL cholesterol and blood pressure, promote collagen formation and healthy joints.

• Green – Contain chlorophyll, fiber, lutein, zeaxanthin, calcium, folate, vitamin C, calcium, and beta-carotene. They reduce cancer risks, lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol levels, normalize digestion time, support retinal health and vision, fight harmful free-radicals, and boost immune system activity.

• Blue and Purple – Contain nutrients which include lutein, zeaxanthin, resveratrol, vitamin C, fiber, flavonoids, ellagic acid, and quercetin. They support eye health, lower LDL cholesterol, boost immune system activity, support healthy digestion, fight inflammation, reduce tumor growth, and act as an anticarcinogens in the digestive tract.

• White – Contain nutrients such as beta-glucans, EGCG, SDG, and lignans that provide powerful immune boosting activity. These nutrients also reduce the risk of colon, breast, and prostate cancers, and balance hormone levels, reducing the risk of hormone-related cancers.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

Eat More Colors to Cut Cancer Risk

Canned beans

Not just the “musical fruit,” beans provide complex carbohydrates, protein, and fiber. In fact, a one-cup serving provides one-third of your day’s protein needs, half your fiber needs, and 65% of your folate needs (an important B-complex vitamin that helps prevent osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, anemia, and homocysteine buildup in the blood). For less than a dollar a can, you can-not go wrong! Try cannelini beans, black beans, kidney beans, lentils and black-eyed peas. You can buy them with no salt added, low sodium, or rinse them before use to remove about half the salt.

Recipe ideas: add to salads, home-made bean dip, three bean chili, and breakfast burritos.

Frozen fruits and veggies

I’d love to highlight one particular fruit or vegetable, but the bottom line is they are all good choices! Frozen fruits and veggies are picked and minimally processed at their peak freshness. Freezing does not diminish the nutrition quality. Fruits and vegetables are “very good to excellent” sources of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and fiber that help keep your body healthy. They are very low in calories too, so they help you lose weight without having to eat tiny portions. One cup of most fruits and veggies have less than 50 calories! Think about that, how full are you going to get from two cups of fruit and veggies versus the “100 calorie packs?” There’s no comparison.

Just glance at the nutrition facts label and ingredients list. Look for frozen fruits with no sugar added and look for veggies with little to no salt added. There are some great frozen veggies that come with a light sauce, just make sure the fat and sodium don’t diminish the health benefits.

Recipe ideas: thaw frozen corn and mix with canned beans and canned diced tomatoes for a quick side dish, steam broccoli and top with lemon zest, make breakfast or dessert smoothies with a cup of frozen fruit and a half-cup of low-fat milk or plain yogurt.

Canned fish

Canned fish is a low cost way to gain a lot of heart-healthy nutrition. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish at least twice a week because it’s a good source of protein and low in saturated fat. Fatty fish, including trout, sardines, tuna, and salmon, are also high in omega-3 fatty acids, which may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Recipe ideas: toss canned salmon in with scrambled eggs and serve over half a whole wheat English muffin with a side of fruit for a balanced breakfast, mix canned tuna with low-fat plain yogurt, celery, and onion for a quick and low-fat tuna salad served in a pita with tomato.

What are some of YOUR favorite canned and frozen food finds and how do you use them to eat healthier and manage your weight?

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Affordable Nutrition in Frozen and Canned Foods

Antioxidants protect our cells from oxidative damage and inflammation, and they have been linked to heart and brain health, supporting a healthy immune system and protection against certain cancers.

It’s easy to add in berries to healthy foods you already enjoy. Here’s a few ideas for bumping up your berry intake this month.

•    Toss colorful berries into your leafy green salads or get creative and make a simple vinaigrette dressing with puréed berries to add visual distinction and extra antioxidant power to your meal.

•    Berries make great smoothie ingredients. Take advantage of the natural sugars in berries. Blend with low-fat yogurt and a banana for a creamy pick-me-up that rivals a milkshake in taste.

•    On the go? Grab a container of tasty blueberries, strawberries, raspberries or blackberries for your next hike, picnic or errand-running afternoon.

Strawberries

Juicy Health Benefits:

• Protect against Alzheimer’s
• Reduce “bad” cholesterol
• Suppress growth of colon, prostate and oral cancer

A one-cup serving of strawberries provides:

• 45 Calories with 1g Protein and no Fat
• 93% of your day’s supply of Vitamin C
• 16% of your day’s supply of Fiber
• 20% of your day’s supply of Folic Acid

For a heart-healthy dessert, drizzle a tablespoon of high quality balsamic vinegar over a cup of sliced trawberries. Then, top with chopped walnuts for added heart-beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.

Raspberries

Juicy Health Benefits:

• Inhibit growth of oral, breast, colon and prostate cancers
• Antioxidant DNA defense
• Lower “bad” cholesterol levels

Simply enjoy them in your morning yogurt or oatmeal, lunchtime salad or healthy dessert (fat-free Greek yogurt or 1/2 cup frozen vanilla yogurt).

A one-cup serving of raspberries provides:

• 60 Calories with 1g Protein and only 1g Fat
• 50% of your day’s supply of Vitamin C
• 32% of your day’s supply of Fiber
• 2,789 ORAC Value (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity – basically antioxidant power)

Blackberries

Juicy Health Benefits: Blackberries contain a high amount of tannin – a nutrient that studies have shown to tighten tissue, alleviate diarrhea and intestinal inflammation, and even treat sore throats and mouth irritations.

