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4 Superfoods You Should Definitely Be Eating
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When you hear the word superfoods, your mind probably goes right to kale and blueberries, right? Well it’s time for some other “new” superfoods to make it to your Instagram feed.
I recently shared four of my faves with Rachael Ray, and you may want to add them to your repertoire of nutritional superheros in place of your old worn out go-tos.
Because let’s face it, you can never have enough superfoods on your plate!
4 Superfoods You Should Definitely Be Eating
Matcha: Use this bright green powder to replace your morning coffee. Matcha is made from whole tea leaves that are ground into powder form. Since you’re consuming the whole tea leaf (versus steeping and dumping a tea bag) matcha provides you with a super dose of antioxidants – 10 times the amount of traditional green tea.
The high levels of both ECGC (a type of catechin) and polyphenols will provide you with anti inflammatory benefits, may improve your blood pressure and play a role in cardiovascular health. Matcha contains caffeine as well the amino acid known as l-theanine. This combination will help to improve your mental alertness and help you focus without the 3:00 p.m. crash you usually get from downing your daily dose of java.
Add this powder to warm almond milk to replace your morning latte, blend with Greek yogurt, add to smoothies or even sprinkle on popcorn.
Ghee: Use this to replace traditional butter. Ghee is a type of clarified butter that you’re definitely going to want to add to your grocery list. This creamy spread has more short and medium chain fatty acids than traditional butter.
What does this mean for your bod? The calories from these fats are burned faster so the energy the ghee provides is more quickly utilized. These healthy fats also benefit your gastrointestinal health and ghee also has more vitamin A, D, and E than the traditional stuff, meaning it can help repair damaged skin, improve your vision, and even help balance your hormones.
Use ghee anywhere you would typically use butter. Swipe a teaspoon on a slice of Ezekial toast in the morning, or drizzle a tablespoon over veggies before roasting. The higher smoke point makes it safe to cook at high temps, too.
Black Rice: Toss the white stuff, and go for this instead. Slightly lower in calories and higher in protein, white rice pales in nutritional value (and color) compared to its darker rice counterpart.
It’s packed with antioxidants called anthocyanins (this is what gives it the dark color) that have been shown to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and can improve cognitive function and mental decline.
Use black rice to replace white or brown rice. Top a cup of black rice with beans, diced tomatoes, roasted corn, avocado, and grilled peppers to make a super fast and nutrient-packed burrito bowl.
Chickpea Flour: This flour could be the new whole wheat. Made of nothing more than simply ground chickpeas, this flour is versatile, wheat free, gluten-free, high in protein, and a wallet friendly option compared to other gluten free flours (I’m looking at you, almond flour).
So you can try chickpea flour if gluten makes your stomach turn, or even simply to keep you fuller longer after meals, thanks to its high protein content.
Commonly known as ‘socca,’ this chickpea flour crepe recipe is simple, healthy and delicious and the perfect vehicle to be topped with veggies and enjoyed (or try it sweet by adding a little vanilla and cinnamon to your batter).
The Nutritious Life Editors are a team of healthy lifestyle enthusiasts who not only subscribe to — and live! — the 8 Pillars of a Nutritious Life, but also have access to some of the savviest thought leaders in the health and wellness space — including our founder and resident dietitian, Keri Glassman. From the hottest trends in wellness to the latest medical science, we stay on top of it all in order to deliver the info YOU need to live your most nutritious life.
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