Healthy Foods for Nutritional Meals

Building the Perfect Feast

Provided By Men's Health

There's probably a reason you eat the foods you do. Because your mom made them for you. Or because they come in the EZ-open pouch. But if you keep eating the way you always have, you'll never improve on the body you've got. And the prognosis -- on the mom diet, at least -- isn't good. Look at your dad. That's why we're providing you with 15 sneaky diet tips that will give you better results from the same foods. And nobody needs to be the wiser. Just think of these food strategies as the cork in your bat, the glue on your glove, your own personal, syringe-wielding East German Olympic swim-team coach. Only difference is, each one is simple, nutritionally sound, and perfectly legal in all 50 states.


1. Whey your options

Add a cup of ricotta cheese to your fruit smoothie. Ricotta is a soft, mild cheese that's made almost entirely of whey, the liquid that separates from curd during the cheese-making process. Whey contains cysteine, an amino acid that helps produce a cancer-fighting antioxidant called glutathione. When Ohio State University researchers treated prostate cells with whey protein, glutathione levels jumped by 64 percent.


2. See red

Got leftover tuna salad? Stuff it into a red bell pepper instead of sandwiching it between two slabs of Wonder bread. Red peppers and other red-fleshed fruits such as tomatoes, watermelons, and ruby-red grapefruit are high in lycopene, a phytochemical that can reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 20 percent. Bake the pepper and you'll make it even more potent; heat makes lycopene easier for your body to absorb.


3. Hit the sauce

Think of salsa as a vegetable, and eat it as often as you can. "Just take a fish fillet, pour salsa over it, and throw it in the oven -- you've got an instant healthy meal," says Cynthia Sass, M.P.H., R.D. In addition to containing lycopene from the tomatoes, salsa has no fat, only 4 calories per tablespoon, and as little as 70 milligrams (mg) of sodium.



4. Switch syrups

Move over, Aunt Jemima: A better syrup has come to take your place at the breakfast table. "Sorghum syrup is produced in much the same way that molasses is made from sugar-cane, and it's one of the best, most concentrated sources of dietary antioxidants -- period," says Cheryl Forberg, R.D., author of Stop the Clock! Cooking. Like grits, sorghum syrup is more widely available in the South. But you can find it at specialty-food stores all over the country.


5. Spread the wealth

You could buy your own produce stand in order to keep up with the National Cancer Institute's recommended nine daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Or you could just buy your fruit in a jar. One tablespoon of unsweetened fruit spread (not sugary jelly or jam) on your morning bagel counts as one of the day's servings, says David Grotto, R.D., director of nutrition education at the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care in Evanston, Illinois. Look for brands with a high vitamin content, like Crofters Organic.



6. Supplement with herbs

More oregano makes for a more powerful pizza. A tablespoon of fresh oregano (not the dried, bottled kind -- natch) has a higher antioxidant yield than an entire apple, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers, who measured the antioxidant levels of 39 common herbs. Bonus: Calorie counts for most herbs and spices are nonexistent. The same can't be said for other pizza toppings, like, say, sausage.


7. Be crafty with broccoli

Power up your mac and cheese by stirring in a cup of chopped steamed broccoli. When you eat cruciferous vegetables -- such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and brussels sprouts -- your body produces a chemical compound called 3,3'-diindolylmethane that inhibits prostate-cancer cell growth by up to 70 percent, according to Leonard Bjeldanes, Ph.D., a professor of nutritional sciences and toxicology at the University of California at Berkeley. "I eat a large serving of them three to five times a week," he says. You should, too.


8. Get a fruit fix

That muck on the bottom of most yogurts has more fructose -- as in high-fructose corn syrup -- than it has fruit. In addition to unnecessarily inflating the calorie count, HFCS can significantly increase blood levels of triglycerides, raising your risk of heart disease. Opt for plain yogurt instead and toss in some raisins or dried pineapple chunks. Dehydrated fruit offers all the health benefits of regular fruit, just concentrated.



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9. Go to seed

Risk an encounter with patchouli-scented Birkenstock wearers and buy a bag of ground flaxseed at the health-food store. Add 3 or 4 tablespoons of it to cereal or oatmeal. Ground flaxseed contains omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and compounds called lignans -- the nutrients that can reduce your risk of colon and prostate cancers, heart disease, and age-related vision loss. "You can consume flaxseed as an oil," Grotto says, "but the oil contains more calories and fewer lignans, even in products that boast high lignans content."