Healthy Eating

Elaine Palmer posted 24 August 2012

3 Fresh ingredients for summer

Summer is the season for cooking fresh and fabulous feasts. The summer months bring ripe and juicy produce that nearly falls off the vines, farmers markets in their fullest glory, and perfect weather for celebrating the bountiful harvest in your very own backyard.
Three summer all-stars are tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Delicious and versatile, this trio is also incredibly healthy.

Tomatoes
Although commonly regarded and categorized as a vegetable, the tomato is really a fruit, a very healthful one. Tomatoes are known for being exceptionally high in lycopene, a carotids that has antioxidant properties and may help prevent cancer and heart disease. Eating tomatoes with fat (try to choose a healthy fat source like avocado, olive oil, or nuts) increases your body's ability to absorb the lycopene.
Besides that famous carotids, tomatoes are also a rich source of vitamin C, foliate (folic acid), riboflavin, and chromium, each with its own extensive list of health benefits.

For the tastiest tomatoes, grow them yourself or buy them from a farmers market or road-side produce stand. That ensures that your tomatoes are fresh from the vine—and healthier, too. Although tomatoes that have been shipped from across the country are still technically tomatoes, the flavour and texture doesn’t even remotely compare to those that are freshly picked. Select tomatoes with a deep rich colour and smooth skin and store them on the countertop, where they’ll keep for a few days. Never refrigerate tomatoes as it changes the flavour and texture.

Cucumbers
Boasting a unique and refreshing flavour, cucumbers (they're technically fruits, too) make a cooling snack for hot summer days. They’re also a good source of water, fibre, and nutrients like vitamin C. But the real nutritional benefits come from the skin, which contains minerals like silica, potassium and magnesium. Silica is an essential component of healthy connective tissue, important for your skin, bones and joints. So eating unpeeled cucumbers is essential. Unfortunately, when conventional growing methods are used, the peel also contains the bulk of the pesticide residue, too, and conventional cucumbers should always be peeled to reduce your pesticide exposure. So you'll reap the greatest health benefits of cucumbers if you buy organic ones.
Besides providing vitamins and minerals to your body when you eat them, cucumbers can also supply nutrients directly to your skin when applied externally. Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and caffeic acid are two compounds in cucumbers thought to prevent water retention. Applying cucumber slices over the eyelids can help relieve swollen eyes and other minor skin irritations.
Choose firm, medium to dark green cucumbers that are unwaxed and organic, and store them in the fridge.

Bell Peppers
Available in practically all shades of the rainbow, bell peppers all start off green, then ripen to their eventual shades of red, yellow, orange, and even purple. (That's why green peppers are the least expensive; they take less time and care to grow.) When they ripen, they become sweeter, especially if allowed to ripen on the vine in the sunlight. They are excellent sources of the antioxidants vitamin C and beta carotene and also contain good amounts of Vitamin B6.
Select peppers that are firm and smooth, have fresh-looking stems and no wrinkles on their skin. Store them in the crisper of your refrigerator, where they will keep for a week. They can also be frozen (whole or chopped) and added to soups and stews throughout the winter. And you may want to consider buying only organically produced bell peppers.

Elaine Palmer posted 24 August 2012

6 Marvelous Mock Meats

Whether you're going meat-free for religious or personal reasons, your body will thank you. Giving up meat from time to time has a tremendous effect on your health, so we can all benefit from learning about alternate and affordable plant-based proteins. Check out these half dozen meat-free staples!

Lentils
Lentils are a cheap and versatile protein source. On nights when you're pressed for time, throw some lentils in a pot, along with a bit of onion and garlic. Add twice as much broth as lentils and let them simmer for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, steam some broccoli or spinach, heat up some brown rice and drizzle on a bit of curry or tomato sauce. Dinner's on the table in less than 20 minutes!

Tofu
Few foods are as polarizing as tofu. Say the word and watch as noses crinkle or mouths water. Tofu, also known as soybean curd, is made by soaking, boiling, blending and straining soybeans, then adding a coagulating agent and pressing it. Think of tofu as the other white meat. Like chicken, it's a versatile protein, a blank canvas on which to test your culinary prowess.

TVP
It looks a bit like cereal, but it smells saltier and tastes more savoury than sweet. It's a cheap, versatile and incredibly easy to use protein source that is sometimes hard to distinguish from minced meat when added to a recipe. It's TVP: Textured Vegetable Protein.

Demystify this vegetarian protein, which can be used in everything from chilli and meatballs to tacos and shepherd's pie.

 Black Beans
Many of us could live on black beans and rice and several cultures do! Black beans are cheap. Once cooked they can be frozen and easily added to your favourite recipes.

Tempeh
What is tempeh (pronounced tem-pay)? Tempeh is a fermented product made from soybeans, but it's not pungent like sauerkraut. When crumbled or grated, tempeh has the texture of minced  meat.

Elaine Palmer posted 24 August 2012

Best and Worst Salad Toppings Not Every Salad is a Healthy One

A few years back I typed up a list of New Year’s resolutions on a small piece of cardstock, laminated it, and put it in my wallet. On that list was the resolution to eat a salad every day, simply because eating salad always made me feel like I was doing something good for myself. After all, salad provides several vitamins and can fill you up while reducing your caloric intake. What could be healthier than a big, fresh salad?

Unfortunately, many things, as I later found out. Salads can run the gamut of healthiness, depending on what is in them. Although that big bowl of greens may be packed full of antioxidants and fibre, it can also be laden with fat, cholesterol, and sodium, not to mention an overabundance of calories. Some restaurant salads can even contain more calories than a cheeseburger!

