Super Foods and How to Use Them – Part II

28 September 2006

Best selling author and ophthalmologist Steven Pratt has identified a list of the best foods for health and vigor.

In addition to Honey, these power packed nutrients that help combat aging include Beans, Blueberries, Broccoli, Oats, Oranges, Pumpkin, Salmon, Soy, Spinach, Tea, Tomatoes, Turkey, Walnuts and Yoghurt.

Super Food No 2 - Beans

Why Beans?
A virtual wonder food – vitamin rich, low fat, lower cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar, combat heart disease, reduce obesity, lessen risk of cancer and type II diabetes.

How Many Beans To Eat:
at least four ½ cup servings a week

Ways to Use Beans:
• Use canned beans if you can’t be bothered soaking and cooking them yourself but ensure you get beans with low sodium
• Green frozen beans and baked beans count
• Hummus is quick and easy. Puree canned garbanzo beans and add chopped garlic and olive oil, tahini (sesame seed paste) and lemon.
• Bean salads are easy – toss different varieties together with fresh herbs, capsicum, spring onions and olive or avocado oil.
• Combine beans with pasta. Pasta e fagioli

Super Food No 3 - Blueberries

Why Blueberries?
One of the Top Three Superfoods – along with salmon and spinach. Packed with more antioxidants than any other fruit or vegetable. Lowers risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, helps maintain youthful skin, plays important role in prevention of age-related blindness, Alzheimers and dementia, and diabetes.

How Many Blueberries to Eat?
– 1 to 2 cups daily

Ways to Use Blueberries
• Blueberries are great but include all the berries – cranberries, boysenberries, raspberries, cherries, strawberries fresh or frozen for varied polyphenols – each is slightly different
• Sprinkle berries on wheatgerm and yoghurt
• Mix frozen berries into hot oatmeal
• Toss onto cold cereal
• Whip into a smoothies with yoghurt, banana, ice and soy milk
• Drop some onto whole wheat buttermilk pancakes just before serving,

Super Food No 4 - Broccoli

Why Broccoli?
Broccoli and its “cruciferous sidekicks – Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, turnips, cauliflower, collards, bok choy, mustard greens, Swiss chard – is the best vegetable for cancer prevention, particularly lung, stomach, colon and rectum cancers.

How Much Broccoli to Eat?
½ to 1 cup daily

Ways to Use Broccoli
• Broccoli sprouts provide 10 to 100 times the power of mature broccoli to combat carcinogens. Sprinkle broccoli sprouts on your salad or sandwich.
• Keep fresh or frozen broccoli on hand to use in stir fries
• Toss shredded raw broccoli and red cabbage and red onion, some vinaigrette, and poppy seeds for a quick slaw.
• Puree left over broccoli with sautιed onions and low fat or soy milk and add a grind or two of nutmeg for a great fast soup.
• Coat cut up broccoli with a little olive oil (a spray unit is handy for this) and salt. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes. The vegetables become sweet and intense.
• Serve raw broccoli with hummus dip.

Super Food No 5 - Oats

Why Oats?
Reduces cholesterol and risk of heart disease, beneficial effect on blood sugars for all including diabetics. Oats also complemented by other whole grains especially flax seed and wheatgerm.

How Much Oats to Eat?
5 to 7 servings a day (Sounds a lot but they are small servings – 1 serving = 1 slice of bread, 1 small roll, 1 muffin, 1 serving cold cereal, ½ cup cooked cereal, 5 or 6 small crackers, 1 small tortilla).

Ways to Use Oats
• Eat super breakfasts – a bowl of hot oatmeal sprinkled with raisins or dried cranberries, or blueberries, sprinkled with two tablespoons each of ground flaxmeal and toasted wheatgerm (winter) or flaxmeal, wheatgerm, and berries in yoghurt in summer.
• Buy only whole grain bread
• Substitute brown rice for white rice
• Use whole grain tortillas and pita bread for sandwiches and wraps
• Add some oats to stuffing, meatballs and meat loaf
• Look for Japanese soba buckwheat noodles. They’re good in soups or cold with sesame dressing
• Buy whole grain crackers for snacks

Super Food No 6 - Oranges

Why Oranges?
Oranges and other citrus fruits support heart health and prevent cancer, strokes, diabetes and a host of chronic ailments, including strong bones.

How Many Oranges to Eat?
1 serving daily

Ways to Use Oranges
• Eat an orange, tangerine or Clementine out of hand daily
• Add mandarin segments to a spinach salad with chopped red onion
• Sprinkle grapefruit halves with a dusting of brown sugar and broil for a grat dessert
• Add orange juice to a fruit smoothie
• Keep some orange and or lemon zest in your freezer to put into cakes, cookies and muffins; sprinkle into yoghurt, fruit salads and chicken salad. Use citrus zest in hot tea.

