This is the last in my series of four articles about the superfoods that are not just good for us, they have also been shown to help prevent serious conditions including cancer, high blood pressure and heart disease. I’ve been using the food in these articles plus the vitamins and minerals suggested in my previous articles about detox diets, and I was startled today to see I’ve lost 5kg since New Year while eating heartily and healthily. Today I’ll carry on with the sources of protein in this article, and I’ll certainly be carrying on with this great way of eating!
Nuts are a good and popular source of protein and peanuts, along with other nuts, have been shown to lower the risk of heart disease by more than 20%. They contain unsaturated fat which helps the body eliminate so-called ‘bad fats’. Instead of reaching for sweets, crisps, biscuits and other snacks it’s good to keep plenty of nuts nearby to beat hunger attacks between meals. I had peanuts and raisins for breakfast with a cup of dandelion root coffee.
Protein also comes from certain grains. Quinoa is my favourite and contains more protein than any other grain, as well as iron, vitamin B2 and magnesium. It’s an excellent substitute for rice or pasta, and it’s such a fine grain that you can also add it to soups and stews. If you can’t find it in the supermarket you will find it in the health store, and it’s best to rinse it first as it can have a bitter taste otherwise. If you rinse it you might find you prefer it to pasta or rice as it has a lovely slight crunch to it.
Wheat germ is another good grain, but watch out for wheat if you tend to put weight on around the abdomen. This can be a sign of a wheat intolerance and it’s worth trying a wheat and dairy-free diet if you’re having trouble losing weight in other ways. Wheat germ provides magnesium and vitamin E, which is good for the skin. Wheat germ is generally sprinkled on other foods such as yoghurt, cereal or fruit salads.
Last but definitely not least are the pulses, which vegetarians know to include in their diets, and which also form an important part of the healthy Mediterranean diet. Lentils are a great pulse to include in cooking as they’re quick to cook, unlike some of the others. They provide protein and are the best plant-based provider of protein after soybeans and hemp. Lentils also provide iron, and have been part of the human diet since Neolithic times.
Not surprisingly lentils form a major part of the diet in vegetarian regions of the world including the Indian subcontinent. Lentils also contain isoflavones which are believed to help prevent breast cancer, and they also have a good amount of fibre to help keep the heart healthy. Canned lentils are still good for you and this is a very versatile pulse to add to soups, curries or to try in a variety of recipes. In Italy it’s believed that eating lentils in the new year will bring you money, so fry some garlic and onion finely chopped in extra virgin olive oil, pour in a can of chopped tomatoes then an equal amount of water, put in about half a teacup of lentils and simmer until the sauce reduces and the lentils are cooked. Whereas the Italians like to put pork sausage into this to stew you could put in some vegetarian ones to stay with the superfood theme.
The other pulses to make it on to the superfoods list are pinto beans, and these should be in the health store if hard to get anywhere else. Pinto beans contain folate which is good protection for the heart. Like most pulses you can get these canned and put them into your soups and stews.
That’s it for the superfoods, and I’ll be getting them to keep my diet healthy for 2010. If you have any recipes for these foods post them here as I’d love to try them out. Thanks for the recipes some of you are sending me personally, and if you’d post them here we can all share them and I could also find them easily.
Add A Comment