How to Actually Have Five Servings of Fruit and Veg Every Day

You’ve been told to include fruits and vegetables in your diet for as long as you can remember, so why are we Brits so rubbish at getting our five-a-day? Let’s be honest, sometimes you manage three or four servings and give yourself a pat on the back for taking care of your wellbeing, but five servings EVERY day? Probably not. Still, your five-a-day is vital for your wellness, so how do you actually get your intake up and protect your health?

 

1. Think Outside the Box: One great way to eat more fruit and veg is to make them more interesting, so that you’ll actually want to eat them. Dunking veggies in dip isn’t just for parties, so crack out your favourite dressing or hummus and have a healthy and delicious snack. You can also sauté some veggies with olive oil and add your favourite spices. If you’re on Pinterest, there are thousands of creative ideas for fruit and vegetable dishes, so get searching.

 

2. Great Things Come in Small Packages: You know the mini versions of toiletries that come out in shops just before the summer holidays? Why are they just more appealing than their full-sized counterparts? The answer: because they’re small and cute! With fruits and vegetables, size does matter as baby carrots or grapes make for an easy and appealing snack on the go. Plus, the tiny versions of most vegetables actually tend to be sweeter and have more flavour in each bite.

 

3. Load Up Your Basket and Your Plate: Instead of getting your produce during your supermarket shop, go to your local greengrocers. Not only does this often work out cheaper; you’re more likely to purchase fresh fruits and veggies when you’re surrounded by them. Whenever you can’t seem to get your hands on the real thing, hit the frozen food aisle of your supermarket for equally nutritious alternatives. Once you’ve got plenty of produce to pick from, make sure they fill up half of your plate at mealtimes. According to the new USDA food guide, this should be a habit that everyone makes, as it guarantees one to two servings in a single sitting.

 

4. Slurp Em: If you’re not a fan of the texture of certain veggies but love the flavour, go ahead and slurp them in your soup. Vegetable soups provide satisfying new menu options to help stave off the winter chill, especially if you pair it with some nice bread. For an easy soup, pea soup can be easily made with fresh or frozen peas, and both taste just as good as each other. However, if you want a soup in the summer time – or any time of year – you can’t go wrong with a refreshing gazpacho.

 

5. Mary Berry Style: If you’re a dab hand at baking, why not add fruits and vegetables to your muffins and breads. Grating some carrots or scooping dried cranberries or raisins into your next batch of baked goods will add moisture and flavour to your bakes, as well as giving you another serving of your five-a-day. You can try classic recipes like carrot cake or banana bread, of you can impress your friends with out-there combinations like courgette and apple bread or blueberry bread.

 

6. Keep Them in Sight: If you want to eat more fruits and vegetables, you need to make them as noticeable and convenient as possible. Instead of hiding your produce away, keep them in a bowl on the kitchen counter. That way, you’ll be much more likely to grab fruit or veg after your busy day, rather dive into the bar of chocolate hidden in the fridge.

Categories: baking, Bread, Five a day, Fruits, nbsp, soup, vegetables, veggies

Sexy Nutrition: Another Reason You Need Your Five-A-Day!

We’ve been celebrating the erotic power of food for centuries; while Greek and Roman cultures enjoyed a parade of ripe fruits and exotic dishes before engaging in sensual pleasures, today we upload “food porn” photos on Instagram. Nutrition has a weird but great role in sexual health. The quality of your diet has a direct impact on your overall wellbeing – including sexual wellness. Here are our top tips for sexy sustenance:

 

1. Feast on fruits: Many fresh fruits are bursting with fibre, antioxidants and aphrodisiac properties, making them as sensual as they are nutritious. Erotic literature throughout the world celebrates fruits such as apples, apricots, bananas, cherries, coconut, dates, figs, grapes, mangoes, papayas, peaches, pears, plums, pomegranates, quince, raspberries and strawberries – yet another reason to make sure you get your five-a-day.

