Cook Like Mad

So my breakfast this morning, as you can see in the pic, involved some of my all-time favorite breakfast treats: yogurt, raw honey, blueberries, and dried fruit. For a long time now I’ve been interested in “superfoods.” Yes, way before it became cool to bond with mystery jungle purple foods rich in antioxidants, I was all over blueberries, dark chocolate bars, prunes and broccoli like a drunk college student on a 2am breakfast sandwich- you know who you are.

Growing up with a mother who loved these foods explains my gravitation to them, but it’s not just about my palate recognizing healthy food from my childhood; it’s also about visual appeal. I mean, just look at this colorful list of a few of my favorite superfoods below:

10 Superfoods and their benefits:

• Allium family edibles, like garlic and onion- fights heart disease, bacterias, cancers (esp. oral, throat, ovarian)
• Beans- helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure, stabilize blood sugar, lowers risk of heart disease
• Blueberries- boosts memory and brain function, immune system, and vision
• Broccoli- boosts memory function, fights cancer
  
• Grapes (red)- helps reduce cardiovascular disease, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant
• Oats- helps reduce cholesterol
• Oranges- helps prevent arthritis, and by reducing free-radical damage to DNA, helps prevent cancers.
• Pumpkin- promotes lung health, helps prevent artery plaque and colon cancer, lowers blood pressure.
• Salmon (wild)- helps protect against heart disease and other inflammatory diseases
• Spinach- provides more nutrients than any other food, per calorie; promotes bone, brain, heart and eye health
• Tea (green)- boosts immune system, helps prevent tumors, cancer, heart disease and stroke risk
• Tomatoes- boosts immune system, cancer fighting (esp. prostate cancer)
• Walnuts- helps reduce artery plaque and heart disease with Omega-3s
• Yogurt- live active cultures promote healthy digestion

It’s no coincidence that all of these foods have deep pigmentation, of course. The colors are nature’s way of alerting us that they’re extra nutritious. I say “extra” nutritious only because there exist innumerable varieties of fruits, vegetables, grains, spices, herbs, and natural proteins that have some health benefits, but “superfoods” like the ones listed above are especially nutrient-dense. For more information on this subject, check out one of my favorite health websites, World’s Healthiest Foods.

Also, if you’re interested in the nutrient breakdowns of more than just the world’s healthiest foods, go to NutritionData.com for detailed reports on both health and junk foods. You can even search their database to find only the foods that are highest in specific nutrients, to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your bite.

No recipe in this entry, but come back tomorrow for a twist on a Nigella Lawson recipe from her book, “How to be a Domestic Goddess.”