photo via Laylita's RecipesWhen I was a kid, my
grandmother never relied upon the classic "Because I said so!" when pressed with the ubiquitous "Why?" Instead, she would give very concrete, inarguable reasons supporting her statements and if she wasn't quite certain, she'd make something up that sounded good. For instance, when she'd encourage me to try a beet, she said, "It's good for you. It's good for your blood." Which is reasonable, right? After all, blood is everywhere. And also, almost the same color as a beet. It convinced the 8-year-old me, anyway, so I tried beets and whaddya know, actually loved them.
Nutritionist Dr. Johnny Bowden has better, more believable reasons that you should eat certain foods and identifies
11 foods that you're probably not eating but should. Except...well, that's great and everything, but the thought of a beet, sardine, turmeric, prune and pumpkin salad is really nauseating. The
Times article gives a few ideas (and
Men's Health published the original list along with some recipes
a few months back), but here are some more recipes for each of the 11 foods, in case you're like me and need a little more inspiration than "combine with yogurt."
- Cabbage: Pomegranate seeds, cinnamon and red cabbage all team together to make one side dish of awesome.
- Swiss Chard: If you're like me, you'll eat just about anything in a pastry crust. Lace it with goat cheese and your kids won't even notice the swiss chard and beets hiding in these empanadas. And if I ever find a store that carries lime pickle, I'm all over this.
- Cinnamon: Oh, you know how to do this one, but remember, it doesn't have to be sweet, like this amazing breakfast cinnamon quinoa from our dream girl Heidi. Please tell me that the cinnamon in your spice cupboard is fresh and cost more than 99 cents? The light orange-y cheap stuff is totally fake and doesn't have the health properties of the real deal from a reputable spice purveyor.
- Pomegranate Juice: Use this in anything where you need a touch of acid, like salad dressings or vodka drinks or even guacamole. And how decadent is pomegranate and blueberry ice cream? And good for you too? If we must.
- Dried Plums: Okay, so they're really more
commonly called prunes but this pantry staple isn't just for when you
need more fiber. Throw some into your stock pot to lend a complex
earthiness to your stews, like this amazing Beef Guinness version, or just chop them up and toss a little sweetness into your summer salads.
- Pumpkin Seeds.
I keep a container of these in my desk drawer for snacking and they're
an automatic in trail mix or as a replacement for nuts in baked goods,
but I never would have thought of using them to make a sauce for poultry or as a component in a Mexican tuna tostada.
- Sardines: I'm super creeped out by sardines but Jennifer swears that this pasta dish will make me change my mind and yours.
- Turmeric: These Malaysian Turmeric and Honey Wings have piqued my interest. I may have to modify the recipe and try it on chicken breasts at upcoming summer barbecues.
- Frozen Blueberries: Another easy peasy. Here's a blueberry cinnamon foccacia, cinnamon cakes with blueberry cream and, just to make you groan with deliciousness, blueberry sour cream ice cream!
And a big hit at a recent cocktail party was sparkling blueberry juice
with white rum, that one guest exclaimed tasted just like alcoholic
blueberry pie. Yummers.
- Canned Pumpkin: Wow, how great is pumpkin if it ended up on the Superfoods list twice? Sure, you can throw this into pies, muffins and every sweet thing imaginable (it adds amazing moistness to chocolate cake) but isn't it more fun to make dinner out of it, like the triple blast of nutrition you get in a pumpkin, black bean and lentil soup?
- Beets: Lemon-roasted beet salad with feta cheese is yummy enough to tantalize even the staunchest beet hater and again, who can resist this tower of power that looks just like a Jell-O salad?
Go forth and become super healthy! Don't forget, it's good for your blood!
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Beets are insanely yummy. I discovered them this winter and I can't live without them. Not the canned, obviously, but skin them, toss them with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper and you have the most delicious, most prettiest side dish. Make lots of extras and put the cold roasted beets on your salads. Add some pumpkin seeds, if you so desire.
Seriously, I love me some beets.
I'm convinced cabbage is one of the most underrated vegetables ever. It's crunchy, cheap, can be eaten cooked or raw and I just read it has a very low carbon footprint. How to eat it? Make the best slaw ever: chop up half a green cabbage and half a red cabbage. Add maybe 2 shredded carrots and some shredded beets if you really want to go superfood nuts. Maybe toss in a clove or two of finely chopped garlic and some chopped chiles if you like it spicy. If you like, add some other vegetables (I sometimes use very thinly sliced red pepper.) Then, sprinkle some salt and about 2 limes worth of lime juice on the veggies. Then add 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds (pepitas) and 1/2 cup of golden raisins. Mix up a dressing with another lime or two of juice, 2 tbsp of lite mayo and half a cup of nonfat plain yogurt (greek or Trader Joe's European style is the best.) I've tried it with full fat yogurt and mayo, and here, the nonfat is just as good. Toss in a few shakes of chili pepper or a spoonful or two of the sauce from chiles in adobo sauce. Mix up the dressing and toss it on the slaw. Maybe garnish with some chives or some scallions, if you remember. It's best if you wait maybe 1/2 hour to eat to let the cabbage soften. This stuff is awesome and you can eat it for lunch (protein comes from the yogurt and the pepitas.) Of course, I advise to follow with peppermint tea or breathmints as this is potent stuff. I would eat this even if wasn't healthy.
I love me some cabbage. :D My favorite way to eat it, just finely slice the cabbage. Toss some butter in a skillet and start sauteeing the cabbage with some thinly sliced onion. Add some kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. If you want, you can add a bit of stock or broth and let that reduce down to a nice sauce. Cabbage is sweet and so good for you. I also like it in soups!
I stumbled upon your blog through Shine and I love it! I'm going to be following your writing.
I've lost almost 100 lbs and gone from a totally unhealthy, couch potato to a big believer in the importance of being healthy and fit. You can read more about me: http://buzz.prevention.com/community/category/trimom73
I love these ideas. I already used canned pumpkin a lot but need to venture into some of the other ideas!