Some healthy foods I've grown to love...

Here's is partial of foods I've incorporated into my diet in recent months:

Dried figs (Added 4/8/2009): I don't know how I forgot this one.  Figs are a good source of in soluble fiber.  2 dried figs has as much soluble fiber as a medium apple or a 1/2 cup fiber one cereal.  Soluble fiber lowers cholesterol and help control blood sugar levels.  They are one of my regular snacks.

 

Kale: I found out that this leafy green veggie just might be one the most nutritious of the leafy veggies.  It is packed with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and a good source of fiber. The downfall is that it's not very appealing raw, but its GREAT in broth soups.

Almond butter: My entire life I've been a peanut butter addict, but in my quest to eat healthier I found that almond butter has more nutritional benefits than peanut butter.  Almond butter has less saturated fat and sodium and has more fiber, protein, iron.  Almond even has some nutrients that peanut butter does not have like Vitamin E, Niacin and Riboflavin.

Flaxseed meal: Although not the tastiest of food items I find ways to incorporate it into my diet because of all of its health benefits.  I put a 1 or 2 tbsp in my smoothies, or on my cereal and often incorporate it into any muffins or cookies I make.  Often, I'll sprinkle it on my almond butter sandwich (whole wheat bread of course).

Almond milk: When I decided to listen to my body's lactose intolerance I switched to soy milk, then Nicole introduced me to almond milk.  Almond milk has less calories and fat than soy milk and even better... it doesn't make me gassy since its not from beans like soy milk :-)

Egg whites: Less cholesterol, fat, calories... you name it it has less bad stuff than whole eggs. On any given morning I'll make an egg white omelet and I find ways to substitute egg whites for whole eggs in all my recipes (quiches, desserts, etc.).

Canadian Bacon: This is my fav addition to my omelet or egg sandwich.  It's a very lean cut of ham and 1 slice (perfect size for an egg sandwich) is only 20 calories.

Baked wheat crackers: Not the tastiest but perfectly fine when dipped in something... like hummus!   First I tried Triscuits which had was 120 cal and 3g fat and 3g of fiber per serving.  Then I found a store brand which was 120 cal and 0.5g fat and 3g of fiber.  Hence my use of the generic name, "baked wheat crackers."  Best of all... the ingredient list is minimal: "whole wheat, salt."  No oils, maltodextrin, triglycerides or lecithin which are often found in crackers.

Lean ground beef: I've found ground beef up to 95% lean.  For the amount of iron you get in beef you can't beat it!  Plus, it has more flavor than ground turkey.