Food, the real drive of life. Don’t deny that no matter how much you would like to get away from it, you could never get away from your favorite snack foods and cravings. Sometimes, you just got to healthy it up, though. There are several foods we could try to replace our favorites, but here are some of the healthiest and most nutritious foods you could eat. You probably haven’t tried them yet…
Kale
We all loved it when Moma would tell us to eat our vegetables. Moma was right, and you should have listened to her. One green, leafy vegetable she never fed you, though, was kale. Boil up a cup of kale and consume. You just got your daily value of vitamin A times two! On top of this, you’ll take in a little bit of the B-complex vitamins, some vitamin C, as well as a bountiful amount of calcium. Kale takes a conisuer’s tongue, so the taste may not be for everyone. Check out other similar greens like Swiss chard, collards, and mustard greens if you just can’t swallow Kale.
Avocado
I, for one, love avocado! To bad it costs 5 dollars for a small dip-bowl of guaccamole in Thailand, otherwise I’d be eating it everyday, especially after knowing this information. It contains pockets of monosaturated, cholesterol lowering nutrients making it extremely healthy for your heart. It also contains proteins, vitamins A, B, and E, potassium, as well as copper (a nutrient not normally found in non-meat foods).
Barley
Barley seems to be a long lost and forgotten food source. Used in a plentiful amount in our history, it is all but lost unless you are getting it from your alcohol, beers, and wines (which is good in small amounts, occasionally…) Barley’s can provide one with 25% of a person’s daily value of fiber in just one cup. It also contains high fields of potassium, protein, and iron. Other grains in barley’s family can only help it’s benefits, too.
Lentils
The lentil is a popular ingredient of thick stews, soups and chili, but outside of that scope, many people just don’t eat them. You should consider it though, because of its high protein and fiber aspects. A cup of lentil will provide your body with nearly 50 percent of your necessary daily intake of protein; it will give you a 65% boost in your fiber consumption. Lentils are also high in iron, calcium, B vitamins, copper, phosphorus, and potassium. I forgot to mention one more thing, though. There is no fat.
Soybeans
One cup of soybeans can take 40% of your daily value of protein off your list of things to do for the day. You will also find it fulfilling some fiber, calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium needs. The FDA loves soybeans so much that they added to a list of foods that can help reduce the chances of forming heart harming illnesses. Menopausal women make claims that consuming soybeans can lower the heat from hot flashes, but the estrogen in it may increase the risk of breast cancer.
Sweet Potato
Need a little vitamin A in your diet. This Thanksgiving favorite can fill it for a week! A cup of our favorite potato can fill five times the daily value of vitamin A. There are also featured as high resources of vitamin C and numerous other minerals such as calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus. As with lentils, sweet potatos are a fat-free miracle.
Dried Figs
You will not find figs in Fig Newtons (Dissappointing, I know), but you will find them in any grocery store! I highly recommend you go pick some up as they are extremely high in calcium. Eat just 10, and you’ve matched the calcium percentages of a cup of milk. You’ll also get plenty of fiber, Bi-complex vitamins, a little potassium, and iron to sprinkle the top.