Super Food No 7 - Pumpkin

Why Pumpkin?
One of the most nutritionally valuable food – it’s actually a fruit from the meolon family, not a vegetable… Full of valuable carotenoids – linked to a host of helth promoting and disease fighting activities. Decrease risk of varius cancers including lung, colon, bladder, cervical, breast and skin cancers. Lowers rates of heart disease, and decrease risk of cataracts and age related blindness.

How Much Pumpkin to Eat?
½ cup most days

Ways to Use Pumpkin
• Mix canned pumpkin with low fat or non fat yoghurt or with applesauce. Drizzle it withy buckwheat honey and a few raisins.
• Use canned pumpkin in soups, breads, and muffins
• Add canned or cooked mashed pumpkin to pancake batter
• Put cubed pumpkin into stir fries with red peppers, and onion. Toss for a few minutes to brown outer surface then pour in half a cup of water or stock and leave to steam for a few minutes. The pumpkin will absorb the water and cook quickly.
• Make a pumpkin-banana smoothie with 1 cup pumpkin, 1 sliced banana, 1 cup yoghurt, a few drops of vanilla essence, blend and drink immediately.
• Pumpkin “side kicks” – other carotenoid rich foods – include orange and yellow plants like carrot, butter nut squash sweet potatoes, orange bell peppers. Use them in salads and stir fries daily.
• Sweet potato treat – slice thin, (a mandolin is useful for this) toss in a bit of olive oil and some coarse salt, and roast on a cookie sheet in 400° F (180°C) for about 20 mins, turning a few times. Thinner cooks quicker

Super Food No 8 - Salmon

Why Salmon?
A key source of the Omega 3 fats – the “good fats” along with tuna, herring, trout, oysters and clams. Low rates of Omega 3 increases risk of stroke, heart attack, insulin resistance leading to diabetes, asthma, auto immune disorders and depression.

How Much Salmon to Eat?
- eat two to four times per week

Ways to Use Salmon
• Use canned tuna, but no more than one can a week because of potential mercury content. Use tuna packed in spring water.
• Add canned salmon to a green salad for a delicious light lunch
• Make salmon dip with low fat cream cheese, thinly slice spring onions, herbs to your taste – one or two only - (dill, coriander or cilantro, red pepper flakes, garlic, or Cajun seasonings) lemon juice. Blend and use with whole grain crackers, bagels, pita bread chips.
• If you are not into fish. Add Omega 3 with Omega 3 enriched eggs, cook with canola rather than corn or safflower oil, use flaxseed oil and ground flaxseed in muffins, breads and pancakes.

Super Food No 9 - Soy

Why Soy?
Most conclusively shown to benefit cardio vascular health and lower cholesterol. A potent cancer fighting food, particularly for hormone-dependent cancers like breast and prostate. May also be good for bone health.
How Much Soy to Eat? At least 15 gms soy protein per day divided into two separate meals or snacks. (1/2 cup tofu = 18 – 20gms)

Ways to Use Soy
• Snack on soy nuts if you’re not wild about tofu – Ό cup soy nuts = 15gms)
• Drink latte with soy milk instead of trim milk
• 1 cup soy milk on cereal
• 1 oz soy protein in fruit shake
• Choose breads and cereal containing soy
• Snack on soy protein bars
• Add tofu to stir fries
• Substitute soy for dairy milk in baking

Super Food No 10 - Spinach

Why Spinach?
Has more demonstrated health benefits than almost any other food. A number of studies demonstrate it decreases risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke and coronary artery disease, a host of cancers including colon, lung, skin, oral, stomach, ovarian, prostate and breast, age related blindness and cataracts.

How Much Spinach to Eat?
1 cup steamed or two cups raw most days

Ways to Use Spinach
• Toss cooked greens with a tsp of extra virgin olive oil and some chopped nuts and avocado, or serve as a side dish with salmon
• Layer spinach or other greens in lasagna
• Steam spinach and serve sprinkled with fresh lemon juice and grated Parmesan cheese. Keeps for three days in the frig
• Add a handful of spinach to soups
• Add chopped greens to an omelette along with chives, tomato, bell peppers and onion.
• Shred greens onto tacos and burritos
• Puree raw spinach with almonds or walnuts, some garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

Delicious on chickpeas or bow tie pasta.
• Superstar sidekicks for spinach include kale, collards, Swiss chard, mustard greens, turnip greens, bok choy, romaine lettuce. Vary intake amongst these with at least two servings a day.

Super Food No 11 - Tea – green or black

Why Tea?
Helps lower blood pressure, helps prevent cancer and osteoporosis, lowers stroke risk, and probably helps in preventing sun damage to skin and wrinkling. Lowers cavities and gum disease.

