Nutrition Articles

Healthy Eating: Superfoods to Boost Your Immune System

Everyone has heard about how “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” and how your mom always suggests chicken noodle soup when you are sick, but how much does the food you eat really affect your immune system? According to experts, a lot!

Experts say that “Our immune system works most efficiently when lifestyle factors are in balance, and first and foremost is having the foundation of a healthy diet.” 

A diet rich in vitamins and minerals can help your body better prepare to fight off anything that may come its way. To build that proper foundation, here are a few great superfoods that you should be eating or adding to your diet.

1. Yogurt
2. Garlic
3. Blueberries
4. Kiwi
5. Mushrooms
6. Salmon
7. Beans and Lentils
8. Tea 

Experts also say that “Our immune response declines as we age, so it is important to consider every meal as an opportunity to nourish your body and support a healthy immune system.” Start small by adding a superfood each day into your diet and soon enough you start noticing some big changes to your health.

Eating Healthy Spotlight on: Plums

• Plums, and their dried version known as prunes, are very high in phytonutrients, which function as an antioxidant and provide much benefit to the body.
• Eating plums helps in the production and absorption of iron in the body, thereby leading to better blood circulation leading further to the growth of healthy tissues.
• Consuming plums on a regular basis will help prevent macular degeneration and other eye infections.

Recipe: Chicken Breasts with Plum Salsa and Basmati Rice

1 ½ cups of water

1 cup uncooked basmati rice, rinsed and drained

¾ pound plums, pitted and chopped

½ medium red onion, minced

3 habanero peppers, seeded and minced

3 tablespoons fresh minced cilantro

1 teaspoon sugar

¾ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons vegetable oil 

Place water in medium saucepan and stir in rice. Bring to boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and fluff with fork.  In a bowl, mix the plums, peppers, onions, cilantro and sugar. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Season chicken with rosemary, salt and pepper.  Heat vegetable oil in skillet over medium-heat. Place chicken in oil and brown 1 minute per side.  Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 5 additional minutes per side.  Serve over rice with plum salsa.

Recipe: Fresh Summer Fruit Salad

½ cup water

2/3 cup sugar

3 cups thinly sliced rhubarb

15 seedless grapes, halved

½ orange, sectioned

10 fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

1 apple, cored and diced

1 peach, sliced

1 plum, pitted and sliced

15 pitted Bing cherries

¼ cup fresh blueberries 

Bring water and sugar to boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the rhubarb, turn heat to low, cover and simmer until rhubarb is soft, 10 to 15 minutes.  Mash and chill in the refrigerator about one hour.   To serve, mix the grapes, orange, strawberries, apple, peach, plum, cherries, and blueberries with 2/3 cup of the rhubarb sauce.  Stir gently, but thoroughly to coat.  Refrigerate for at least two hours for all of the flavors to blend well.

Health 101: Ways To Tell If You Are Not Getting Enough Protein

Our bodies have a unique way of telling us when we are not getting enough protein in our diet. Here are seven great ways that show us we are lacking protein:

• You are constantly weak and hungry.
• Your muscles no longer have definition.
• You are struggling to lose weight.
• You are losing your hair.
• You are always getting sick.
• Your lower legs and feet swell unexpectedly.
• Your skin gets patchy in places.

Food for Thought: Foods that Contain Sneaky Sodium

Potato chips, French fries, movie theater popcorn… all these foods we know are packed with sodium. But what about those foods that contain “sneaky” amounts of sodium? High sodium diets can wreak havoc on your health so the more you know about what foods contain sodium the better off you will be when making your food choices.

Sliced deli meats and hotdogs – just one hot dog can contain 500 mg of sodium and just two slices of deli meat up to 250 mg.

Cereal – here’s a sneaky one with one cup of cornflakes containing 200 mg per serving.

Pancake mix – mixes contain 400 mg of sodium per serving!

Canned soups and vegetables – anything in a can is going to contain high amounts of sodium so make sure to be a label reader!

Ketchup and soy sauce – while they are delicious, these condiments pack a punch when it comes to sodium with ketchup containing 150 mg per tablespoon and soy sauce containing 1,000 mg per tablespoon.

Frozen foods – just a single slice of frozen pizza contains nearly 750 mg of sodium! A single serving of frozen meatloaf contains 900 mg.

Spaghetti sauce – just one cup of jarred spaghetti sauce can have a sodium content of 1,000 mg.

Flour tortillas – depending on the size of the tortilla you are looking at between 400 and 600 mg of sodium in each tortilla.

Some seafoods – while seafood can be great for a heart healthy diet, be sure to check your canned and frozen seafoods for those sodium amounts.

Eating Healthy: Spotlight on Salmon

Besides being an excellent source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, salmon is also full of high-quality proteins and low in saturated fat. 

• Salmon has nearly a third of the saturated fat of lean ground beef and 50 percent less saturated fat than chicken, making it one of the healthiest items that you could eat.
• Salmon is also low in calories. One serving contains approximately 183 calories, making it one of the lowest in calories among other fish.
• Salmon contains sufficient amounts of every essential amino acid required by our bodies for growth and the upkeep of muscle tissue.

Recipe: Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon

1 scallion, minced

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 pound center-cut salmon fillet, skinned and cut into four portions

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds 

Whisk scallion, soy sauce, vinegar, honey and ginger in a medium bowl until the honey is dissolved. Place salmon in a sealable plastic bag, add 3 tablespoons of the sauce and refrigerate; let marinate for 15 minutes. Reserve the remaining sauce. Preheat broiler. Line a small baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Transfer the salmon to the pan, skinned-side down. (Discard the marinade.) Broil the salmon 4 to 6 inches from the heat source until cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes. Drizzle with the reserved sauce and garnish with sesame seeds.

Recipe:  Smoked Salmon Dip 

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

½ cup sour cream

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon minced fresh dill

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish, drained

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 oz. smoked salmon, minced 

Cream the cheese in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until just smooth. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, dill, horseradish, salt and pepper, and mix. Add the smoked salmon and mix well. Chill and serve with crudités or crackers.