Here Are Some of The Healthiest Foods You Could Ever Eat
Here Are Some of The Healthiest Foods You Could Ever Eat
These picks have major nutritional payoffs. Here's all the good they're doing your body—and exactly what you should make with them. You can thank us later!
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are full of nutritional benefits and can make a great stand-in for meat in vegetarian dishes because of their complex, savory flavor and firm texture. Additionally, mushrooms are the only plant source of vitamin D (a nutrient many of us are deficient in) and one of the only types of widely available produce that contain significant amounts of selenium. The latter, according to WebMD, helps prevent cell damage. Many varieties are also thought to have immune-boosting and anti-cancer properties.
Recipe: Garlic Butter Mushrooms
Barley
Barley is a grain full of fiber, so it's digested more slowly by the body than more refined grains. It's also thought to help lower blood pressure and keep blood sugar levels stable.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Beef And Barley Soup
Whole Grain Pasta
Whole grain pastas contain far more fiber and nutrients (like iron and protein) than the traditional semolina type. Make sure you look for packages labeled "whole grain" rather than "multigrain." Multigrain pastas might be made of grains and flours other than semolina, but that doesn't mean they're necessarily in their whole (and healthiest) form.
Walnuts
Walnuts are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which help lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise the good cholesterol (HDL) in your body. If you choose not to eat animal food products that provide these essential fats (like fish), walnuts are an excellent alternative. Walnuts also contain antioxidants, which can help protect against free radical damage, as well as protein and fiber.
Nut Butters
Nut butters are an excellent source of healthy, unsaturated fats. They're relatively easy to make at home in a food processor—that way you can guarantee you get the freshest, tastiest product without any unwanted preservatives or additives.
Recipe: Breakfast Apple Nachos
Quinoa
Quinoa is technically a seed, but it cooks and tastes like a grain. It's ideal for salads—warm or cold—and can be used in soups, as a pilaf-like side dish, or formed into patties to make homemade veggie burgers. And because it's a complete protein (containing all 9 essential amino acids), it's an excellent ingredient to use in vegetarian dishes.
Recipe: Zesty Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Olive Oil
Olive oil is an amazing source of healthy monounsaturated fats, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, may lower overall cholesterol in the body and lower the risk of heart disease. It's easy to cook with, or you could drizzle it on salads and soups. It can even be a deliciously complex addition to classic desserts.
Recipe: Garlicky Dipping Oil
Eggs
Eggs have long had a bad rap as a high-cholesterol food, but that description doesn't give consumers the full story. According to a March 2013 article in HuffPost, researchers now know that dietary cholesterol and blood level cholesterol have very different effects on the body, and a recent scientific study even showed that eating whole eggs actually seemed to increase the level of good (HDL) cholesterol in the body. Additionally, eggs (and egg yolks specifically) are one of the best food sources of the B-complex vitamin choline, which is thought to reduce inflammation in the body and improve neurological development and function.
Recipe: Bell Pepper Eggs
Salmon
Salmon is a fatty fish, and in this case, fatty is a good thing. Salmon is chock full of omega-3 fatty acids, which, among other things, can keep your skin healthy and glowing and even give your mood a positive boost. If you can, opt for wild-caught salmon as opposed to farm-raised—it contains fewer toxins and isn't usually grain-fed.
Recipe: Baked Pineapple Salmon
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are packed full of beta-carotene, which your body can convert to vitamin A and use to protect against diseases like cancer and heart disease, as well as chronic conditions caused by inflammation in the body, like rheumatoid arthritis. The beta-carotene found in sweet potatoes can also help to manage and stabilize blood sugar levels.
Recipe: Baked Sweet Potato
Oranges
Best known as a good source of vitamin C, oranges are a go-to food when your immune system needs a little boost. Vitamin C is also thought to stimulate collagen production (a reason it pops up in so many skin creams and products), so eating lots of oranges could help keep your skin looking smooth and supple, too. In addition to their high vitamin C content, oranges also have other good stuff like folate, potassium, and vitamin B1.
Recipe: Mimosa Oranges
Kidney Beans
According to the Mayo Clinic, red beans like kidney beans—commonly included in chili recipes—are a great way to get your daily doses of iron, phosphorous, and potassium. And as an added bonus, they're low in fat and high in other good things, like fiber and protein. That means they'll keep you fuller longer.
Recipe: Best-Ever Beef Chili
Kale
Kale is a superfood. According to WebMD, this hardy green vegetable, which is a member of the cabbage family, can lower cholesterol and cancer risk. It's low in calories, like most vegetables, but is also a good source of a whole range of essential nutrients, like calcium, vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, potassium, copper, and fiber.
Swiss Chard
Much like kale, chard is a hardy, leafy green that's chock full of nutrients. Loaded with essentials like calcium, vitamin A, vitamin K, B vitamins, dietary fiber, potassium, and beta-carotene, Swiss chard comes in many varieties, but has a very similar flavor to beet greens (the two veggies are in the same botanical family).
Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt is here to stay. You can serve it with fruit and honey for breakfast, use it to replace other fats in baked goods, or make a sauce for your protein of choice. However you enjoy it, keep eating it: The stuff's full of probiotic bacteria that promote good digestive health—plus, it has more protein than other yogurt varieties.
