Tag Archives: super foods

Nature’s Best Nutrition Secret is Raw Cacao

I get many funny looks when I tell my health coaching clients that I whole-heartedly endorse a fully stocked chocolate supply in every household. Afterall, it’s one of the most important food groups!

We’ve all heard about the benefits of dark chocolate, but you can get even more nutrition by eating the beans themselves. Raw, unprocessed cacao is one of nature’s best nutrition secrets.

cacao

It’s super food with super powers:

  • Loaded with tons of magnesium for muscle and nerve function and to stabilize heart rhythms
  • More antioxidants and disease fighting properties than red wine or green tea!
  • Improves focus and pleasure: cacao stimulates the euphoric neurotransmitters in the brain
  • Aids in calcium absorption 
  • Stabilizes mood swings (more…)

Don’t Believe the Hype of Super Food Powders! Dietitian Says They Aren’t Worth It

Lucuma, camu, maqui – their names alone sound like something exotic and wonderful. In fact, they’re some of the more common “super food” powders that many people are adding to their diet for added nutrition.

superfood powders

However, they may not be as beneficial as claimed. Many of these powders aren’t quite what they appear to be. Dr. Mike Roussell discussed some of the reasons to avoid these powders in Shape Magazine.

“The trap that we fall into with many of these super food powders has to do with their exotic origins and the nutritional buzzwords attached to them,” he told the magazine. “There is something alluring about these foods being used by ancient cultures in faraway jungles that causes us to assume that they must be better for us than the ‘regular’ foods we are currently eating.”

That’s really the gimmick of super food powders. Sure, some of them may include nutrients that do wonders for the body, but those nutrients aren’t exclusive to the powders. They can be found in more common foods as well. (more…)

Chicken, Quinoa Dominate Top 10 Food Trends for Second Year

Want to know which foods were hot this past year and what to expect for 2024? Foodily, the world’s largest social recipe network, keeps tabs on what visitors have been searching for over the years. Since 2024 the site has seen “the decline of red meat and the increase of healthy eating related searches,” says Foodily co-founder Hilary Mickell.

quinoa

What else is on tap for 2024?  Here are the top 10 trendiest, most searched for foods in 2024. BONUS: We’ve included our favorite recipes so you can be sure to fit them in this year!

Top 10 in 2024:

1. Chicken. This standard red meat alternative can get a little plain sometimes, but not with this Apple and Herb Dutch Oven-Roasted Chicken! Check out our tips to use the leftovers for equally as awesome meals for the rest of the week.

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Chia Bar Battle and a “No Bake Cookie” Chia Bar Recipe

Not all chia seed bars are made equal. We realized this in a recent taste test where we faced Health Warrior Chia Bars with Chi Innovations Chi Bars to see which one came out on top.

So what’s the big deal about chia seeds? For starters, one 16 ounce bag contains the same amount of Omega-3 fatty acids as 10 pounds of salmon. Yes, 10! As Health Warrior points out, Omega-3s are essential for brain function and cell and tissue growth. One pound of chia seeds also contains the same amount of protein as three pounds of tofu, and the same amount of fiber as four pounds of oatmeal. That’s a lot of nutrients in a tiny package.

Our competitors both tout the superfood chia seed as their star ingredient, but beyond that the two brands are worlds apart. Let’s dig into what makes them unique. (more…)

Super Diet Genius iPhone App Powers Weight Loss with Super Foods

A first-of-its-kind weight loss app will soon hit Apple’s App Store. Super Genius Diet will be introduced as the first “super food-powered” weight loss app for iPhones.

With so many weight loss apps on the market, it’s hard to imagine a new unique product, but Super Diet Genius feels they’ve managed to make it happen. The app claims to create personalized diets focused on super foods. Along with the personalized diets, the app comes loaded with weight loss tools to help one achieve their goals like never before.

The fact that the Super Diet Genius app focuses on super foods does set it apart from most similar applications. The app claims to create meal plans by using food with the highest blends of essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, essential fatty acids, and fiber. All of these powerful foods are used along with weight, height, gender, age, activity level, rate of weight loss, and even food preferences to create a customized diet plan.

There are four simple steps to explain how the Super Diet Genius app works. (more…)

SELF Editor’s New Book Claims Superfoods Will Cause Weight Loss

Superfoods are indeed super, but they aren’t a magic weight loss tool. A new diet book should be more clear before it becomes the next fad.

Lucy Danziger is the editor-in-chief of SELF magazine. She recently published a book about her experiences with eating superfoods and ditching dieting. The book is titled “The Drop 10 Diet. Add to Your Plate to Lose the Weight.”  The book describes how Danziger turned to foods like nuts, berries and whole grains and found herself 25 pounds lighter in just six months. She also focused on what she could eat verses what she couldn’t as she began her diet.

The foods Danziger sticks to are called superfoods. The superfood title was coined in 2004 by Dr. Steven Pratt. He compiled 20 foods that met the criteria for being “super.” These 20 foods are readily available to the public, contain nutrients that are known to enhance longevity, and the health benefits of the food has to be backed by peer-reviewed scientific studies.

The twenty foods that meet Dr. Pratt’s requirements are apples, avocado, beans, blueberries, broccoli, cinnamon, dark chocolate, dried superfruits, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, honey, kiwi, low-fat yogurt, oats, onions, oranges, pomegranates, pumpkin, soy, spinach, tea, tomatoes, turkey, walnuts, and wild salmon.

