March 31, 2008
Shopping for Fruits and Vegetables
When making your list to go to the grocery store fruits and vegetables should make up most of that list. Fruits and vegetables are low in calories and fat and high in fiber; both are helpful with weight loss.
Here are some tips for shopping for your fruits and vegetables:
- Fresh and seasonal is best. Choose produce that is firm and ripe; buy only what you need so your food does not go bad.
- Look for all different colors when shopping for produce: red peppers, sweet potatoes, bananas, cucumbers, blueberries, eggplants.
- Frozen fruits are great in smoothies or for yogurt toppings. Frozen vegetables make great soups and quick sides for lunch or dinner.
- Most canned vegetables are usually very salty so look for low-sodium versions or stick to fresh or frozen.
- Canned tomatoes, which come with all different seasonings, make a great homemade sauce or topping for chicken or fish.
If you see a new fruit or vegetable, try it. There are so many variates out there - you never know what you might like.
Those colorful vegetables and fruits are also the kind associated with lower incidence of macular degeneration and Alzheimer's disease. Must be the phytonutrients.
Macular degeneration is the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S. By the time it shows up, it is often too late to do much about it. Better to prevent it if able, through nutrition, not smoking, and wearing sunglasses when eyes are often exposed to bright sunlight.
-Steve Parker
"The Advanced Mediterranean Diet"