A one-cup serving of blackberries provides:

• 60 Calories with 2g Protein and only 1g Fat
• 50% of your day’s supply of Vitamin C
• 32% of your day’s supply of Fiber
• 9% of your day’s supply of Folic Acid
• 6% of your day’s supply of Iron
• 4,654 ORAC Value

What are your favorite berries and how do you like to eat them?

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

Sweeten Up Your Day With the Health Benefits of Berries

The latest scientific info on watermelon is probably the most interesting… Researchers at the Indian Association of Urologists say it can help men make babies! After conducting numerous research studies, they claim that lycopene has been found to enhance male fertility by improving both sperm concentration and motility.

If you’re not in the market for a youngin’, you’ll be glad to know that watermelon also reduces risk of several cancers: prostate, ovarian, cervical, oral and pharyngeal. Still not impressed? It also protects skin against sunburn. As an added bonus, if you get burned, you can always use cold watermelon as a compress on your sore skin!

So, love the fruit that loves you back and add watermelon to your healthy eating plan.

Here are a few ideas:

• Breakfast: make a watermelon smoothie with 1 cup watermelon and 1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt. Toss in a few ice cubes and enjoy.
• Lunch: chilled baby spinach salad with watermelon chunks, almond slivers, and grilled chicken breast with a raspberry salad dressing (or make your own with lemon juice and olive oil).
• Snack: frozen watermelon (if you can’t make this, I can’t help you… serious, cut into chunks and freeze in an airtight container. You will love these healthy popcicles!) Or try these Watermelon Honeydew Kabobs with a sweet honey lime dressing.

With only 50 calories a cup, this super-delicious, super-healthy super fruit is a weight management wonder. Just make sure you don’t get stuck with a “lemon”. Follow these tips to choose the best melon in the patch.

Selecting the Best Watermelon

Look for one that is heavy for its size with a rind that is relatively smooth and that is neither overly shiny nor overly dull. Look for the underbelly – an area that is distinct in color from the rest of the rind, displaying a yellowish or creamy tone. This is the place that was resting on the ground during ripening.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

Health Benefits of Watermelon Include Men’s Fertility

What is Potassium?

Which foods are high in potassium?

• potatoes
• tomatoes
• avocados
• fresh fruits (bananas, oranges, and strawberries)
• orange juice
• dried fruits (raisins, apricots, prunes, and dates)
• spinach
• beans and peas

Remember, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is the best way to get enough potassium. Eating a plan-based diet will also help reduce your risk of heart disease, lower cancer risks, and lower risk of obesity.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

Consume More Potassium for a Healthy Heart

Mangoes are packed with essential antioxidant nutrients, specifically rich in vitamin C and beta carotene.  Vitamin C plays an important role in immune function, growth & repair of tissues & in wound healing.  Beta carotene is converted in the body to Vitamin A which helps supports healthy vision, healthy bones, skin, and teeth. As most of us know, antioxidants work against cancer causing free radicals in the body.  A diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables helps decrease your risk of getting specific cancers and chronic diseases (like heart disease).

It’s recommended to eat about two cups of fruit a day.  A fresh, sliced mango will give you roughly one cup of the fruit you need, meaning you’ll have to eat one cup more to meet the fruit goal.  This one cup of sliced mango will have only 110 calories, as well as being fat, cholesterol, and sodium-free!  Like other fruits and veggies, mangoes also contain fiber.

Eating mango will provide you with about 12% of the recommended amount of fiber you need for the day.  Fiber is important in weight loss and maintenance, colon health, healthy bowel movements, and helps prevent some cancers.
Remember variety is the spice of life and health!  Eat a variety of fresh fruits in veggies, eat the colors of the rainbow and make mangoes a part of that variety.

via American Dietetic Association

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

Go Mad for the Benefits of Mangoes

What is organic?
In order for a food to be labeled organic it needs to be grown and processed without using any genetic engineering procedures, or without any synthetic/artificial fertilizers (must use real fertilizers).  Organic foods are grown without the use of all “-cides”, meaning no pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.  Also, the food must be grown or processed without antibiotics, preservatives, chemicals, or use of radiation.  In short, the food was produced and processed in the most natural way and delivered to consumers in the purest form without any chemical tainting. To be certified organic a product must bare the USDA certification of 100% organic.  This seal means the farm has been evaluated and tested by a set standard of practice and is certified after passing.

PROs

• Food is in its most natural, pure form
• No harmful pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides are used
• With the USDA 100% organic seal you know you are consuming a safe, healthy product
• Fruits and vegetables grown organically are supposedly more nutrient dense, have a higher antioxidant content (research suggests it, but more research is needed)
• In terms of buying organic meat, eggs and dairy you will be receiving a hormone-free, free-range product.  Reducing the amount of foreign substances you put into your body can have positive health benefits.  Think about it, do you really want to be consuming a bunch of chemicals?
• Organic farming practices are considered a more “green”, eco-friendly way of farming.  Having healthier soils and the surrounding animal life is supposedly better on the actual farmer!

CONs

• Cost.  Organic foods tend to be more expensive. On average, it’s been estimated that consumers spend 50% more on organic products and 100% more on meat and dairy organic options.
• Food Safety.  Some organic foods do contain pesticides (they may be able to contain trace amounts and still be approved as 100% organic).

Also read An Argument for Organic: The Cleanest and Dirtiest Produce Items.

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The Pros and Cons of Going Organic