Our Top Ten Foods!

This week let's discuss our Top Ten Foods, that is! Last week we discussed the "Power of Food" and yes we all want to be thinner, more fit, and healthier. One concrete step we can take is to eat foods that offer us the most overall benefit to accomplish our goals (notice, we're talking about what we can add to our diet, not take away!). So, this week's tip is a list of  "Our Top Ten"  favorite foods that is, which are healthy, contribute to disease prevention, aid our weight management efforts, and are delicious especially if we prepare with some creativity! Oh, please forgive me, I couldn't stick to just ten foods, but I consider them all top winners! So, when I say our top ten, I am referring to the foods that "I" recommend eating regularly (with a few not-as healthy foods eaten in-between). I hope you'll choose to make them your top too.

Here goes just a quick look at our top foods
Yogurt: As close to a #1 food as it gets, my motto is " A Yogurt a Day". Loaded with nutrients such as high quality bone building calcium, high quality protein, vital B vitamins with healthy immune boosting bacteria known as probiotics (the kind that line our gastrointestinal tract). A great food, snack or snack topping; it's portable and easy to find. Now studies indicate that those of us who have diets high in low fat dairy products, have an easier time staying trim!

Oatmeal: Yes, oatmeal! And not just in cold snowy weather. It is a great source of a long lasting stick- to -the ribs energy food all year long,  full of good energy carbs, vitamins, minerals and fiber with heart health benefits (not just a slogan, but scientifically proven).

Salmon: Higher in fat than our other fishes, but the Omega-3 fatty acids that are essential to our skin, brain, heart and arteries to name a few. What more can we ask for in a tasty fatty food?

Legumes: I Label these beans as a "Powerhouse Food" in one of my tips. Legumes are a powerful energy food with vitamins, minerals, iron, B vitamins, and fiber along with an almost equal proportion of quality protein included in the list of meat alternatives. Legumes also contain a high proportion of soluble and insoluble fiber, disease fighting  phytochemicals and just like oatmeal, they stick to our ribs leaving us fuller longer. I add a variety of legumes to my daily salads too (plugging my book here!).

Cabbage: Okay, I can hear it now, ugh cabbage? Cabbage is a cruciferous veggie just as is Broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. I chose cabbage because of its versatility. Cruciferous vegetables contain several cancer fighting phytochemicals as well as loads of other nutrients. Cabbage can be eaten whole or shredded, raw or cooked, and it can be added to soups, salads, and sandwiches. I add  raw red cabbage every day to my dinner salads, and not only am I getting full, but I'm chewing my way to lean-ness.

Tomato: The tomato's recent claim to fame is its high content of Lycopene, a disease fighting phytochemical known especially to be helpful in the fight against prostate cancer. And since the tomato is so popular, versatile, widely available, tasty raw or cooked, I rate it a "Superstar Food". Feeding your prostate? Drink tomato juice (a great  natural appetite suppressant when arriving at a restaurant) and eat lot's of tomato sauce (High blood pressure, watch the sodium though).

Spinach: While spinach has made the top ten list, it's not for its iron content which is not fully absorbed into our body (sorry Popeye). However, when it comes to "Feeding our Eyes", spinach contains all the right phytochemicals. In fact, the retina in our eyes has the highest concentration of phytochemical pigments that need replenishing especially as we age. Spinach also contains loads of B vitamins so it's healthy for our heart, our nerves and vital for new cell growth (hear about folate recently for prevention of neurological disease in newborns?).

Asparagus: A new addition to my list based upon some new research, asparagus just may help relieve a hangover (good for Superbowl parties?). A study reported in the Journal of Food Science, reported that the amino acids and minerals in asparagus may ease hangovers and protect liver cells from the toxins in alcohol, which are metabolized by the liver! I love my asparagus in grilled with a drizzle of olive oil added to my daily salads. And yes, I know all about the odors when we visit the restroom, but rest assure, it's the very sulfur compounds being excreted that are part of the phytochemcials, that make asparagus so healthy!

Sweet Potatoes: Sweet, starchy and loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C and our valuable B's, this potato is only about 120 calories for an average 5 incher. If we get creative, we can have one as a mini meal (great stuffed), snack, or make them baked as fries, or even chips. Don't we just love potatoes?

Popcorn: Popcorn, you ask? Yes, snack foods are important, so popcorn heads the list. Crunchy, low calorie, very low fat (if hot air popped!), and it takes a longer time to eat than other snack foods (valuable for us overeaters) . Popcorn has the highest amount of fiber for a snack food too. So, popcorn is not just for movies, it's for Superbowl party time too! Let's make it fresh in a hot air popper and sprits with non calorie non trans-fat butter spray.

Banana: The banana made my list since almost everyone loves bananas, but most of us think that they are fattening! Well, at about 120 calories for a medium one, loaded with potassium, vitamin C, sweet and starchy, they make my list. Bananas are also versatile. Satisfy the starch urge by adding them to a fruit salad or cereal; thicken up a smoothie; stuff one in a bag to go; eat one on the run and even buy one at those fruit stands (we're less likely to get food poisoning from a banana because of the peel).

Cottage Cheese: Okay, this makes 12 foods, but I couldn't resist. For those of us who can get past the "diet category" of cottage cheese, it makes a great substitute for many cheeses. I love cheese and for me, low-fat cottage cheese can substitute for goat cheese in a salad, or ricotta in a pasta dish, American cheese in an egg omelet, and I even add it to my oatmeal. Let's not forget that I make my low fat egg salad recipe with it. Cottage cheese is high in protein, calcium and when we choose the low fat kind ( I love Friendship 1% because it's creamy), we've got a great source of a dairy food. Can we give cottage cheese a chance?
 
So there it is, just some of the foods that make "Our Top Ten" list to eat more often, which might be easier to do than what many of us focus on, not eating all those "bad" tasty foods. Look below for the link to  my food page, for info on a category of food called Naturally Resistant Starches, important to our health and foods that help satisfy our cravings! Also, follow me every Sunday on twitter for a new tool from my program.

Here's to our Health!

June M Lay M.S.
www.junefit.com
My book It's Not a Diet, it's Creative Eating! is available now at Amazon. Read more about losing fat weight safely and permanently here at http://www.junefit.com/tips_weightlosshp.htm and click here to read about Naturaly Resistant Starches, more food that we should focus on to eat!

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