Luckily, like most things in life, a salad is the outcome of several small decisions. To make sure you don't sabotage your healthy diet unintentionally, choose wisely the next time you order a salad from a restaurant or visit the salad bar. When dining out, don't be afraid to ask questions, make special requests (extra veggies, dressing on the side, light cheese) and ask about substitutions (like grilled chicken for breaded). Most restaurants will be happy to accommodate you as long as their kitchen is stocked with the ingredients you want. Here’s how to choose wisely next time you're making a salad at home or choosing one from a menu.

Lettuce
The foundation of most salads, lettuce adds substance, crunch, water, and fibre for very few calories—only about 10 per cup. But if you want all that and vitamins, too, toss out the iceberg and toss in the romaine, mixed baby greens and spinach. While iceberg lettuce is lower in nutrients (and still makes a decent choice if it's the only thing available), these other greens are rich in vitamins A, C and K, manganese.

Protein
Adding protein, such as lean meat, tofu, eggs or beans, will help bulk up your salad and keep you full longer. Unfortunately, many protein toppings are deep-fried, breaded and greasy, which adds unnecessary calories plus cholesterol, sodium and fat to your salad. Skimp on fattier toppings such as bacon and fried (breaded) chicken strips, and go for lean proteins instead. Grilled chicken, canned beans of all kinds, chickpeas, tofu, hardboiled eggs (especially whites), or water-packed tuna are leaner choices. Nuts and seeds are popular in salads, too, and while they’re a healthy source of good fats and some protein, they’re not exactly low-cal. If you choose to add them, watch your portions (1/2 ounce contains more than 80 calories).

Cheese
Restaurants know that people love cheese, so they tend to pile on multiple servings of it on their salads. It might be tasty, but it sends the calorie counts sky high! While cheese is a nutritious food that adds flavour, calcium, and protein to a salad, enjoy it in moderation due to its high fat content. Just a half-cup of cheddar cheese (the amount on many large restaurant salads) contains 18 grams of fat and 225 calories. To keep calories in check, use a single serving of cheese (approximately 2 tablespoons). Choose low-fat varieties as much as possible to save on saturated fat and calories. A smaller amount of a stronger-flavored cheese, such as Brie, feta, chevre, Gorgonzola, sharp cheddar or bleu cheese will go a long way in helping you cut down on your portions.


Pile on the Veggies
Vegetables like bell peppers, grated carrots, sugar snap peas, and tomatoes provide flavour, fibre, and vitamins for few calories. Grated carrots, for example, have only 45 calories in a whole cup, and there are only about 20 calories in an entire red bell pepper. When building your best salad, use as many veggies as possible for extra filling power and a nice crunch! Practice moderation when it comes to starchy vegetable toppings like corn and potatoes, which are higher in calories. And remember to go for a variety of colours to ensure you're getting several different nutrients and antioxidants in your salad bowl.

Don't Forget the Fruit
Don't leave fruit on the sidelines! Fresh, canned and dried fruits add a sweetness that can help temper the slightly bitter taste of greens and veggies. They also provide colour and texture (not to mention nutrition) to your salad bowl. Chopped apples, pears, grapes, or mandarin oranges (canned in juice not syrup and drained) are excellent salad toppers. Chewy dried fruits (cranberries, raisins) work well, too, but they are also high in calories (so only use a sprinkle!). Avocados (and the guacamole made from them) are creamy and nutritious thanks to their heart-healthy fats, but they're also a concentrated sources of calories. Keep your use of avocado to a minimum if you're watching your weight.

Crunchy Toppings
Sesame sticks, crispy noodles and croutons are salty and crunchy but conceal lot of hidden fat. Better options include water chestnuts, apple slivers, a small serving of nuts, crumbled whole-grain crackers, and homemade croutons. To make your own low-fat croutons, just slice a large clove of garlic and rub it over both sides of a piece of whole-grain bread. Cut the bread into cubes and then brown it in the toaster or conventional oven.

Dressing
A very healthy salad could go very wrong with one too many shakes of oil or dressing. The main issue with dressing is its fat and sodium content and the fact that people have trouble controlling their portions. Two tablespoons is an appropriate serving of dressing, but most restaurants serve much more than that, whether mixed in to your salad or served on the side. Those calories add up fast. When dining out, always ask for dressing on the side and dip your fork into the dressing before picking up your bite of salad. Caesar, ranch and other cream-based dressings (when not specified as low-fat) are calorie bombs worth avoiding. Look for dressings specified as "low-fat" that contain no more than 60 calories per serving. You can also add flavour for minimal calories by using salsa, vinegar or lemon juice.

Salad may be the symbol of healthy eating, but not every salad is healthful or diet-friendly. The healthfulness of your next salad depends on the simple choices you make when topping or dressing it. Perhaps my greatest discovery about salads was that because you can customize them so easily, you could make a huge main-course salad for a very small amount of calories. Pile in the lettuce and veggies, add a moderate amount of lean protein, sprinkling some cheese and a little something crunchy and measure a portion-controlled side of dressing, and you’ve got a dinner that won’t leave you feeling hungry.

Elaine Palmer posted 18 September 2012

Over 100 Super Foods for a Super You

Include These Foods for Maximum Body Benefits

Calcium-Rich Foods
 

Fruits
 

Grains
 

Proteins
 

Miscellaneous