 

2. Vamp with Vegetables: Veggies are often, ahem, phallic-shaped, which is why produce such as asparagus, carrots, celery, corn, cucumbers, carrots and aubergine have long been prized for their aphrodisiac effects. Moreover, these veggies are packed with vitamins and minerals that invigorate your body and get it ready for a night of passion. Then you have vegetables like the tomato (ok, we know it’s technically a fruit, but, come on.) Also known as the “love apple,” tomatoes are a potent source of the powerhouse antioxidant, lycopene, which was once a highly sought-after libido enhancer. For optimal sexual health, you should also load up on beans, garlic, leeks, onions, parsley, peppers, soybeans, spinach, truffles, turnips and watercress.

 

3. Savour Seafood: You can fuel your body, brain and sex drive with shellfish – including abalone, oysters, clams, scallops, shrimp and lobster – and deep, cold-water fish like cod and halibut. Oysters are a particularly well-known aphrodisiac as they are rich in iodine and zinc, the latter of which is an essential sexual nutrient as it aids testosterone production in men and women.

 

4. Love (a Little) Lean Meat: You need protein to make your body perform at its peak, but Elson Haas, MD, author of Staying Healthy With Nutrition, warns that meats such as chicken and turkey are only healthful in moderation. ‘Good protein intake is important, but excessive amounts can interfere with sexuality,’ he points out. To avoid hormones, antibiotics and other additives that make meat a little bit dodgy, choose organic products where possible and go for non-animal sources of protein like nuts, seeds and beans. Pine nuts and pumpkin seeds are particularly known for being sexual adjuvants.

 

5. Get a Little Extra on the Side: The best way to enhance your sexual wellness is through a healthy, balanced diet. Still, while your diet should provide most of the necessary nourishment, you can get a little bit of extra health insurance from a multivitamin/mineral supplement. Make sure your multivitamin includes vitamins A, C, E and the B group of vitamins. This is important because these vitamins are essential for healthy sexual functioning. B vitamins, such as niacin and B5, for example, can help improve your sexual stamina as well as your ability to reach orgasm. Then you have vitamin E, which supplies your sex organs with sufficient oxygen. However, you should not neglect minerals from your supplement regime, as these nutrients – particularly selenium, manganese and of course, zinc – are also vital in regulating your hormones and revving up your sex drive. To ensure the correct dosages, it’s better to take a multivitamin/mineral rather than taking each mineral and vitamin individually. To find out the best and safest brands, and to make sure it’s ok for you to take a multivitamin, speak with your doctor for more information.

Categories: better sex, Fruits, fruits and vegetables, multivitamin, multivitamin mineral, nbsp, Sex Drive, sexual, sexual health, Sexual Wellness, Supplements, vitamins

How to Take Care of Your Diet without Breaking the Bank

You want to enhance your diet and start taking care of your wellbeing, but healthy foods are so often the most expensive option. Why should you have to choose between your health and your financial wellness? According to a recent study by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), eating healthily can be fairly cheap – it just depends on the choices you make.

 

1. Fresh fruits and vegetables: ‘Fruits and vegetables pack a powerful nutrition punch,’ says registered and licensed dietician Mandy Seay, author of Your Best Health. ‘They contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that provide benefits for the entire body.’ This means that you need to go for the least pricey produce, which, in the case of vegetables, means potatoes, lettuce, eggplant, greens, summer squash, tomatillos, and carrots. For the most economical fruits, try watermelon, bananas, apples, pears, pineapple, and peaches. To further reduce your costs while maximising on nutrition and flavour, make sure you shop for produce that is in season.

 

2. Frozen and tinned fruits and vegetables: While you may not even deign to consider frozen and tinned fruits and vegetables, they’re a lot better than their reputation. According to Seay, ‘While given a reputation of having a lesser nutrient value, canned fruits and vegetables can be just as healthy and economical (if not more so) as their fresh counterparts.’

