Healthiest Foods You Could Ever Eat

 Healthiest Foods You Could Ever Eat

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are full of nutritional benefits and can make a great stand-in for meat in vegetarian dishes because of their complex, savory flavor and firm texture. Additionally, mushrooms are the only plant source of vitamin D (a nutrient many of us are deficient in) and one of the only types of widely available produce that contain significant amounts of selenium. The latter, according to WebMD, helps prevent cell damage. Many varieties are also thought to have immune-boosting and anti-cancer properties.

 

Recipe: Garlic Butter Mushrooms

Barley

Barley is a grain full of fiber, so it's digested more slowly by the body than more refined grains. It's also thought to help lower blood pressure and keep blood sugar levels stable.

 

            Recipe: Slow Cooker Beef And Barley Soup

Whole Grain Pasta

Whole grain pastas contain far more fiber and nutrients (like iron and protein) than the traditional semolina type. Make sure you look for packages labeled "whole grain" rather than "multigrain." Multigrain pastas might be made of grains and flours other than semolina, but that doesn't mean they're necessarily in their whole (and healthiest) form.

 

Recipe: Greek Yogurt Whole Grain broccoli

Walnuts

Walnuts are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which help lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise the good cholesterol (HDL) in your body. If you choose not to eat animal food products that provide these essential fats (like fish), walnuts are an excellent alternative. Walnuts also contain antioxidants, which can help protect against free radical damage, as well as protein and fiber.

 

Recipe: Candied Walnut Brussels Sprout Bites

Nut Butters

Nut butters are an excellent source of healthy, unsaturated fats. They're relatively easy to make at home in a food processor—that way you can guarantee you get the freshest, tastiest product without any unwanted preservatives or additives.

 

Recipe: Breakfast Apple Nachos

Quinoa

Quinoa is technically a seed, but it cooks and tastes like a grain. It's ideal for salads—warm or cold—and can be used in soups, as a pilaf-like side dish, or formed into patties to make homemade veggie burgers. And because it's a complete protein (containing all 9 essential amino acids), it's an excellent ingredient to use in vegetarian dishes.

 

Recipe: Zesty Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Olive Oil

Olive oil is an amazing source of healthy monounsaturated fats, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, may lower overall cholesterol in the body and lower the risk of heart disease. It's easy to cook with, or you could drizzle it on salads and soups. It can even be a deliciously complex addition to classic desserts.

 

Recipe: Garlicky Dipping Oil

Eggs

Eggs have long had a bad rap as a high-cholesterol food, but that description doesn't give consumers the full story. According to a March 2013 article in HuffPost, researchers now know that dietary cholesterol and blood level cholesterol have very different effects on the body, and a recent scientific study even showed that eating whole eggs actually seemed to increase the level of good (HDL) cholesterol in the body. Additionally, eggs (and egg yolks specifically) are one of the best food sources of the B-complex vitamin choline, which is thought to reduce inflammation in the body and improve neurological development and function.

 

 

Recipe: Bell Pepper Eggs

Buckwheat

Despite the word "wheat" in its name, buckwheat is actually gluten-free (it's a seed related to rhubarb), making it a great go-to ingredient for those who are gluten-allergic or averse. It's high in fiber, as well as essential nutrients like manganese, magnesium, copper, and zinc, and contains 8 essential amino acids needed to keep the body healthy, functioning, and strong — even lysine, which is not produced by the body. Try using buckwheat flour to make pancakes or cookies with an earthy, slightly nutty flavor.

 

Recipe: Gluten-Free Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Spinach

This ubiquitous green vegetable might seem delicate, but it has a lot in it that can keep you healthy and strong . It's loaded with iron, folate, beta carotene, lutein, various antioxidant compounds, and has about double the fiber of most other leafy greens.

 

Recipe: Spinach Salad