Heart Healthy Foods - Nutrient Dense Choices For Your Nutrition Plan

Let's go for a walk through your market and see what we can find to help keep your heart happy and healthy!

First off, maybe we should take you to a few markets? Do you ever wander through other markets when you have the opportunity? A fast 5 minute browse through small vegetable markets could bring to your attention some items which you would normally not see at your regular market. You need to have variety in order to keep up the motivation to eat healthy so finding new produce in vibrant colors, smells and reputation for antioxidants can help elevate your fuel session to a tasty meal. Like them or not, you are bound to find a few new items to add to the menu for a change.

With the rise in popularity in home activities such as growing your own foods and cooking at home the demand for more information in these areas soars. The other interesting spark toward food and cooking is the variety in foods, mixing strains, hybrids; more world accessibility has brought about the ability to grow things we never thought we could within our respective environments.

All that this means is you can now hit a market and not have to go to a specialty store to find oddities such as purple potatoes, orange cauliflower, and yellow tomatoes. New, cool and healthy produce is finding its way to your table much easier but you have to be willing to try something new every month or so. Just as parents would expect or at least hope their kids would be open to new foods, parents have to be willing as well. Adults can be worse than children as they are set in their ways and refuse to try new things.

Some things are easy to add to the meals and really punch up the value, parsley, garlic, chili, lemon and pepper being just a few very strong, popular contenders. Don't be shy to use these as they are fat free and fabulous to help lean, clean foods taste more exciting.

Explore items such as Inca or Goji berries which are rich is antioxidants more so than most produce. Find some fiddlesticks and try them out with a new recipe from the Internet, they are great to impress at your next healthy dinner party. You will find many free recipes to choose from narrowing down to one which is just right for you.

Try to go for raw; steamed and roasted as well as foods cooked together but try not to choose recipes which overcook these precious nutrients as they you will lose their healthy benefits.

Acai berries are getting easier to attain and you can get the juice or frozen which works well for smoothies as it helps add thickness along with the richness of its powerful nutrients.

Mangosteen has been making waves in the health industry toward overall and heart health. I personally take some daily for about 5 months now although not religiously, I do really like it.

Yellow zucchini is rich in nutrients with a nicer taste than regular zucchini. Cauliflower now comes in an array of colors including purple making eating fun. Take advantage of the colors as they are rich in phytochemicals all leading to heart healthy feeding. Learn to enjoy food and eating within clean, lean boundaries focusing on raw produce as a huge portion of your diet.

By Linda Cusmano