Almonds
A handful of almonds (approx. 20 almonds) is a perfect snack idea to help your body fight cardiovascular disease.
Almonds are actually the seeds of the almond tree fruit and have great benefits for the body. They are cholesterol-free and contain healthy, unsaturated fats, which can help lower the risk of heart disease.
Almonds are also a good source of calcium, vitamin E, folic acid, fibre, protein, iron, zinc, copper and magnesium.
How to Put More Almonds in Your Diet:
- Add a handful of chopped almonds to your morning cereal. Toss onto cold cereal or mix them in with your porridge.
- Add them to your favourite salad.
- Make up small bags of almonds and keep them handy to as a great snack.
- Use ground almonds (almond meal) in baked goods.
For more ways to incorporate almonds into your meals, refer to our Recipes section.
Avocado
Use avocado as a spread in your sandwiches or put in your salads to help increase the amount of "good" cholesterol in your body.
Avocados are rich, creamy, and filling. Although they're often shunned for being "fattening", avocados are actually heart-healthy if eaten in moderation. The oils are mostly monounsaturated - the kind that lowers LDL ("bad") cholesterol but maintains HDL ("good") cholesterol. Many people think avocados have cholesterol, but no plant foods do so slice it, mash it, dice it and eat it!
For more avocado recipes, check out our Recipes section.
Blueberries
Add one cup of these mighty berries to smoothies or fruit salads and reap the sweet healthy benefits.
Blueberries are little exploding bombs packed full of nutrients and are also low in kilojoules! Blueberries are loaded with antioxidant compounds that travel through your body reducing free radicals, commonly associated with accelerated aging and DNA degradation. They are a perfect food to help maintain a healthier body inside and out, keeping you looking and feeling young!
Check out our Recipes section for some fruity blueberry recipes.
Fish
Having at least 3 fish-based meals a week is a perfect way to help your body stay in shape!
More than two decades ago fish was discovered to be a "superfood", with pioneering studies showing that Greenland Eskimos, who consumed high amounts of fish, had very low rates of CHD (chronic heart disease) death.
Recent studies have found that it was a type of fatty acid called Omega-3 (long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid) in the fish that appears to have several health benefits including:
- Being the vital ‘booster' during pregnancy for a baby's brain development and vision
- Maintaining a healthy heart and immune system
- Providing benefits for conditions such as diabetes, certain cancers, childhood asthma, obesity and arthritis.
Excellent sources of Omega-3's include oily seafood such as salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines, herring, tuna, anchovies, tiger prawns and blue mussels.
Check out our Recipes section for some great fish recipes.
Garlic
Incorporating garlic into some of your main meals helps you stay healthier from the inside.
Garlic is not merely a tasty ingredient to a dish, it has also historically been used as a folk medicine for at least 4,000 years. Cloves of garlic were even found by archaeologists in the tombs of ancient Egyptian pharaohs!
The health benefits of garlic are wide ranging and include:
- The ability to lower total (LDL or "bad") cholesterol and triglycerides, and increase HDL ("good") cholesterol in your blood.
- Supporting the overall health of the circulatory system, which may help in lowering the risk of heart disease.
Would you like to know how to use garlic in some new meal ideas? Check out our Recipes section!
Oats
Eating a bowl of porridge each morning is the perfect way to kick-start your day.
Porridge is a great way to start the day because it contains oats which are a good source of both soluble and insoluble fibre.
- Insoluble fibres have cancer-fighting properties due to the fact that they attack certain bile acids, reducing their toxicity.
- Soluble fibre may reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol without lowering HDL (good) cholesterol.
Why are oats a great brekkie?
- The soluble fibre in the oats slows down the digestion of starch and may be beneficial to diabetics because it avoids the sharp rises in blood sugar levels that usually occur following a meal. The slow release of energy means you will feel full longer and reduces the need to top up your food intake unnecessarily.
- The phytochemicals in oats may also have cancer-fighting properties.
- Oats are a good source of many nutrients including vitamin E, zinc, selenium, copper, iron, manganese and magnesium.
Try out our Recipes section for great meal ideas using oats.