Nutrition

Healthy spring salad recipe with fresh peas and crispy fried shallots

Nifer — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:44:04 +0000

Now’s the time to head to the farmers’ market to find just-picked fresh shelling peas. Peas thrive in the cooler weather of late spring and early summer and they’re a good source of fiber, and with vitamins A and K they can help keep your eyes and bones healthy. Keep in mind that unlike their frozen counterparts, fresh peas take a little work. You do need to shell them, after all. But it’s worth it! Especially when you build a special salad around them.

How to make a healthy smoothie: best smoothie ingredients & 10 to ditch

Nifer — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:04:46 +0000

Whether you enjoy smoothies for breakfast, a snack or even dessert, they’re a great way to increase your daily servings of fruits and vegetables. But depending on the ingredients they’re made with, smoothies can quickly turn into unhealthy calorie-bombs filled with sugar and saturated fat. And drinking too many high-calorie smoothies could counteract their health benefits and sabotage your efforts to stay—or get—slim.

Health benefits of juicing vs. smoothies

Nifer — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:17:47 +0000

Juicing and smoothies are all the rage right now. While both can boost your fruit and vegetable intake (something most Americans need to do) and are great for getting a variety of produce into your diet, one is the better choice.

Is organic food healthier than conventional food?

Nifer — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:17:23 +0000

Here’s why you can feel good about organic: USDA–certified organic means your food is produced without synthetic pesticides, bioengineering or radiation; animals are raised without antibiotics or growth hormones. But the debate about whether organic foods are healthier for you continues. And two new studies add to the controversy. (Here are 14 foods you should buy organic.)

Gluten-free? Not so fast. Watch out for this list of surprising foods that contain gluten

Nifer — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:02:37 +0000

If you have celiac-disease, gluten-sensitivity or for some other reason you’re not eating gluten—the protein found in wheat, rye and barley—you probably know to steer clear of big, obvious offenders like bread, pasta and baked goods.

Related: 4 Easy Ways to Avoid Gluten

Eat More Vegetables Challenge Day 14: Create a Power Salad by Including These Four Ingredients to Feel Full Longer

Sarah Hoff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:12:34 +0000

Who says a salad has to just be a side? Turn your salad into a meal by including these 4 key ingredients of a power salad, which will help you feel full longer.

1. Greens. Start with 1 to 2 cups of lettuce per serving. Combine different types to balance textures and flavors. Try tender, mild Boston lettuce with crisp romaine and bold escarole.

2. Vegetables. Add plenty of vegetables for crunch, flavor and color.

Eat More Vegetables Challenge Day 13: Transform Your Veggies with This Go-To Vegetable-Cooking Technique

Sarah Hoff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:06:26 +0000

Roasting brings out sweet flavors, transforming even the most challenging-to-love vegetables, such as cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, or root vegetables, such as carrots, beets, parsnips and sweet potatoes, into something that can taste as sweet as candy.

Here are 3 Secrets to Perfectly Roasted Vegetables Every Time:
1. Make sure you cut the vegetables into equal-size pieces. That way they’ll all cook at the same rate.

Eat More Vegetables Challenge Day 12: Fill the Inside of Your Vegetables with Flavor

Sarah Hoff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:56:11 +0000

Vegetables take center stage with a whole new taste when you stuff them with your favorite fillings. After all, if you want to eat the stuffing that’s inside the vegetable, you’ll be more likely to eat the vegetable it’s stuffed in. For a satisfying meal, think peppers stuffed with orzo or eggplant filled with Thai-style shrimp and pork. The possibilities are exciting. To help you get started, check out these delicious options:

Recipe of the Day: Moroccan Stuffed Peppers
More Stuffed Peppers & Easy Stuffed Vegetable Recipes

Eat More Vegetables Challenge Day 11: Make a Practically Instant Veggie-Packed Dinner with This Ultra-Fast Cooking Technique

Sarah Hoff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:48:30 +0000

Stir-frying is one of the quickest and most versatile ways to make a fast dinner loaded with vegetables. This healthy high-heat method of searing meats and vegetables with just a little oil is usually associated with Asian cooking, but you can use plenty of other flavors as well. The core elements of any stir-fry are fresh veggies, a bit of protein, such as meat, poultry, seafood, tofu or nuts, a few staple spices and sauces. You can make them from what’s in your kitchen: onions, frozen peas and chicken breasts? Sounds great! The combinations are endless.

