Cinnamon: A Gift for a King
The widely used and loved spice, cinnamon, seems to be a major superhero in fighting disease and promoting our health. It's just the inner bark of a Cinnamomum tree, yet has been highly valued for centuries as both a medicine and a spice fit for kings. Only a half teaspoon of cinnamon per day can help fight disease, promote our health, and maybe even help us think better. It's an easy and delicious fix!
Black Rice: The Emperor's Rice
This royal rice is the rice to eat! In fact, it's known as Forbidden Rice in China since black rice was so rare, tasty, and nutritious that only the emperors were allowed to eat it. This nutritious rice isn't forbidden anymore, so we can all take advantage of its amazing nutrition and disease-protective power.
Grape Greatness
We've all heard that red wine is beneficial to our health, but it’s actually the grapes used to make wine that provide such amazing health benefits. These delicious berries may even help us live longer.
Super Seaweed Nutrition
It turns out that this sea vegetable not only tastes amazing but is the ultimate super-food, providing a wide range of nutrients not commonly found in other foods. If you keep an open mind, you can experience the umami flavor while improving your health. Plus, it's easier than you think to add into your diet. You're in for a treat!
Plant-Based Protein Boost: Hemp Seeds
This high-protein seed is commonly confused with marijuana, but it's actually from a different plant in the same family. Although it doesn't contain the psychoactive substance found in marijuana, it is loaded with impressive nutrients.
Sweet Soothing Cherries
Life is sweeter with cherries, and it appears to be healthier too. They appear to reduce risk of diseases like cancer, to reduce hypertension and harmful inflammation, and to relieve sleepless nights and muscle aches. Cherries are the perfect addition to your diet!
From Garnish to Superfood: Watercress
Watercress was used by Hippocrates, the father of medicine, to treat his patients. It also was a staple in Roman soldiers’ diets and is loaded with nutrients to boost your health, trim your waistline, and improve your workouts.
Spring Health Boost: Pineapple Upside Down
Encourage great skin, strong bones, a healthier immune system, better digestion, and happier taste buds by indulging in this naturally sweet, juicy treat.
The Humble but Mighty Cabbage
Common, inexpensive cabbage is chock-full of powerful nutrients that fight disease and promote health in dramatic ways. Below, I will share the best ways to prepare cabbage to maintain its many nutrients and preserve its great flavor.
Simplified Stir-Fry Formula
Stir-fry is a tasty way to eat more vegetables, but I am often asked how to make the stir-fry sauce. The trick is knowing a few key sauce ingredients, and then learning how to tweak the basic recipe to make your favorite type of stir-fry sauce like sesame, sweet & sour, or my favorite, lemon. Then you have the flexibility to combine your sauce with a variety of vegetables and protein choices. You make it easily, because I've broken it down into a few simple formulas.
Turmeric: The Spice of Life
My brother, Bill, has been urging me for some time to choose spices for my monthly challenges. I have decided that it is time! I talk about all the phytonutrients in food, so it's only fair that I point out the powerful boost that spices can give to our health. A half a teaspoon of ground cloves, for instance, contains similar amounts of phytonutrients as half a cup of blueberries, and a teaspoon of dried oregano as one cup of sweet potatoes.
Water: New Science for Weight Loss
I attended a session at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Food & Nutrition Conference this past fall in Atlanta, which honestly made me giddy with excitement. This session, presented by leading researchers in the field, shed new light on the role of water intake and weight loss...
Oil Confusion: Healthiest Oils & Their Heat Limits
Choosing which oils to use for your sautéing, grilling, roasting, and in your salad dressings can be confusing, but your choices matter! Oils have different smoke points where they start to break down and eliminate healthy components, and start to burn, releasing carcinogenic compounds. Check out which oils are best for high-heat use!
Pomegranates: The Crown Jewel of Superfoods
Pomegranates are a part of many cultures around the world and are often symbolic of good fortune, abundance, and as in Persian wedding ceremonies, a joyous future. That seems fitting, since they contain so many powerful nutrients that improve health for a happier future.
Romanesco: The Art & Science Vegetable
Romanesco is as tasty as it is beautiful. It's excellent both raw or cooked. It's crunchier and more flavorful than cauliflower, but the flavor is not overpowering. Romanesco is becoming more and more widely available. Now I even see it grown locally and sold in my favorite stores. Take November's Healthy Challenge and eat Romanesco! We all need to eat more vegetables. Maybe an intriguing vegetable like this is just the trick.
Edamame: Whole Food Fun
Edamame, as a whole food without processing, is the best choice to take advantage of soy's large amount of quality, plant-based protein. It's also loaded with nutrition from vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients, all of which boost our health. It’s a nearly perfect food and an excellent way to start moving to a more plant-based diet. Any past fears about soy's effects have now been eliminated with further research.
Don't Miss a Beet!
Beets are the one root you can't beat! They are full of excellent nutrients and can improve liver health, blood pressure, and mental health. Try them roasted today!
Raspberries: Anthocyanin Power
Take advantage of the delicious fresh raspberries in season now, but don't hesitate to use frozen raspberries all year long, as they are frozen within just hours of being picked. Take July's Healthy Challenge and eat lots of nutrient-rich raspberries to improve your health!
Watermelon Wellness
Summer can be both fun and nutritious! True to it's name, watermelon is about 90% water – it's nature’s gift to beat summer thirst. But along with the water and fruit comes powerful nutrients!