Day 5: Replace Unhealthy Foods with Superfoods

You’ve learned a lot about superfoods already! There really are many choices for healthy foods and you really should stop choosing the unhealthy ones. Here’s the list of healthy foods to include in your diet for today:

Berries

Berries are widely consumed throughout the world and for good reasons. These superfoods are high in vitamins and minerals but do not raise the blood sugar levels.

Methods

1. Eat three or more servings of a half a cup of fresh blueberries or strawberries each week,
2. Choose dry, plump, and brightly colored berries with no mold or obvious rotten spots. Avoid containers with juice
3. Eat berries right away because they do not last very long.
4. Store berries unwashed in the refrigerator in a covered container until you are ready to eat them.
5. To make berries last longer, freeze them (see instruction on freezing)
6. Berries can be put into a smoothie, made into parfaits, or even added to salads and made into berry salsa.
7. Try different types of berries. Each berry has its own nutritional properties so the possibilities are endless.

Instructions for Freezing Berries

1. Spread the berries out in a single layer on a cookie tray
2. Freeze them until the fruit is solid.
3. Pack the frozen berries into resealable bags with a label indicating the date and what’s in the bag.

Benefits

• May reduce the risk of heart disease through the action of flavanoids though more research is required.
• Strengthens the immune system. This food is high in Vitamin C which is essential immune helper and antioxidant.
• Diabetic friendly. Foods that rank low on the glycemic index do not raise the blood sugar level as high as foods that rank high on the glycemic index. Fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries all have scores below 40.
• Improves digestion. Berries are high in fiber which helps food move through the colon for better detox.

Reminder

Berries don’t need to be eaten on their own. They can be added to your cereal and be eaten with your white tea.

Cereal

Directions

1. Eat wholegrain oats, barley, rye, brown rice and wheat. We recommend consuming multi grain cereal with at least 40-50% whole grains.
2. Buying cereal in bulk is the most cost effective method.
3. Breakfast is the best time to eat cereal.
4. Avoid cereals with artificial sweeteners, added sugars, texture enhancing chemicals, or dangerous dyes.
5. Increase nutritional intake by topping cereal with fruits, nuts, and seeds. This also adds to the crunchiness.
6. Cashews and walnuts can also be added.
7. Buy in bulk. This is the cheapest option because cereal keeps for a long time because it lacks moisture.

Benefits

• Dietary fibre. Adds bulk to stool to help clean colon and expel stools at regular intervals. This prevents constipation.
• Promotes a health gut. Prebiotics, like the ones found in cereals, are natural plant compounds that feed good bacteria in gut.
• High in vitamins and dietary minerals especially magnesium potassium iron, phosphorus and vitamin B.
• Low calorie. Calorie restriction has been shown to have positive effects on metabolism and aging.

White Tea

Methods

1. Buy High-Quality Loose-Leaf White Tea. For white tea, the loose leaf form is better than bagged tea. This is because the flavour comes from the dust at the bottom of the tea bin
2. Drink 2-4 cups of white tea each day
3. To save money reuse tea leaves once or twice to take advantage of all the nutrients. When doing this, remember to steep the tea for a few minutes longer.
4. Create your own tea ritual. Drinking tea should be relaxing as well as refreshing,
5. Try different kinds of tea. If possible, try the high quality tea call Silver Needle.
6. Use 2 teaspoons of loose-leaf tea per cup then brew for 3-5 minutes in very hot but not boiling water. For a stronger flavour, steep the tea for a few minutes longer.

Benefits 

• Low caffeine levels. This is one of the more notable aspects of white because it give the nutritional value without the negative effects of caffeine consumption.
• Anti-inflammatory properties. The chemicals in tea can reduce joint inflammation.
• Anti-oxidants. Like green, and black tea, white tea offers the toxin removing properties of antioxidants which helps prevent cancers caused by oxidants.

Featured photo credit: We heart it via weheartit.com

The post Day 5: Replace Unhealthy Foods with Superfoods appeared first on Lifehack.

from Lifehack http://ift.tt/1NY7AaG