Eat More Vegetables Challenge Day 10: Use This Magical No-Cook Technique to Make Hearty Greens Irresistible

Sarah Hoff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:39:46 +0000

Who knew the solution to overcooking dark leafy greens to make them palatable was actually not cooking them at all? It turns out there’s an amazing tool for transforming bitter dark leafy greens into a tender, melts-in-your-mouth salad packed with punchy citrus, garlic and Parmesan. And it’s only an arm’s length away: your hands! A few minutes of judicious massaging (think Rolfing, not Reiki) will completely transform kale, mustard greens or broccoli rabe into something velvety and soft.

Eat More Vegetables Challenge Day 9: Start Your Meal with This Veggie-Packed Dish to Eat More Produce and Fewer Calories

Sarah Hoff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:28:52 +0000

Filling up on fiber- and water-rich foods at the beginning of a meal can help prevent you from eating too much high-calorie fare later. Research out of Penn State shows that eating a first-course salad can reduce overall calorie intake at a meal by up to 12 percent. A small side salad is an easy way to work more nutritious vegetables into your diet. But not the kind of salad with a leaf of iceberg, loads of croutons and heavy dressing. Start with a salad of greens as the foundation, then add an assortment of vegetables for crunch, flavor and color.

Eat More Vegetables Challenge Day 8: Skip the Chopping with This Underutilized Vegetable

Sarah Hoff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:20:17 +0000

Make vegetable prep easier by using frozen produce. It may even be healthier than fresh. Frozen vegetables are processed at their peak ripeness, a time when—as a general rule—they are most nutrient-packed. Freezing locks in all that fresh-picked nutrition and flavor. Plus, it doesn’t get any easier: washed and typically prechopped, frozen vegetables can literally go straight from freezer to pot. And they can be stored for long periods of time, ready and waiting for you.

Recipe of the Day: Quick Vegetable Sauté

Eat More Vegetables Challenge Day 7: Drink Your Vegetables

Sarah Hoff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:12:37 +0000

Some vegetables add delicious creaminess to a smoothie while others add healthy fiber and flavor. Try avocados, leafy greens like kale and spinach, cucumbers or even canned pumpkin or cooked sweet potato for a tasty addition.

Try one of Eating Well’s Veggie-Filled Smoothie Recipes:

Eat More Vegetables Challenge Day 6: Learn the Secrets to Cooking Satisfying Meatless Meals

Sarah Hoff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:53:29 +0000

Put the emphasis on vegetables at mealtime. Pick one day (or just a meal) a week to eat meatless and have veggies be the shinning star on your plate. If you’re worried that you’ll miss the meat, include chewy, satisfying foods like seared firm tofu, grilled mushrooms and nuts, which feel more filling because they take more time and effort to eat than, say, a spoonful of broth. They also better mimic the way you chew meat—which makes them a more satisfying substitute.

Eat More Vegetables Challenge Day 5: Offer Healthy Dips to Help Veggie-Phobes Munch Down

Sarah Hoff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:41:50 +0000

Even the biggest veggie-phobe will munch down when you offer a delicious dip with crunchy spears of fresh vegetables. Carrots, celery and peppers take on a whole new taste when dunked with a little dip—OK, for some of you perhaps drowned in dip. It’s all good, if the veggies get eaten. And when you pick one of EatingWell’s healthy dip recipes, you really can’t go wrong. (Plus, with our Creamy Spinach Dip Recipe, even the dip has veggies!)