Listen up, ladies! You love to eat, but you also love to feel great. You can do both if you choose foods that make you smarter, leaner, stronger — and then use them in tasty new ways. Check out 10 ideas after the jump.
Wild Alaskan Salmon packs a wallop with two kinds of heart-healthy omega-3s, including DHA, a fatty acid essential for a healthy pregnancy. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least TWO servings of a fatty fish like salmon a week.
Wild Blueberries not only help prevent memory loss, but also may improve motor skills and help lower blood pressure. PLUS they’re high in antioxidants that help fight wrinkles and have compounds of one of the most powerful forms of antioxidants called anthocyanins.
At only 80 calories a cup, try to eat half-cup to one cup of any kind of berries a day, but mix in wild blueberries as much as possible for those powerful anthocyanins!
Oats can not only help lower cholesterol, but are rich in soluble and insoluble fiber, so scientists say they are also good for helping you feel full so you can control your weight.
The American Heart Association recommends 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber a day — that’s about six times the amount of fiber in an average serving of oatmeal, so eat oats and other whole grains throughout your day.
Broccoli is a rich source of vitamin C, vitamin A, fiber, calcium, iron, and potassium, but also may help prevent breast cancer by fighting excess estrogen. (Marisa note—-never in a million years could you pay me enough to eat broccoli!!)
It’s also only 30 calories per serving! Experts recommend two or more half-cup servings of cooked broccoli per week.
Walnuts can help you lower cholesterol, boost brain power, sleep better, cope with stress, prevent heart disease, AND fight cancer. A new study showed that walnuts appeared to lower the risk of breast cancer in mice.
Avacodos may be high in fat, but Cheryl Forberg, R.D., the nutritionist for The Biggest Loser, says, “”We shouldn’t be so fatphobic.”
The heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) in avocados actually help you lose belly fat, which is a risk factor for heart disease and some fertility problems. They are also full of high amounts of potassium, magnesium, folate, protein, fiber, and vitamins B6, E, and K.
Sounds too good to be true, but it’s not as long as you limit yourself to one quarter to one half of an avocado a day.
Red Beans are rich in antioxidants and packed with protein, folate, minerals, fiber, and resistant starch.
Resistant starch boosts the body’s ability to burn fat, controlling blood sugars, and even reducing cancer risk. Experts suggest aiming for three cups of cooked beans a week.
Fat-Free Greek Yogurt is so rich in calcium that one serving supplies almost a quarter of a woman’s daily calcium needs and has double the amount of protein compared to regular yogurt.
It is also high in probiotics that can help ease irritable bowel syndrome, a condition that affects mostly women, so take advantage of this Greek treat as one of your minimal 3 servings of dairy per day.
Olive oil has been found to help protect against Alzheimer’s disease, but also certain types of breast cancer. Just two table spoons a day may also help lower risk for heart disease!
Dark chocolate is the best chocolate, so don’t feel guilty about eating it. The tasty treat is loaded with magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc, and phosphorus, which are all important for strong bones.
By eating a quarter of an ounce a day, you can reduce the risk of stroke, heart disease, help hydrate the skin, lower blood pressure, and sharpen thinking!
Be sure it is wild Alaskan salmon. Most of the salmon on the market today is farm raised which is low in Omega-3.