Hey everyone. I did a post a while back about the foods that are in season. Knowing this list is great because these foods should be cheaper at the market and taste better than any other time of the year.
The list of foods in the fall season are as follows:
Carrot
Chestnut
Pumpkin
Sweet Potato
Lettuce
Venison
Lamb
It's a short list, but there are some great things in there
First on the list, carrots, are great for all ages. They do three things really well: they are semi sweet, but pack some fiber; they are loaded with vitamins, specifically A (good for your eyesight!); and they require little prep and can last a while in your fridge. If you see a bag of carrots at the grocery store, pick them up. They are great eating them a la Bugs Bunny (by itself) or you can shred them and put them on just about anything: salads, sandwiches, wraps, soups, casseroles, stir-fries, etc.
Pumpkin is a great vegetable that not enough people use. Pumpkin is packed with vitamin A, and their seeds are packed with protein, magnesium, copper and zinc. The next time you carve out your pumpkin, don't just throw away the seeds. Keep them, clean them of all the pumpkin guts under water, then toss them with a little bit of oil, add some seasonings like paprika or cayenne with salt and pepper to get a real tasty fiery taste, and bake them in the oven until golden brown. This is not only a treat, but an amazing, nutritional, seasonal snack.
Sweet potatoes are great. Literally. I feel like that's all I really need to say. They are loaded with nutrients so much more (specifically vitamin A and potassium) than their partner the normal potato. They are prepared the exact same way, plus can be treated as a dessert when dressed properly to give you a healthy dessert alternative.
Lettuce is good. You know that.
Venison is a great lean soucre of protein for the most part. Just make sure the venison you are eating is clean and disease free. Always be safe, never be sorry.
That's all I have to say about this short list. Keep these foods in your head the next time you go grocery shopping and make sure to pick them up! Enjoy the season change!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Flu Season Diet
I just got my flu shot, which means it's flu season...
So I am a firm believer in food curing the body/"you are what you eat." For this reason, I belive you can give yourself your own kind of "flu shot" by upgrading your diet to include more of certain nutrients. I still recommend getting a flu shot, becuase viruses are no fun, and technically you could still get the bug no matter what you do.
Vitamin C. Well yeah, I think you all saw this one coming. Having a high amount of Vitamin C in your diet will never hurt you (You lose all the extra in the bathroom), and it has shown to improve the immune system. Don't settle for just Vitamin C inside fruit snacks or added to cereals or in pill form. Grab an orange, some pineapple, an apple, etc. The freshest forms will pack the highest quality of the vitamins. You could also try some fresh juice too.
Hydrate! This could be the most important component to any diet ever. Trust me, simply by drinking more water daily, you should see improvements in your diet, digestion, and overall comfort with food. Keeping hydrated can keep runny noses not so stuffy and headaches not so powerful. Try drinking some tea with some polyphenols or antioxidants in it to beef up the efficiency of your drink. Those guys can really help out attacking a cold or flu.
Zinc is one of the newer micronutrients people are consuming more of to combat sickness. It is believed that zinc helps increase white blood cell count (obviously good for fighting off infections and what not). You can get too much zinc, in which case the zinc can interfere and worsen your immune system, so don't go too crazy here. Oysters are packed with the stuff, beats many other foods by a landslide in zinc. Eating more than 5 oysters will put you at the top limits of daily intake of zinc. Other much smaller sources are crab, beef, turkey, and beans.
Omega 3 fatty acids. It's kind of one of those buzz words. Everyone knows you can find it in fish sources. Omega 3's are great for you in that they contribute to healthy cholesterol and lessen unhealthy cholesterol while providing the best kind of fats that your vitamins and minerals can store. On top of those things, omega-3's have been found to boost immune function by increasing the activity of phagocytes. What are those? These are white blood cells that literally eat up bacteria and toxins. Awesome.
These are just some of the ways you can boost your health in preparation for this season. Remember, having an overall healthy diet and consciously eating your food will always give you a healthy lifestyle. From there try to add my tips to increase your health even more!
So I am a firm believer in food curing the body/"you are what you eat." For this reason, I belive you can give yourself your own kind of "flu shot" by upgrading your diet to include more of certain nutrients. I still recommend getting a flu shot, becuase viruses are no fun, and technically you could still get the bug no matter what you do.
Vitamin C. Well yeah, I think you all saw this one coming. Having a high amount of Vitamin C in your diet will never hurt you (You lose all the extra in the bathroom), and it has shown to improve the immune system. Don't settle for just Vitamin C inside fruit snacks or added to cereals or in pill form. Grab an orange, some pineapple, an apple, etc. The freshest forms will pack the highest quality of the vitamins. You could also try some fresh juice too.
Hydrate! This could be the most important component to any diet ever. Trust me, simply by drinking more water daily, you should see improvements in your diet, digestion, and overall comfort with food. Keeping hydrated can keep runny noses not so stuffy and headaches not so powerful. Try drinking some tea with some polyphenols or antioxidants in it to beef up the efficiency of your drink. Those guys can really help out attacking a cold or flu.
Zinc is one of the newer micronutrients people are consuming more of to combat sickness. It is believed that zinc helps increase white blood cell count (obviously good for fighting off infections and what not). You can get too much zinc, in which case the zinc can interfere and worsen your immune system, so don't go too crazy here. Oysters are packed with the stuff, beats many other foods by a landslide in zinc. Eating more than 5 oysters will put you at the top limits of daily intake of zinc. Other much smaller sources are crab, beef, turkey, and beans.
Omega 3 fatty acids. It's kind of one of those buzz words. Everyone knows you can find it in fish sources. Omega 3's are great for you in that they contribute to healthy cholesterol and lessen unhealthy cholesterol while providing the best kind of fats that your vitamins and minerals can store. On top of those things, omega-3's have been found to boost immune function by increasing the activity of phagocytes. What are those? These are white blood cells that literally eat up bacteria and toxins. Awesome.
These are just some of the ways you can boost your health in preparation for this season. Remember, having an overall healthy diet and consciously eating your food will always give you a healthy lifestyle. From there try to add my tips to increase your health even more!
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