Seriously the best running jams. (Taken with Instagram at Walking Trail At Lake Guntersville)
Can’t believe I’m posting this, but here we go. One months later, ten pounds lighter. Still got a ways to go, but whatever. (Taken with instagram)
Fresh Sweet Corn, Cherry Tomato and Avocado Salad
For the salad:
- 1 cup of rucola (AKA arugula/rocket/jarjeer)
- 2 cups mixed leaves or greens of choice
- Raw sweet corn kernels from one ear of corn
- 1/2 cup cherry or baby plum tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 an avocado, sliced
For the red onion balsamic dressing
- 1/2 a small red onion, finely grated
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon juice.
- 1 tsp agave nectar (or maple syrup)*
- Dash of sea salt and pepper to taste
* Any liquid sweetener would work, but agave is best as it has a clean sweet flavour as opposed to molasses which may have more of a distinctive caramel taste.
Don’t skip out on grating the onion here, it turns it to this wonderful, almost chutney-like consistency. Whisk together other ingredients and try not to drink the whole thing when you taste-test. Drizzle over salad just before serving.
Orange Plum Apple Pear (Taken with instagram)
Blue/Indigo/Violet Foods
The blue, indigo, and violet list of fruits and vegetables are great for their anti-aging properties. These foods have tons of antioxidants, specifically anthocyanins and phenolics. Some blue and purple fruits and vegetables are also really high in vitamin C.
Anything in this category will help improve circulation and prevent blood clots, so they are great for the heart and can help prevent heart disease. They are also known to help memory function and urinary tract health and to reduce free radical damage.
Greenish/White Foods
The strong phytochemical in these whitish/greenish vegetables is called allicin and allium, which create an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral chemical environment in your body.
Some white foods prevent cancer and heart disease, and lower cholesterol levels. Celery is often dubbed as a useless vegetable because it has no calories, but it does have minerals like good sodium that help keep the joints healthy. The selenium in mushrooms helps prevent cancer and keeps your body in balance.
Everything on this greenish/white list of fruits and vegetables helps maintain low cholesterol levels in your body as well as a healthy heart.
Green Fruits and Vegetables
These foods have the phytochemicals sulforaphane and indoles, which both prevent cancer. They are also good for the circulatory system and have good vitamin B and minerals.
On this list of fruits and vegetables, the vitamin K in green foods also helps with vision, and with maintaining strong bones and teeth. Some of the yellower green vegetables have carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin that help to prevent cataracts and eye disease, as well as osteoporosis.
Yellow Fruits and Vegetables
Yellow foods are high in antioxidants like vitamin C. Vitamin C keeps our teeth and gums healthy, helps to heal cuts, improves the mucus membranes (like when we have colds), helps to absorb iron, prevents inflammation, improves circulation, and therefore prevents heart disease. Some of the darker ones also cross over with the health benefits of orange foods.
Orange Fruits and Vegetables
Carotenoids are the powerful phytochemical in orange foods, and they are what give the foods their color. Carotenoids repair DNA and help prevent cancer and heart disease, as well as strengthening our vision.
These orange foods also give us the right amount of potassium and vitamin A, which keeps our eyes and skin healthy, and protects against infections. They are also known to boost the immune system because of the vitamin C content in many of them.
The phytochemicals in red foods are carotenoids and anthocyanins. One of the most abundant carotenoids is lycopene. Lycopene helps reduce damage from free radicals in your body and it also prevents heart disease, cancer, prostrate problems, and reduces the skin damage from the sun. These red foods help memory function, urinary tract health, and makes your heart healthy.
Red fruits and vegetables are also often very high in vitamin C, which helps encourage cellular renewal in your body.