 

3. Oats: On the nutrition rockstar stage, oats are the headliners. Seay notes, ‘These whole grains are low in calories, high in fibre and protein, and are a rich source of many vitamins, minerals, and beneficial plant chemicals. Oats offer protection against disease and reduce health issues that may already exist like high cholesterol or blood sugar. Oats are readily available, easy to incorporate into your diet, and inexpensive.’

 

4. Beans: If you want a low-fat protein, make beans your new best friends. These delicious and economical wonders – whether dried or canned – can have a huge impact on your wellbeing. Beans can help to lower your cholesterol, reduce your risks of heart disease and cancer, stabilise your blood sugar, relieve your constipation, assist with your weight management or weight loss programme and lower your blood pressure. Where have you bean all my life? (Sorry, I had to.)

 

5. Tea: As if you needed another reason to have a brew! Still, if you’re interested, when it comes to your health this low-cost beverage is worth every penny. Seay comments that tea ‘helps lower blood pressure, prevent cancer, and reduce the risk for stroke. Tea is also an antiviral, anti-cavity, and anti-allergy powerhouse.’

 

6. Nuts: ‘Nuts reduce the risks for coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other causes of mortality,’ Seay asserts. ‘All nuts contain some sort of health-promoting property. Eat a variety of them to enjoy all of the nutrition they have to offer. Here are just a few things you’ll find inside them: plant-derived omega-3s fatty acids, fibre, protein, vitamin D, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, niacin, folate, zinc, and antioxidants.’ Plus, they’re great value per serving.

 

7. Yoghurt: Yoghurt is a cheap sweet option anyway – albeit dependant on flavour and brand –but if you really want to save money you can always make your own yoghurt at home. Seay adds, ‘Yoghurt contains live active cultures, protein, calcium, and B vitamins. This super food has anticancer properties, lowers cholesterol, and wards off unfriendly bacteria while promoting and preserving intestinal health.’

 

8. Brown rice: ‘Brown rice, which contains a number of nutrients and antioxidants, is a whole grain that has been shown to reduce diabetes risks, assist with weight control, help lower and control blood sugar, and possibly inhibit breast and colon cancers,’ says Seay.

Categories: blood pressure, Blood Sugar, Brown Rice, Fruits, heart disease, nbsp, seay, tea, tinned fruits, vitamins minerals, yoghurt

Easy as ABC: Give Your Wellness a Super-fruit Super Boost!

Not every fruit qualifies as a super-fruit, but wellness and nutrition experts do suggest that certain fruits have special powers; antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and minerals, and other nutrients that can help you live longer, look better, and even guard your wellbeing against disease. Of the five to nine portions of fruit or vegetables you should be eating every day, most of them should be super-fruits. So, what do you need to add to your fruit basket?

 

Açaí berries: Thanks to its weapon-grade level of antioxidants that thrash other super-fruits like blackberries, strawberries and blueberries, açaí actually deserves some of the hype it gets. According to Keri Glassman, R.D., founder of NutritiousLifeMeals.com and author of Slim Calm Sexy Diet, ‘I recommend powdered açaí berry, which can be added into a smoothie. Not only is this an easy way to get super fruits into your diet, but it also helps mask the tart, sometimes bitter taste.’

 

Apples: Though it may seem a humble fruit, this simple, rustic vibe is just the Clark Kent to the apple’s Superman. As well as being a great source of fibre, the red and green skin on apples contains the antioxidant quercetin, which has antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties. This means that apples may be able to protect you from heart disease and possibly allergic reactions. Researchers at St. George’s Hospital Medical School have shown that eating five or more apples a week can improve your lung function – I guess it’s true what they say about an apple a day.

 

Bananas: Bananas make for the best mid-morning snack, as they help to keep you feeling fuller for longer. This is because these superfruits are packed with Resistant Starch, a healthy carb that fills you up and helps to boost your metabolism. However, aside from staving off hunger pangs, bananas are a great source of potassium, which can help to lower your blood pressure.

