Momma's little Pumpkin

Okay so Halloween is over but don't throw away all of those carved pumpkins or wait till Thanksgiving for pumpkin pie. Pumpkin is a fruit..yes fruit that you should have all year round and it is a superfood. SURPRISE.

Besides being high in fiber and low in calories it is loaded with disease fighting nutrients and you can get it year round. What makes pumpkin such a nutritional powerhouse are all of the carotenoids. Carotenoids are a good guy because they protect you from free radicals, improve your immune response, and they play a key role in protecting the skin and eyes from UV rays. The carotenoids in pumpkin can also decrease the risk of various cancers too.

Not don't think you have to wait once a year to go to the pumpkin patch and pick one up. Canned pumpkin puree and not the (pumpkin pie filling) is acutally more nutritious then the fresh pumpkin. 1 cup has only 83 calories and it is loaded with way more alpha carotene and beta carotene and it contains almost half of the iron requirement for adult men and post menopausal women.

So eat up peeps and vote too!!

Oats Super SideKicks

This month's superfood is quite different from the others. Oats don't just have regular ol sidekicks, but they have super sidekicks: meet ground flaxseed and wheat germ. They are very nutrient dense and provide a host of health benefits in small amounts.

Flaxseeds are a tid bit larger than sesame seeds and range in color from dark brown to dark red. You can buy it is as flaxseed meal or the seeds. Flaxseed is a great source for plant based omega 3 fatty acids. They are a good source of fiber, protein, magnesium, iron, and potassium.

If that wasn't enough to get you to buy these powerful seeds, they are rich in lignins which are basically plant estrogens. Lignins influence the balance of estrogens and help protect against breast cancer. All you need is 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed a day. Put it on your cereal, smoothie, or oatmeal to reap the benefits.

Wheat germ is one of the oldest harvested grains in the world. It is the embryo of the wheat berry. Just 2 tablespoons gives your body 52 calories, 4 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, 1/3 of your daily servings of Vitamin E (an antioidant), and a host of other vitamins and minerals. Like flaxseed it's one of the few sources of plant based omega 3 fatty acids. If you are looking to reduce your cholesterol levels than 6 tablespoons a day may reduce the rate of cholestrol absorption in your body...

So will you try these goodies???? I actually need to pick some this week myself...that and some hot sauce...if only that was a superfood...ah well

BRRRR...

Okay so it's only going to be a high of 68 degrees today which means that in a matter of weeks I will see my breath and have to wait to heat up the car. Ughh!! But I do secretly like this in between weather. I say it's perfect for sweater and shorts/cuddling . As a sign of the changing times it's time to change up the diet to something hotter and a little bit more filling.

What's more perfect than oats. Oats is September's Superfood and it packs a whallop of a punch. First off oats are available anywhere (even the Bodega carries the instant Quaker Oats ). They are super cheap (although Stop and Shop did raise the price on the store brand ...$2.00 what happened to $1.89???) and it's easy to incorporate into your day no matter how hectic your schedule.

Oats are low in calories, high in fiber and protein, and they help lower cholesterol levels significantly. I'm sure you've seen those Honey Nut Cheerios and Quaker Oats commercials...right?? The main active ingredient responsible for lowering LDL (bad cholesterol) is the soluble fiber**, beta glucan. According to Superfoods , studies have shown that eating a bowl of oatmeal (make sure it has 3 grams of fiber) can lower total cholesterol anywhere between 8 - 23%. Which that my friends is alot!!!

Besides kicking cholesterol's ass, oats are a good source of magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, and vitamin E.

Below is a partial list of oat sidekicks and their fiber content. Remember 1 gram of fiber burns 5 calories:

Triticale 8.7 grams

Barley 8 grams

Wheat Bran 6.5 grams

Rye 6.2 grams

Wheat germ 3.8 grams

Quinoa 2.5 grams

Brown Rice .9 grams

White Rice .2 grams

**Soluble Fiber- type of fiber that dissolves in water and turns into gel during digestion. It's a good guy because it slows down digestion and food absorption. In other words you feel fuller longer.

IT'S ALMOST FRIDAY...hang in there and don't mess up your diet with after hour cocktails tonight!!

So Many Ways

No matter how you slice it, broccoli is a winner. Sometimes the way we cook our foods removes a good portion of its nutrients. But with broccoli that's really not the case. Whether it's raw or cooked broccoli and it's other sidekicks give you different nutrients. Raw veggies have more vitamin C, but cooking makes the cartenoids* more "bioavaibale". Whether it's microwaved, broiled, or raw. A mouthful of broccoli (either 1/2 to 1 cup) will pack a mean punch. Be careful of steaming broccoli you can lose up to 50% of the vitamin C.

Cartenoids* - Function as antioxidants which protect you from cancer and defy the affects of aging.

IT'S BROCCOLI BITCH!!!