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Egg in an Avocado for a Healthy Easter Breakfast or Brunch

Some people never leave the house in the morning without coffee. Others can’t walk out the door without first catching the news. And some claim their cell phone as their one necessity item. But for me, it’s breakfast. I cannot leave my house without first figuring out what’s to eat.

I’m a huge fan of breakfast and treat it as a special part of my everyday routine. Weekdays are a bit rushed leaving me little time for elaborate items like pancakes or quiche. But weekends? That’s another story. I find few things more alluring than waking up at a leisurely hour, moseying to the kitchen and making a delicious breakfast to be eaten over coffee in bed.

Although pancakes are my all-time favorite morning item, I’m always up for trying new recipes. So when I saw this idea to crack an egg into an avocado and bake it, I knew I had to try it. (more…)

Six On-Hand Super Foods and Recipes You Can Use Them In

I’ll be the first to admit I’m cheap. I take pride in keeping a $200 grocery budget every month for my husband and I. And although it can be difficult at times, I love knowing that I’m saving us money that can be spent elsewhere. It’s almost a little game to see if I can make it to the end without going over. 

In addition to being cheap, I also like things simple. So when I come across stories like these from The Today Show about super foods that I likely already have on hand, I get all sorts of elated. Eating healthier without spending more money? Sign me up.

With the help of registered nutritionist Kari Glassman, we can easily determine what super foods are likely lying around our kitchen and why they’re so exceptionally healthy for us.

Starting with apples. Apples contain  fiber and Vitamin C, but they’re also high in flavonoids – the compounds that give fruits and vegetables their color. One of those compounds is quercetin, which is especially high in apples. Quercetin helps control our blood sugar level, acts as an antihistamine, and can even help prevent heart disease. Enjoying apples raw is enjoyable. But baking and topping them with ice cream is even better. Try this Apple-Whatever Cobbler for a quick and satisfying 400-calorie fix. (more…)

Super Foods of 2024 Include Adzuki Beans, Black Garlic, and Hemp Seed

By Alison Lewis

I am so excited to write this article about a few of the top super foods for 2024. If you’re asking yourself, “What exactly are Super Foods?”, let me explain. Super foods are those with high nutrients and antioxidants with proven health benefits. When I asked Carolyn O’ Neil, dietitian and co-author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous, about her take on health trends this year, she said, “The worlds of nutrition and cuisine continue to collide in 2024. And that’s a good thing for diners who want great tasting, healthy food choices including more interesting vegetable side dishes and use of flavorful spices instead of relying on salt and fat.”

Even this morning on Today Show nutritionist Joy Bauer was sharing her picks for this year’s super foods, which matched many of our choices. Joy’s list included seeds, and we mention hemp and chia, and she also included pumpkin seeds. She named Brussels sprouts as the “food of the year,” and said mini desserts and protein powders will also be quite popular.

Below are some of our picks for the top 10 super foods of 2024.

View 2012 Super Foods Slideshow

Also Read:

10 Sensational Spring Super Foods

No Bake Cookie Chia Bar Recipe

The Best Diet Tips You’ve Never Heard

Top 10 Superfoods for Fall

By Melissa Breyer for Care2.com

I, for one, love the idea that there are superfoods–certain edibles that go the extra mile in terms of nutritional chutzpah. They may not leap tall buildings, but superfoods are purported to fight the evil villains of heart disease, high cholesterol, cancer and a host of other diseases. Blueberries, for example, have become a superfood darling for their powerful punch of antoxidants–and I have to say, they do seem pretty mighty to me.

That said, I think some of the trendy superfoods are stealing the spotlight from the true heart of the matter–from the everyday heroes. It seems to me that almost any grain or produce that is grown organically, unprocessed and prepared gently has much to offer. Aside from just a listing of antioxidant values, I can’t see a list of ten superfoods that earn obvious rank. In fact, if you look at 10 “Top 10 Superfoods” lists, you will see that they vary widely.

The truth is, most good food from nature is pretty super. So with that in mind, I like taking a seasonal approach. Rather than debating the merits of acai berries over goji berries, I prefer to look at what’s in season, and work with the nutritional workhorses that I can get here and now. These are my favorites for fall, based primarily on nutritional variety and strength, but that also give me that primal, sensuous satisfaction that comes with eating what’s in season:

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Inca Peanuts, an Ancient Superfood, Beneficial for Health and Weight Loss

Inca peanuts, also called sacha inchi nuts, are cultivated in the Andes Mountains of Peru. Loved for centuries by the Incas, Inca peanuts have recently been plugged by Dr. Oz as a superfood.

Historians believe that the sacha inchi plant (which produces the seeds we know as Inca peanuts) has been used by the natives of Peru for over 3,000 years. Images of the sacha inchi plant in Incan tombs are thought to be proof of this long-ago cultivation. The seeds are shelled and eaten raw, roasted, with sugar on top, or as an oil in traditional recipes. It’s also used as a cosmetic facial cream in some areas.

For those of us who live far from the Andes, Inca peanuts remain elusive. It can be hard to find them and the high cost of special ordering deters a lot of people so don’t be afraid to start off with a small order. Hopefully, availability will increase as time goes on and more people show an interest in the new health food- although there’s really nothing new about a centuries-old Amazonian plant.

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