 

Blackberries: The USDA state that blackberries are in the top 10 of all time for antioxidant power, as well as being number one for fibre (just one cup gives you a third of your daily target of 25 to 35 grams a day). Plus, these tart and tasty gems are specifically rich in polyphenols, which belong to the same family of antioxidants found in green tea. These antioxidants have been suggested to prevent cardiovascular disease, cancers, and osteoporosis.

 

Blueberries: While blackberries hold the number one spot for fibre content, blueberries are your go-to super-fruit for brain function and memory. There have been multiple studies linking blueberries’ high levels of flavonoids with a better memory, and even preventing age-related brain dysfunction. According to a recent study, a high intake of berries can delay your cognitive ageing by a whopping 2.5 years. If that wasn’t enough, these super-fruits are also rich in a mineral known as manganese, which is known to rev up your metabolism, keeping you slim and energised.

 

Cherries: These unsung heroes of the super-fruit world can reduce your inflammation, triglyceride levels and cholesterol, thanks an antioxidant called anthocyanin, which gives them their deep red colour. Recently, researchers at the University of Michigan researchers found that cherries reduced two common markers of blood vessel inflammation in lab rats by up to 50%, as well as reducing weight gain and cholesterol.

 

Citrus fruits: In any citrus fruit you’ll find a good whack of vitamin C and fibre, as well as other nutrients and disease-fighting chemicals, albeit in smaller amounts. Glassman notes that the vitamin C makes citrus a Super-fruit, because it helps you to overcome the effects of sun damage, regulate your oils glands, and even prevent age spots.

Categories: Antioxidants, fibre, fruit, Fruits, nbsp, super, super fruit, super fruits, Superfruits

Fruits & Veggies for FALL,what to BUY & how to STORE

My favorite season is fast approaching. What’s more it’s that time of the year for gathering crops and for golden leaves to FALL! Oh fall… or autumn, whichever you’d like to call days of blue skies, crisp air and temperatures that aren’t too hot or too cold. It’s probably my favorite change of all! Season-wise that is.

 

Hence if you’re a DIY culinary connoisseur like me, one must keep in mind that with the changing of the seasons comes the changing of fruits and veggies “in season”.

Now isn’t that too much “seasoning” for an introduction yet? We all know how important it is to source fresh! Ideally I like to source from farm to table whenever possible. So when you can’t get to the farmer’s market for now, the neighborhood supermarket is where it’s at. Hence, if you value FRESHNESS in your culinary acts of beauty, knowing which fruits and veggies are naturally in season this season is of utmost importance.

 

Without much ado, take a note of these babies when you hit your supermarket aisles.

 

APPLES: When picking up apples, take note of the stems attached. They must be firm and stiff. The skin needs to be taut, without bruising. It is generally best to use apples within 1-2 weeks from when you bought them. Store in a cool dry place uncovered or refrigerate.

 
POMEGRANATES:  Tart and sweet they are an awesome add on for salads enchiladas and smoothies. Choose the larger ones that have a fresh looking rind. Avoid ones that have moldy cracks. Keep them out on the counter and they will stay fresh for about 1 week. Refrigerate them and they will keep for up to 2 weeks.

 
PERSIMMONS: Perfect for salads and desserts, choose the Fuyu or Hachiya variety for more color and spice. Make sure they are firm and of a deep orange color. The Fuyu variety will keep out on the counter for up to 3 weeks; while the Hachiyas should be eaten after you notice them soften.

 
NUTS:  Freshly harvested nuts are always best. Makes sure shells are not damaged. They should seem heavy for their size. When shelled they should be crisp, clean, creamy and opaque. Store in cool, dry and dark place. When refrigerated they should keep for a month. Up to a year, when frozen.

 
MUSHROOMS:  For an earthy, nutty and wild flavor to add onto your pasta or alone sautéed in garlic and onions. Pick them out firm and dry, making sure they are also not dried out. They should have few to no pinholes and a light colored under hat. Always refrigerate in brown paper, never plastic. It will keep for 2 days. If dampness sets in wrap them in paper towels to absorb moisture.

