• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Fresh fruits are best, but frozen fruit and berries are good, too. Canned fruit is a very distant third choice.

If you consume tropical fruits and their products, such as acai berries, mangosteen, noni juice, and goji berries or goji juice, make sure they’re naturally sweetened. These products have been in the news lately because of their purported anti-cancer and weight-loss action.

Color me healthy: The rainbow color code

Eating a rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables on a regular basis will flood your body and bloodstream with powerful chemicals.

Red: Strawberries, tomatoes, red bell peppers, beets, pomegranates, red apples, cayenne pepper, dulse, and watermelon contain lycopene, which the body uses to fight cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Orange/yellow: Oranges, carrots, winter squash, orange bell peppers, peaches, mangos, pineapple, papayas, nectarines, and hot peppers offer alpha and beta carotene, antioxidants used to protect eye health and some skin diseases. The citrus fruits also provide folate, which help to reduce the risk of birth defects.

Green: Leafy green vegetables, edible algae, lettuce, and sprouts all teem with chlorophyll. This powerful green aspect of plants is believed to protect the body from cancers, increases stores of red blood cells, binds with and removes heavy metals from the blood, is anti-inflammatory, and even prevents bad breath.

Blue/purple: Blueberries are very high in vitamin C and offer a good dose of manganese. As antioxidant powerhouses, these little blue nuggets of nutrition will increase the power of any breakfast. High in cancer-preventing flavonoids proanthocyanidins, purple foods include eggplant, peppers, purple cabbage, plums, prunes, and grapes.

White: Bananas, cauliflower, garlic, ginger, jicama, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, potatoes, and turnips contain anthoxanthins, which help to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, helping lower the risk of heart disease.

Proper proteins: Beans and legumes

Beans and legumes are great sources of nutrition, no matter which one you choose. Higher in protein and fat than whole grains, beans and legumes, when combined with grains, give you all the amino acids to form a complete protein. Completely cholesterol-free, beans are a good source of iron, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E, and thiamin. Beans are useful in fighting several diseases because of their high fiber content. Bean dishes provide a slow drip of energy, fortify the body and blood, and are truly satisfying.

When buying beans and legumes, quality is important. Several studies have shown that organic foods, including beans, offer your body more nutrition because they’re grown in healthier soil.

A multiyear study by the European Union declared that organic foods offer higher nutrition than conventionally raised foods, and often have higher levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants.

Canned beans are convenient and relatively inexpensive, so keeping several types in your cupboard makes financial sense. Bulk dry beans are even cheaper and are very simple to cook. Just look for uniformly sized beans that are smooth and free of wrinkles, cracks, and pits. Store each type of dry bean in an airtight glass jar, away from light and heat.

Aw, nuts! (And seeds)

Rich in protein, healthy monounsaturated fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, nuts and seeds are wonderful additions to a vegan diet. Just because they’re high in fat doesn’t mean they’ll make you fat! Eaten in moderation, nuts and seeds help you feel full faster, which can help you to eat less overall.

To make them even more nutritious and easy to digest, you can soak nuts and seeds overnight in cool water. This starts the germination process and activates certain enzymes that pre-digest some of the proteins and fats, increasing certain nutrients, and make it easier for the body to break down the fats and protein. Store your raw nuts in the refrigerator or freezer to preserve their natural oils.

Either raw or soaked, nuts and seeds are easy to carry with you, so grab a container or baggie and fill up