Be High on Nutrition: Add Fruits to your Diet

Try to eat dinner earlier in the day and then kind of observe fast for 14-16 hours until breakfast the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary technique—eating is applicable when you’re most active and it gives your digestive system a long break each day. These smart eating techniques also help to regulate weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best avoided. Fruits and vegetables are regarded to lay foundation levels of a healthy diet. They are very low in calories and absolutely high in essential nutrients. These fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. One must try and consume a huge number of fruits and vegetables every day. Every meal should contain ample amount of these fruits. Colorful, deeply colored fruits and vegetables contain higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants—and different colors provide different benefits, so eat a variety. Aim for a minimum of five portions each day. These are some of nutritional foods that should certainly be part of your food plate.

Figs

When you think of potassium-rich produce, figs probably do not hit the high note, but you may be baffled to learn that six fresh figs have 891 mg of the blood pressure-lowering mineral. Figs help constitute almost 20% of your daily need and it is almost double the nutrition that you may find what in one large banana. In a recent 5-year study from the Netherlands, high-potassium diets were linked with lower rates of death from all causes in healthy adults age 55 and older. Figs are one of the best options that contain calcium, with nearly as much per serving (six figs) as 1/2 cup of fat-free milk. You can try figs in various methods and recipes. For e.g. chopping it and adding to yogurt, cottage cheese, oatmeal, or green salads. Figs can also be used as a savory snack to have a bite every now and then.

Blueberries

Blueberries may very well be the most apt nutritious food jam-packed with antioxidants. Tangy-sweet wild blueberries (which are smaller than their cultivated cousins) contain the high quantity of absorbable antioxidants. Research shows a diet rich in blueberries can help with memory loss, prevent urinary tract infections, and help get rid of eyestrain. Add up to 1/2 cup of blueberries to your diet a day for maximum health benefits, recommends Ronald Prior, PhD, adjunct professor of food science at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. This alone provides just about double the amount of antioxidants most Americans get in 1 day.

Asian Pears

One large Asian pear has a whopping 10 g of cholesterol-lowering fiber, about 40% of your daily need. People who ate the most fiber had the lowest total and LDL cholesterol levels, according to a recent study of Baltimore adults. The same researchers found that people who ate the most fiber also weighed the least and had the lowest body mass index and waist circumference. Serve by dicing it into a salad of Boston lettuce, crumbled goat cheese, walnuts, and mandarin oranges. Or make it a dessert: Add peeled and cored pears to a saucepan with 1 cup white wine, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, and enough water to cover the pears. Cover and simmer 40 minutes or until pears are soft.

Apples

One of the healthiest fruits you should be eating is one you probably already are: the apple. The Iowa Women’s Health Study, which has been investigating the health habits of 34,000 women for nearly 20 years, named apples as one of only three foods (along with pears and red wine) that are most effective at reducing the risk of death from heart disease among postmenopausal women. Other massive studies have found the fruit to lower risk of lung cancer and type 2 diabetes—and even help women lose weight. In fact, one of the only things that could make an apple unhealthy is mixing it with sugar, flour, and butter and stuffing it into a mile-high pie. Instead, have one as an afternoon snack with a tablespoon of peanut butter, or add slices to sandwiches or salads.

These fruits can be easily blended into a wide range of recipes. These fruits will help fulfill your basic nutritional needs and yet provide you with yummy recipes and desserts. There are many websites and video channels online that provide many such healthy recipes and cooking tips. India Food Network is one such website which you can refer to learn these easy to cook instant healthy recipes. It also provides many nutritional tips and ingredients list for cooking fanatics. Visit the India Food Network website for more information. 

Give your Tasty Recipes a Healthy Touch of Fiber

      Fiber is a fundamental nutrient required for proper digestion of foods, proper functioning of the digestive tract at large, and for helping fill your tummy. A deficiency of fiber can lead to constipation, hemorrhoids, and high elevation of cholesterol and sugar in the blood. Likewise, an excess of fiber can lead to a bowel obstruction, diarrhea, or even dehydration. The body needs proper amount of fiber to fulfill the body requirements. There are many different types of ingredients which can help in providing the amount of fiber needed for the body. There is nothing more apt on a chilly morning like a steaming bowl of creamy oatmeal. Oats are regarded as one of the best ingredients to get soluble fiber, the kind that can help slide down your cholesterol levels. Start your day with a cup of cooked oatmeal and you bless your body with 4 grams of fiber. Top it with a sliced banana (or better yet, add the banana while you’re cooking the oatmeal — it will help make oatmeal more creamy) for an extra 3 grams. With 10 grams of fiber and just 65 calories each, artichokes are a light but filling option for individual interested in dieting. Try them in Creamy Artichoke Soup; it is a recipe which can be made easy by using frozen artichoke hearts.

      Frozen peas are one of the most fast and easy available options to add vegetables to a meal. Peas are also regarded as one of the vegetables very high in fiber with 9 grams per cup. You can take peas and carrots to a whole new level by including it in a plate of pasta with Peas and Carrots. Whole Wheat Spaghetti is another ingredient high in fiber. Replacing regular white pasta with whole-wheat will give you more than twice as much fiber — 6 grams in a cup. Going for 100 percent whole-wheat pasta or bread is a simple way to start getting more fiber (and whole grains) in your diet. Beans are one of the best sources of fiber out there: 1 cup can bless your dish with 12 to 19 grams of fiber. You can also try mixing black beans into a quesadilla, make a white-bean-and-escarole soup or top a green salad with garbanzo beans. Cooked bulgur wheat contains very high amount of fiber amongst all the whole grains. It can be used in various salad recipes. It offers an extra dose of fiber, if blended with lentils. Popcorn counts as a whole grain and has the fiber to prove it. 3 cups of the crunchy tasty popcorn can provide you with 4 grams of fiber for just 90 calories when air-popped. Popcorn is also easy to make. Just put 3 tablespoons of popcorn seeds in a paper bag, fold over the top a few times to keep it closed and microwave it until you hear the pops becoming less frequent.