Recipe: Frozen Yogurt Fruit Bites
Broccoli
This ubiquitous green vegetable has a secret: Though oranges are a go-to for a healthy dose of vitamin C, a serving of broccoli has nearly a whole day's required amount of the vitamin, about 80 percent. It's also a good source of vitamin K, which the body needs for normal blood clotting and for developing strong, healthy bones and cells, as well as calcium and potassium.
Recipe: Grilled Broccoli
Cabbage
Cabbage is a cruciferous veggie with few calories, no fat, and huge amounts of good-for-you nutrients. It's got small amounts of essentials like vitamin C, calcium, and fiber, and some varieties (savoy and bok choy, specifically) are good sources of beta carotene. That's an all-important antioxidant that the body can convert to vitamin A and use to boost your immune system and protect against heart disease and cancer.
Recipe: Grilled Cabbage "Steaks"
Almonds
Almonds are a nut you should stock up on. They're packed with so many nutrients: fiber, protein, healthy fats, vitamin E, and magnesium.
Recipe: Churro Almonds
Kiwi
We generally think of oranges as the fruit to eat when you're in need of a little boost of vitamin C, but per serving, kiwis have about twice as much of the vitamin as oranges. They are also an excellent source of potassium and phytonutrients. As an added bonus, the recipe below includes blueberries, another little fruit that's packed full of antioxidants.
Recipe: Chocolate Kiwi Pops
Black Beans
Black beans—like most varieties of beans and legumes—are high in protein and dietary fiber. They're also a good source of antioxidants, phosphorous, iron, and the mineral magnesium, which the body needs to keep nerves and muscles functioning.
Recipe: Instant Pot Black Beans
Avocado
Avocados are mild and creamy, making them perfect for adding to all sorts of dishes. They're also high in healthy, monounsaturated fats that seem to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and boost the good cholesterol (HDL) in the blood. Avocados are also a good source of both insoluble and soluble fiber, as well as vitamin K, vitamin E, lutein (which helps protect the eyes), potassium (which helps to regulate blood pressure), and certain B vitamins.
Onions
The allium family of vegetables includes aromatic staples like onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, and scallions. Some of the compounds contained in these vegetables—which give them their distinctive, pungent odor—are also what make them so good for you. They're a good source of allyl sulfides and saponins, which are thought to lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, and even hinder or prevent tumor growth. These vegetables also contain antioxidants called quercetins, which are thought to have anti-inflammatory properties that are crucial for anyone with inflammatory or auto-immune disorders like arthritis.
Recipe: Baked Bloomin' Onion
Sardines
Those little fish might not look like much, but the humble sardine is a nutrient powerhouse. Rich and flavorful, sardines contain lots of good stuff—like omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12—and also have less of the bad stuff, like mercury, often found in larger varieties of fish.
Recipe: Pasta Con Le Sarde
Oatmeal
It's no secret that oatmeal is full of fiber, but you might not know just how much this food can do for your health. Oats are thought to lower inflammation and bad (LDL) cholesterol, as well as help guard against high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and weight gain.
Edamame
Edamame are soybeans, and they're most often served simply boiled and salted—a great way to snack on them. They're also easily tossed into stir-fries, thrown on top of salads, puréed and eaten on their own, or mixed into dips, like hummus. However you cook them up, these little beans have a big nutrition benefit; they have just under 10 grams of dietary fiber per 1/2-cup serving, healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, and about 11 grams of protein, according to WebMD, as well as some vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, and calcium.
Recipe: Roasted Edamame
Buckwheat
Despite the word "wheat" in its name, buckwheat is actually gluten-free (it's a seed related to rhubarb), making it a great go-to ingredient for those who are gluten-allergic or averse. It's high in fiber, as well as essential nutrients like manganese, magnesium, copper, and zinc, and contains 8 essential amino acids needed to keep the body healthy, functioning, and strong — even lysine, which is not produced by the body. Try using buckwheat flour to make pancakes or cookies with an earthy, slightly nutty flavor.
Pumpkin
Pumpkin is best known for its place in the traditional holiday pie, but it's also a tasty addition to other baked goods, like breads and muffins, and to savory dishes, like curries and pastas. You'd do well to add it to as many of your meals as possible while it's in season. Pumpkin contains about double your daily requirement of vitamin A, as well as carotenoids like beta-carotene, which help protect your eyes, and which may also have a role in reducing cancer risk.
Recipe: Pumpkin Butter
Spinach
This ubiquitous green vegetable might seem delicate, but it has a lot in it that can keep you healthy and strong . It's loaded with iron, folate, beta carotene, lutein, various antioxidant compounds, and has about double the fiber of most other leafy greens.
Recipe: Spinach Salad
Watercress
Watercress, which is related to cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage, contains many of those veggies' health-boosting and cancer-fighting properties. This crunchy little green is packed with vitamins A, C, and K, as well as lutein and zeaxanthin, which are carotenoids that are thought to protect the eyes, the heart, and cardiovascular system.
Recipe: Broiled Bacon-Wrapped Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Watercress
Like seriously. Ever.