Wellness

Budget-Friendly Super Foods

Want to get big health benefits without spending big bucks? These super foods are packed with multiple disease-fighting nutrients to help you stay healthy and satisfy your taste buds, all without breaking the bank.

Low-fat or fat-free yogurt

Yogurt is a nutrition MVP. Yogurt supplies nine essential vitamins and minerals, including bone-building calcium and vitamin D, protein and potassium. It can also contain probiotics, which promotes a healthy balance of bacteria in your gut. Don't like yogurt? Skim milk is another dairy product that’s full of good nutrition. If you are lactose intolerant and think you can’t enjoy this super food, think again. People with lactose intolerance tend to tolerate yogurt better than milk, and can have it in small doses. Include More in Your Diet: have yogurt as a snack, layer with fruit and granola in a parfait, use to make smoothies, or incorporate into fruit and vegetable dips.

Sweet potatoes

One of the best vegetables around, sweet potatoes are full of vitamin C, beta carotene, potassium, iron and fiber. This veggie is particularly high in beta carotene, which can lower the risk for cancer, improve immunity and protect the skin from damage. Include More in Your Diet: Try a baked sweet potato topped with a little maple syrup, puree and add to soups as a thickener, or slice sweet potatoes into wedges, salt and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes for a guilt-free treat.

Berries

Berries pack quite the nutritional punch. Low in calories and high in fiber, this super food can help fill you up without filling you out. You can also find an abundance of vitamins and minerals, such as folic acid and vitamin C, in berries. To top it off, they are loaded with antioxidants that can protect you from several age-related diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s. Include More in Your Diet: Berries are great in salads, enjoyed alone as a snack, or used as a topping for low-fat frozen yogurt or cereal. Try using berries as a topping for pancakes or waffles: cook your choice of berries with a little sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch for a delicious glaze.

Beans

Loaded with protein, fiber, iron and folic acid, beans have earned their reputation of super foods. Protein and fiber combat hunger, which helps you keep your waist slim and trim. They also contain folic acid and iron, as well as high levels of phytochemicals, which protect against cancer and heart disease. Include More in Your Diet: Substitute beans for meat in main dishes like burritos, add them to soups and salads, or simply serve as a side dish.

Salmon

This nutritional standout is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help keep your heart healthy. In fact, the American Heart Association recommends eating fatty fish, such as salmon, two times a week. In addition to its heart benefits, salmon is low in calories and saturated fat, rich in protein and is a good source of iron. Include More in Your Diet: Try grilling, baking or broiling salmon and topping it with a fruit salsa or low-fat sauce.

Dark Green Vegetables

Dark green veggies are nutrition all-stars. They are low in calories and high in fiber to help you manage your weight, and packed full of vitamins A, C, and K, folic acid, calcium and potassium. Not only that, but they also contain phytochemicals such as lutein, which may reduce the risk of macular degeneration. Include More in Your Diet: Snack on raw broccoli with low-fat dip, layer spinach into lasagna, have a main dish salad, add green veggies to your omelets, or try roasted asparagus

Nuts

Though small in size, nuts offer big benefits. Not only does this super food supply hunger-fighting protein and fiber, it is rich in heart healthy fats and antioxidants. Include More in Your Diet: While nuts are a nutrient-rich food, they are calorie dense, so portion control is a must (aim for no more than one to two ounces per day). The best way to reap the rewards without adding too many calories is to replace foods high in artery-clogging saturated fats with nuts. For example, instead of adding bacon bits to green beans, toss in a few almonds. Or toss in salads in place of croutons.

Citrus Fruits

We all know citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C, but did you know they are also good sources of folic acid, fiber, and cancer-fighting lycopene? Including citrus fruits, such as oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and clementines can help lower the risk of heart disease, cancer and cataracts. Include More in Your Diet: throw grapefruit sections in salads, pair with yogurt for a satisfying snack, or include them in a fruit smoothie.

Reduce Your Sugar Intake Naturally

If you are looking to reduce sugar intake naturally – without artificial sweeteners – use these ideas to get started:

• Use Sweet Spices: Add cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, coriander, ginger, mace or cardamom to boost the sweetness of foods. This works especially well when reducing the sugar content of baked goods. Spiced foods will taste sweeter if warmed.

• Add Fresh Fruit: Use nature’s candy to sweeten foods. Mix dried fruit or a diced apple with oatmeal, berries with yogurt or sliced bananas in cereal. When making pancakes and waffles, skip maple syrup and make your own by blending berries with a little vanilla extract.

• Use Natural Sweeteners: These sweeteners taste sweeter than sugar, so you can use less without affecting the flavor. One thing to note: natural sweeteners contain similar amounts of sugar and calories as white sugar, so using equal amounts will not lower the sugar content. Here are a few natural sweeteners to try.

  • Agave Nectar: When substituting in place of sugar, use 25% less than the recipe calls for. A good rule of thumb is to add 1 tablespoon of flour for every 1/4 cup of agave nectar used. Baked goods made with agave nectar may brown faster, so lower the oven temperature by 25°F and watch the baking time.
  • Honey: use 25% to 30% less than the amount of sugar called for in the recipe. Baked products made with honey will also tend to brown sooner, so reduce the oven temperature by 25°F and pay close attention to the baking time.
  • Maple syrup: Use 25% to 30% less than the amount of sugar in the recipe, and you may need to reduce the amount of liquid by a couple of tablespoons. Maple syrup will affect the flavor of the finished product more than regular sugar, so use accordingly.

• Cook Your Fruits and Vegetables: This brings out the natural sweetness of fruits and veggies, so they will taste sweeter than when eaten raw.

• Flavor Your Own Beverages: Replace sugar-filled beverages with water. Think plain old water is boring? Try adding a slice or two of lemon, lime, oranges, cucumbers, or watermelon. Another option is adding a small amount of fruit juice to give it a hint of flavor.

• Have Fruit Instead of Fruit Juice: While 100% fruit juices count as a fruit serving, most juices contain added sugars, which increase calories. The fiber has also been removed. Whole fruit, on the other hand, is lower in calories, contains no added sugars and provides fiber, which can help curb your hunger and help you feel satisfied.

• Baked Goods: Simply reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe by 25%. You won’t even be able to taste the difference.

• Forgo the Frosting: Reach for the powdered sugar instead. Lightly dust over cakes and brownies to significantly cut calories, sugar and fat.

• Be Patient: As you reduce the amount of sugar in your diet, your taste buds will adapt, making foods seem sweeter than before.

• Eat Often: Regular meal and snack patterns fuel your body and keeps you energized. Aim to have a meal or snack every 3 to 5 hours to keep your energy levels up and cut cravings. When you go too long without eating, you are more likely to reach for foods high in sugar for a quick energy burst.

• Get Plenty of Rest: Inadequate sleep can also throw off certain hormones that control hunger, causing you to have a bigger appetite, feel hungrier and eat more. You’re also more likely to reach for unhealthy foods that are high in sugar, calories and fat. Aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.

• Look at Labels: The nutrition facts panel can give you some insight on how much sugar a food contains, but it doesn’t decipher between natural and added sugars. Natural sugars are those that occur naturally in foods, such as fruit and dairy products. Added sugars – the kind of sugar you want to limit - are added to foods when they are processed. To help you figure this out, look at the ingredients label on the package; if sugar is listed as one of the first few ingredients, the product probably contains a large amount of sugar. Note: sugary ingredients can have other names: sucrose, glucose, dextrose, corn sweetener, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, lactose, maltose, sorghum syrup, mannitol, fruit juice concentrate, sorbitol.

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