Experts keep telling us to eat healthy and the super foods we should be adding in to our diets, but they don’t always tell us how. When you get to meal times you grab what’s habit and safe. Don’t dodge the issue today for tomorrow, load your body with nutrient rich fuel it can use.
Spinach – one of the best sources of potassium though also rich in Vitamins K and A, plus manganese, folate and iron. Yes, you can add spinach to smoothies and soups, but try it chopped up with lettuce in a salad, chopped up in a curry or stirred through a quiche.
Brussel Sprouts - …these little blighters are jam packed with goodness. 1 cup cooked has 195% of vitamin K and 125% of vitamin C, plus then folate, potassium and manganese. Steamed is old school, try roasting them with olive oil and then tossing them in balsamic vinegar to enhance their flavour or you can always slice them up and sauté them with oil, bacon and pine nuts, as an introduction into your household.
Almonds – these tree nuts are bursting with vitamin E, biotin, manganese, copper, magnesium, phosphorus and fibre. You can use these as a grazing snack by themselves or add slivered almonds to your salads or stir-fries as an added texture.
Cauliflower – this power house vegetable contains vitamin C, K, B12, folate, choline (aids in memory and muscle control), thiamine, niacin and magnesium. It can be eaten raw instead of crackers with a dip or as a rice substitute once little blended or grated. You can roast cauliflower by breaking it into florets or cutting it into slices then tossing it in olive oil, sprinkle with preferred seasoning then into the oven at 205C for 25-30min. The edges will brown and the cauliflower will get a nutty, sweet flavour.
Sunflower Seeds – these seeds tiny can still pack a punch. They contain Vitamin E, B1, and B6, copper, manganese, selenium, phosphorus, magnesium and folate. Treat these little beauties like nuts, you can even grind them into sunflower seed meal and use in place of almond meal to make food nut free.
Raspberries – these natural little candies are pumped full of Vitamin C, E, K, manganese, folate, potassium, biotin, magnesium, copper and antioxidants. Fresh, frozen or freeze dried gives you all year access to these wonders. Add they to your yogurt in the morning with some seeds or nuts, toss them through a salad for an extra burst of flavour and colour. Don’t forget about adding the good old raspberry into smoothies too.
Sweet Potatoes – bright and full of flavour sweet potatoes (kumara) also contain beta-carotene, this gives the orange colour, Vitamin A, C, B6, potassium, manganese, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, thiamine, riboflavin and folate. Mix it up at home, use kumara for mash one night, add diced up pieces to your curry, hide it into cakes while baking (It works wonderfully in a brownie).
Kale – this leafy green is mega-packed with essential nutrients and vitamins like vitamin A, C, K plus minerals like copper, potassium, manganese, calcium, phosphorus and iron. Anything spinach can do, kale can do. So add it to your morning green smoothie or omelette, sliced up for a salad at lunch or tossed through a stir fry for dinner.
Mushrooms – these fun guys are a killer nutritional package that contain copper, selenium, riboflavin, potassium, zinc, thiamine, manganese, choline, folate and phosphorus. As with all vegetables, never over cook mushrooms or you will destroy all the nutritional (soft and mushy, is not good). Instead sauté them with a little garlic and oil then add almonds and kale for a side dish. Up the antioxidants and add them to a risotto or try a meat free night and make a mushroom stroganoff.
There are some amazing foods available now, whether it is at the local supermarket or down to a local growers market. Try one new thing a week, step out of old habits and embrace new ones. You never know what you may dig up and find delicious.
At Lakeside Chiropractic Joondalup -6027 we are central to Perth northern suburbs and have information on a variety of dietary requirements for all our visitors. We service Currambine – 6028, Kinross – 6028, Edgewater – 6027, Woodvale – 6026, Hillarys – 6025, Padbury – 6025 and Greenwood – 6024. Please ask when in at your next appointment.