 
WINTER SQUASH: High in Carbohydrates and rich in much needed Beta-Carotene and Anti-oxidants. Winter Squash are great for soups and casseroles. When picking them out look for rock hard bottoms. Make sure they don’t have cuts. They should be heavy and stems should be fat and dry. Store in a cool dry place. They have quite a long shelf life, with large ones keeping for several months and smaller ones about a month.

 
CONCORDE GRAPES: Highly aromatic and distinctive in color, these grapes are ideal to make into grape jelly, juice or made into a pie. Look for blue blooms with a powdery quality. They should be medium sized, smooth and round with a bit of a musty fragrance. When storing, refrigerate them unwashed in an airtight paper towel lined container, to absorb moisture.

 

SWISS CHARD: Undoubtedly rich in phytonutrients, with at least 13 different polyphenol antioxidants. You definitely have to have this with your roast turkey or chicken this fall. Choose the ones with a lively green color and large juicy stems. Stems may either be red, rainbow or white in color. Refrigerate and store in a loose plastic bag. Consume within a week.

 
Author’s Bio:
Samantha Samonte is a writer for ‘Culinary One’, a website about culinary careers, cuisines and healthy cooking . Helping aspiring chefs to find the best cooking schools in America. She spends the rest of her time living life to the fullest in the company of her laptop and creative writing prowess.

Categories: Fruits, in-season, vegetables

Boost Your Nutrients by Seeing Red

Red fruits and vegetables have emerged as a new power-house of nutrition to improve your diet and your wellness. According to Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of nutrition, ‘There are many red fruits and vegetables to choose from and they each bring something a little bit different to the table.’

 

Studies have shown that many red fruits and vegetables soak up damaging free radicals, and have other wellbeing benefits such as maintaining a heart health, eyesight and a balanced lifestyle, including exercise, because they are full of powerful, healthy antioxidants, such as lycopene and anthocyanins.  However, there are more studies to be done in this area.

 

So what foods should make you see red? Firstly, strawberries are ‘a good source of the antioxidant powerhouse vitamin C’ says Sandon, as well as containing folic acid which is known to decrease the risk of certain birth defects called neural tube defects. According to Felicia Busch, a nutritionist in the US and author of The New Nutrition from Antioxidants to Zucchini, cherries ‘are high in fibre because of their skin’ and ‘They are also rich in vitamin C as well as potassium’. You can add both to your diet by throwing them on your cereal, or blending some frozen strawberries in a skimmed milk and frozen yoghurt smoothie. Raspberries are also easily added this way, and Sandon argues they are ‘high in fibre, which we know helps lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or ‘bad’ cholesterol’.

 

Sandon also advocates tomatoes as ‘a good source of lycopene, which is strongly connected with prostate cancer protection’. According to Cancer Research UK, cooked and processed tomatoes are a better source of lycopene than fresh tomatoes, as the bioavailability of lycopene increases when you cook it. Busch recommends red pepper, as it is ‘a phenomenal source of vitamin A, which helps with skin, bones, and teeth. And most people don’t realise that they have as much vitamin C as an orange’, whereas Miriam Pappo, a director of clinical nutrition says beetroots are ‘Rich in folate, lycopene, and anthocyanins’.

 

Pink fruits also count among their red cousins, as Sandon says ‘watermelon is a great source of lycopene’ whilst Busch recommends grapefruits for their ‘good source of pectin, which helps lower cholesterol’. Busch advises that ‘You want to go for colour when you choose grapefruit, because pink grapefruit has higher levels of antioxidants, such as vitamin C’. However, Pappo says this is true for every food and ‘The deeper, the darker, and the richer the colour, the better’. Pappo says that, although red foods are a great place to start, she recommends ‘choosing foods for every colour in the rainbow’.

Boost Your Nutrients by Seeing Red

Categories: Advice, Fruits, vegetables