Choosing Healthy Foods

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy local produce because of the sheer variety of fruits and vegetables that are available. I’ve waited all winter for ripe berries, juicy tomatoes and sweet stone fruit. We get a few months of this bounty and when the season is over, we wait patiently for summer to come again so we can enjoy our favorites. Connecting and eating with the seasons can be rewarding but also a tough challenge as many of us now rely on grocery stores to provide year-round produce. FUN FACT Did you know that the average food item has traveled 1,500 miles to get to your plate? Seeking out local food, understanding how it was grown and learning more about the people who grew it can be an empowering experience. Not everyone has the opportunity to shake hands with the person that grew their food but for those that do, it carries more weight than a certification. Download lagu WAIT, THERE’S MORE Did you also know that how we eat can have as big an impact on climate change as transp...

Fruit or vegetable? It is a fruit that works well as a vegetable! Tomatoes are considered a type of superfood because they are rich in lots of great nutrients. They contain lycopenes, which is an antioxidant that offers a protective effect in the body. Tomatoes are also a great source of vitamin A, E and C, which means tomatoes contain even more antioxidants than just lycopenes. Incorporate tomatoes and tomato products to help boost your immune system as well as promote skin and eye health!    Good News: You should eat pizza!!   Through research at the Harvard School of Public Health, it was determined that consumption of oil- and tomato-based products -- specifically tomato and pizza sauce – there was an association with cardiovascular benefits.  So, choosing 1-2 slices of pizza paired with a side salad can be a healthy meal option.

Whether planning quick mid-week dinners or elaborate weekend parties, side dishes are often an afterthought. With the growing trend towards plant-forward eating, it’s time to take a fresh look at side dishes. What are Superfoods? The term Superfood is used often, but not always with the same meaning. The simplest way to think of Superfoods is that they offer benefits above and beyond their basic nutrient content. For example, antioxidants make berries super, while nuts and avocados have good fats. We focus on Superfoods that are naturally super, but there are also foods that are called super or functional because of ingredients that have been added to them. Why sides? Years of nutrition research has consistently shown that eating more plant foods is a good thing. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are part of every well-balanced diet – often in the form of side dishes! Putting a little effort into the flavor and presentation of your side dishes can help these health promoting food gro...

Does the idea of improving your health 5-10 years from now seem too far away to motivate you to eat well? What if eating well could have more immediate results? A recent study suggests that just may be the case. Eat Well, Be Happy? Eating more fruits and vegetables is widely seen as a way to improve physical health, but now, there may be another reason hit the salad bar. Eating more fruits and vegetables might make us happier and more satisfied with life. A recent study found that people who increasingly ate more fruits and vegetables were happier and had improved overall well-being. The changes were quick – less than 2 years. The size of the result was pretty impressive too. According to the researchers, the increase in well-being is the equivalent to the decrease someone would see if they lost their job. How does it work? Most research on fruits and vegetables has looked at preventing chronic diseases like diabetes or cancer, or improving weight. The idea that fruits and veg...

We’ve all heard the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but a recent study suggests that apples may keep the scale from tipping too. Can apples really help with weight management? A recent study found that children ages 2-18 who ate apples were less likely to be obese and had better diets overall than children who didn’t eat apples. The relationship between having a healthier weight was seen with whole apples and total apple products, but not with apple sauce or apple juice individually. The researchers suggest that this may be because whole apples tend to be more filling than apple juice or sauce. It is important to note that while eating fruit overall has been associated with being healthier, this single study doesn’t necessarily mean that an apple a day is the key to weight loss or management. It may in fact be that children who eat apples tend to have other healthy habits too. Is it just apples? How about other fruit? Fruit overall offers a lot of beneficial nutrients fo...