Okay peeps this month's superfood is broccoli. Now we must thank our fellow Italian Americans for bringing this bad boy over to the states. Why you ask? Well broccoli and its other sidekicks (which I will name shortly) are on of the most powerful foods that fight cancer. And if that wasn't good enough broccoli also, "boosts your immune system, lowers the incidence of cataracts, supports cardiovascular health, builds bones, and fights birth defects." WOW!!! Not to mention it's full of sulforaphane (a strong compound that fights cancer), indoles (block estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells), folate, fiber, calcium, beta carotene, lutein, zenathin, and vitamin K (aides in blood clotting)

Broccoli is available year round so there are no excuses why you can't pick it up at the grocery store or the farmers market.

If you don't care for broccoli then you can munch on brussel sprouts (ummm don't look at me like that they actually pack more power than broccoli), cabbage, kale, turnips, cauliflower, collards, bok choy, mustard greens, and swiss chard.

The peeps over at Superfoods recommend that you eat 1/2 to 1 cup daily.

The only thing I don't like about broccoli is the funky azz smell. Side bar the other day I made cauliflower and left it in the microwave and it stuck up my whole house. You can blame that potent aroma on the sulfer....yuck!!!!

Happy Monday folks!!

BERRYLICIOUS

Not only are berries a powerful source of antioxidants and assist in keeping a healthy brain but they also promote a healthy digestive system too.





Blueberries are rich in pectin a solube fiber and work to relieve both diarrhea and constipation. The tannins in blueberries reduce inflamation in the digestive system and the polyphenols have antibacterial properties. There are components of blueberries that reduce the ability of E. Coli, a bacterium that commonly causess urinary tract infection to stick to the mucosal lining of the uretha and bladder.


To get a healthy serving of blueberries you can do so via juices or jams.

Here are some juices and jams with high polyphenols

JUICES milligrams of polyphenol per 8 oz serving
Odwalla C Monster 845 mg
Trader Joe's 100% Unfiltered Concord Grape Juice 670 mg
R.W. Knudsen 100% Pomegranate Juice 639 mg

JAMS mgs of polyphenols per 20 grams - 1 tablespoon
Trader Joe's Organic Blueberry Fruit Spread 400 mg
Knott's Pure Boysenberry Preserves 300 mg
Trader Joe's Organic Blackberry Fruit Spread 280 mg

Side bar If you decide to get your blueberry fix via juices cut the calories by mixing half of it with carbonated water.

Tannins - Defensive compounds that counteract bacteria and fungi by interfering with their surface proteins
Polyphenols - Act as antioxidants. They protect cells and body chemicals against damage caused by free radicals.

THE DARKER THE BERRY....THE HIGHER THE ANTHOCYANIN CONTENT???

This month's Superfood is the blueberry. Before reading this chapter I had no idea of the power this awesome berry packed! One of the biggest benefits of this bite size and portable yummy treat is its proven power to slow down and even reverse macular degenerative diseases that effect the brain.

Blueberries have high amounts of antioxidants and one in particular is anthocyanin. Anthocyanins have one of the highest antioxidant capacity out of all of the 150 flavnoids. Just in case you don't know antioxidants are key in the anti-aging game as they remove free radicals. Antioxidants are substances or nutrients in our foods which can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body. When our body cells use oxygen, they naturally produce free radicals which can cause damage. Antioxidants act as "free radical scavengers" and prevent and repair damage done by these free radicals. Health problems such as heart disease, macular degeneration, diabetes, cancer etc are all contributed by oxidative damage.

According to a study conducted at Tufts Unverisity lab rats that ate the human equivalent of 1/2 to 1 cup of blueberries performed better on brainteasers and displayed better coordination and balance then the other non-blueberry consumed groups. Compared to the other groups the blueberry fed lab rats communicated better, their brains had fewer damaged proteins than expected, and their brains developed new brain cells.

The authors of SuperFoods RX recommend a daily serving of 1 to 2 cups. And if you are not too keen on eating blueberries there are other options to choose from:

Purple grapes, Cranberries, Boysenberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Currants, blackberries, cherries, and all other varieties of dried or fresh berries.

One of my favorite treats is having whole wheat blueberry pancakes...yum!! Just be easy on the butter peeps. And eat it with No Apologies.

Click here to order a copy of Superfoods Rx and read more about this berry!!

Beans beans the musical fruit

I love me some beans. Whether I have them with spanish rice, hummus on crackers, or chickpeas in my salad beans are the perfect complimentary food. Besides being super economical they are a super food!

In the book SuperFoods Rx authors Steven Pratt and Kathy Matthews list the health benefits from this wonderous food. Beans are low in fat, high in protein, and rich in fiber . If you are not a fan of cheerios, beans can also lower your cholesterol. They are an ally against the axis of evil (obseity, hypertension, and type II diabetes) and they can even reduce the risk of certain cancers.

If you are like me then you are concerned about the whole gas thing. Here are a few tips to decrease your gastrointestinal issues

1) Buy canned or mashed beans
2) Eat more beans in smaller amounts . Over time your body will get used to it
3) Rinse the beans, boil them, and soak them (your beans will lose some of its nutrional value…but your booty and unsuspecting co workers will thank you)
4) And when all else fails buy some Beano…so there will be no gas

If you buy beans from a can rinse them off. Canned beans tend to hold a lot of sodium but rinsing will reduce the salt content by 40%.

To read more about beans or other SuperFoods click here