How Much Tea to Drink?
1 or more cups daily

Ways to Use Tea
• Brewed tea confers more health benefits than instant tea
• Tea bags are as good as loose tea for health
• Brew tea at least three minutes
• Squeeze the tea bad to almost double the polyphenol content
• Add a wedge of lemon or lime with the rind for an extra boost
• Avoid drinking extremely hot tea
• Flavonoids degrade with time. Drink freshly brewed when hot. If you drink iced tea ensure it is quickly iced.
• Have a cup of black or green tea before you exercise in the morning. The flavonoids appear in your blood after 30 minutes, giving an antioxidant boost and preparing you to handle free radicals generated by exercise.
• Herbal teas may have other benefits but are not a true tea and are not a significant source of the polyphenols which give authentic tea its health benefits.

Super Food No 12 - Tomatoes

Why Tomatoes?
Lycopene in tomatoes is a major contributor to health, particularly as a protection against breast, digestive tract, cervix, bladder, and prostate cancer, and can raise the sun protection factor in the skin, improve vigor, acting like an internal sunblock. Also helps reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attacks.

How Many Tomatoes to Eat? – one serving of processed tomatoes (or side kicks like red watermelon, pink grapefruit, Japanese persimmons, red-fleshed papaya, strawberry guava) per day and multiple servings per week of fresh tomatoes.

Ways to Use Tomatoes
• Saute cherry tomatoes in olive oil and herbs and toss over pasta or serve as a side dish.
• Use sun dried tomatoes (no added salt) in sandwiches
• Make home made pizza with extra sauce and top with your favourite vegetables.
• Pound a turkey or chicken cutlet thin, sautι quickly to brown slightly, top with a favourite salsa and bake in the oven till done. Sprinkle with grated cheese near the end of cooking and shower with fresh chopped coriander (cilantro) or parsley before serving.
• Toss a can of diced tomatoes into soups and stews.
• Toast whole wheat bread and to with sliced avocado and chunky salsa.
• Orange and yellow tomatoes do not have lycopene which is found in the red colouring.

Super Food No 13 – Turkey

Why Turkey?
Turkey offers a great source of low fat protein. Sidekick chicken is a second best, but contains more calories and saturated fat. Turkey is good for heart, immune system and is a super source of selenium.

How Much Turkey to Eat?
Skinless breast - 3 to 4 servings of 3 – 4 ozs a week.

Ways to Use Turkey
• Roasted whole fresh turkey breast. Remove skin after cooking
• Turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with spinach and romaine leaves, sliced onion and avocado, and mayo or mustard.
• Turkey tacos or burritos using cooked, shredded turkey, stir fried in olive oil with onions and peppers.
• Turkey slices with barbeque sauce.
• Turkey soup with plenty of vegetables
• Lean ground turkey breast meat in spaghetti sauce.

Super Food No 14 - Walnuts

Why Walnuts?
Significantly reduces risk of cardiovascular disease. Eat a handful of nuts five times a week and reduce your risk of heart attack between 15 – 51%. Also reduces risk of diabetes, cancer and a host of other chronic ailments.

How Many Walnuts to Eat?
1oz (a handful) five times a week.

Ways to Use Walnuts
• All nuts are good sources of nutrients, second choice being almonds, pistachios, and pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
• Use nuts to top frozen yoghurt
• Toss chopped nuts or seeds on top of salads
• Stir peanut butter into stews and curries to enrich the flavour.
• Use finely chopped nuts to coat fish or poultry cutlets (Pistachio with chicken is delicious)
• Toss 2 tblesp of roasted sunflower seeds on your cereal
• Gently sautι chopped nuts in olive oil along with bread crumbs and chopped garlic and toss with freshly cooked pasta.

Super Food No 15 - Yoghurt

Why Yoghurt?
Probiotics in yoghurt strengthen immunes system and help prevent infection. Inhibit the growth of cancer causing intestinal microflora, help alleviate dairy allergies, regulate inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, help reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and help fight vaginal infections and urinary tract infections.

How Much Yoghurt to Eat?
2 cups daily

Ways to Use Yoghurt
• Breakfast on a bowl of non fat yoghurt, top with a handful of berries or fruit in season, and a sliced banana. Toss in a small handful of chopped walnuts and a tblesp of wheat germs and ground flaxseed
• Choose yoghurt with live active cultures, preferably named oneslike L. acidophilus and S thermophilus.
• Add yoghurt to smoothies
• Try our Yoghurt Rice Recipe – served cold it is great for picnics or box lunches
• Serve coleslaw with a dressing of non fat yoghurt and light mayonnaise
• Lunch on celery, date and yoghurt salad with a sprinkling of sunflower seeds
• Or try cucumber and chopped mint, and serve on lettuce leaf cups
• Any seasonal fruit with non fat yoghurt is a great dessert
• Give yourself a special treat with low fat frozen yoghurt dessert now and then

* For more on SuperFoodsRX – including the other New Super Foods Kiwi, garlic, dark chocolate, onions and cinnamon see Dr Pratt’s website.

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