      There are many fruits which are high in fiber content. Raspberries and pears are one of them. You must have noticed the little seeds dotting raspberries. These little seeds are responsible for raspberries’ high-fiber content. Just a small cup of this low-calorie, sweet-tart berries can provide you with 8 grams of fiber. These berries can be blended with yogurt for a healthy breakfast, tasty snack or dessert. Pears are not too far behind raspberries. Just one pear provides you with 5 grams of fiber. You can snack on them by just slicing them out or layer them onto an almond butter sandwich or give them a French twist in a Pear desert which is tasty yet healthy. These ingredients can be used in scores of recipes, which would be tasty and yet with a proper touch healthy needs.

       It is very essential for the kids to intake proper amount of fiber for healthy well being. Mothers can use these high fiber ingredients to blend it in tasty recipes for the kids. India Food Network is one of the websites that provide large number of recipes made by using these healthy ingredients. You can find a range of recipes varying from deserts, snacks and much more. With the boom of the internet, finding these healthy recipes has become a cakewalk. So what are you waiting for? Healthy and tasty food is just one click away. Log into India Food Network for more details.

Top 4 Healthy Foods to Keep you Healthy

Nowadays along with being tech savvy, people have turned very health conscious. There are lots of people that are dumping the junk food to move on to healthier eating habits. Maintaining a healthy diet is not a hard thing to do. Eating healthy just means eating smart. It all depends on an individual to blend in the healthy ingredients to make the cuisine tasty. Maintaining a healthy diet is all about feeling great and energetic all the time. Eating healthy food and maintaining a proper diet can work wonders for an individual over a stipulated time. It is a myth that healthy eating is surrounded by nutrition philosophies. A person doesn't need to follow a strict and rigorous routine to facilitate healthy eating. It can be achieved by learning some nutrition basics and using them in a way that works for you. You can expand your range of healthy food choices and learn how to plan ahead to create and maintain a tasty, healthy diet. You don't need to analyze your diet in terms of calories and fats.

A person just needs to rate the food to be consumed in variety of freshness and color. If one follows the way, it will be a lot easier to make healthy choices in the food consumed. One can consume any food that he or she likes, it’s only necessary to incorporate the healthy ingredients in the dish. If you have been gorging on junk for years, switching on to a healthy diet overnight is not a smart choice. Start slowly and start making changes to the eating habits over the time. Having a lot of water also plays a pivotal role in maintaining a healthy diet. Always make sure to have water in good proportions. Water helps in flushing the waste products and maintains proper hydration of the body. You don't need to completely eliminate the food you have always loved in process of maintaining a healthy diet. Just think smart, choose smart, eat smart and live smart. Let us discuss the top 4 healthy food which would help to keep you healthy.

Eggs:

Egg yolks are regarded to have a lot of essential and hard-to-get nutrients, including choline, which is inclined towards lowering the rates of breast cancer (one yolk supplies 25% of your daily need) and antioxidants that may help prevent macular degeneration and cataracts. Though many of us have shunned whole eggs because of their link to heart disease risk, there’s actually substantial evidence that for most of us, eggs are not harmful but healthy. People with heart disease should limit egg yolks to two a week, but the rest of us can have one whole egg daily;

Fat Free Milk:

Studies show that calcium isn’t just a bone booster but a fat fighter too. Recent research from the University of Tennessee found that obese people who went on a low-calorie, calcium-rich diet lost 70% more weight than those who ate the least. Vitamin D not only allows your body to absorb calcium, it’s also a super nutrient in its own right. Research shows that adequate D levels can reduce heart disease risk, ward off certain types of cancer, relieve back pain, and even help prevent depression, but most of us don’t get nearly enough of the 1,000+ IU daily that most experts recommend.

Avocado:

One Ohio State University study found that when avocado was added to salads and salsa, it helped increase the absorption of specific arytenoids, plant compounds linked to lower risk of heart disease and macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness. "Avocados are packed with heart-protective compounds, such as soluble fiber, vitamin E, and potassium," says Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet. But they are a bit high in calories. To avoid weight gain, use avocado in place of another high-fat food or condiment, such as cheese or mayo.

Red Peppers:

Citrus fruits get all the credit for vitamin C, but red peppers are actually the best source. Vitamin C may be best known for skin and immunity benefits. Researchers in the United Kingdom looked at vitamin C intake in 4,025 women and found that those who ate more had less wrinkling and dryness. And although getting enough vitamin C won’t prevent you from catching a cold or flu, studies show that it could help you recover faster. Vitamin C has other important credentials too.

There are various sites which dish out lots of healthy recipes which include these essential ingredients for kids and adults. IndiaFood Network is one such site which you can refer to for healthy recipes, ingredients lists and much more. You can also refer to this site for cooking tips, healthy tips, cooking lessons and much more. Just remember the motto - Think smart, choose smart, eat smart and live smart.