- Apple – these are a good source of vitamin A and fibre.
- Banana – good source of potassium, fibre, manganese, vitamin C and vitamin B6.
- Cherries – like many other fruits, cherries are a good source of vitamin C
- Dairy (yoghurt, low fat milk and cheese) – provides a great source of calcium and riboflavin.
- Eggs – are a good source of riboflavin, vitamin B12 and phosphorus, and a very good source of protein and selenium. Just don’t eat too many as they are high in saturated fat.
- Feijoa – these tasty green egg shaped fruits are also known as pineapple guava and are a good source of vitamin C and folate.
- Grapes – these are a good source of vitamin K and manganese.
- Hummus – is a dip made out of chickpeas and garlic and tastes good in doner kebabs. It is a good source of fibre, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and manganese.
- Iyokan – a Japanese citrus fruit and a good source of vitamin C
- Jujube (Chinese date) - is a good source of vitamin C, and it is said that the scent of jujubes makes teenagers fall in love.
- Kumara – also known as sweet potato and is a fantastic source of fibre, vitamin A, vitamin B6, potassium, and manganese.
- Lettuce – this sandwich filler is an excellent source of fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate and manganese.
- Mango – these tasty fruits are a great source of vitamin C and vitamin A.
- Nuts – are a good source of copper and manganese.
- Olives – are full of monounsaturated (“good”) fat.
- Pumpkin – this sweet vegetable is a good source of thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, pantothenic acid, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, and an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, riboflavin, potassium, copper and manganese.
- Queijo – This is the Portuguese word for cheese, I know I mentioned cheese before, but I was struggling to come up with a nutritious food starting with Q. Anyway, cheese is typically high in saturated fat. When choosing a cheese, go for a low fat variety, such as cottage cheese or
Edam - Raspberries – are a good source of vitamin C, fibre, and manganese.
- Salmon – is a good source of monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, protein, niacin, selenium, and vitamin B12
- Tuna – is low in saturated fat and is full magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, protein, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6 and selenium.
- Ugli fruit - are native to
Jamaica - Violets – are a rich source of vitamin C and A. The flowers can be used in stuffing and can be eaten raw.
- Whole-grains (brown rice, whole meal bread, whole grain pasta, whole meal flour) - are an excellent source of fibre.
- Xanthosoma – a group of starchy root vegetables native to
America - Yams – are root vegetables, which taste good when roasted. They are a good source of fibre, vitamin B6, potassium, and manganese and a fantastic source of vitamin C.
- Zucchinis – are a good source of protein, vitamin A, thiamin, niacin, phosphorus and copper, and an excellent source of fibre, vitamin C, vitamin K, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, potassium and manganese.
Questions and anwsers
I’ve got some old chocolate that has been hiding away in my stash for a few months. It's starting to go white. Is it still safe to eat it?
I suggest checking the best by date, if it’s well over the best by date, I would not eat it. However, when it goes white it is usually fine to eat. According to http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061113050112AAjM47O, the whiteness can occur if the chocolate is stored at high temperatures. At high temperatures, the cocoa butter crystallizes and rises to the surface as white streaks. This whiteness can also occur if the storage area is subject to high humidity. The sugar from the chocolate dissolves out of the chocolate and appears on the surface. It is recommended that you add a little bit of vegetable oil to it and melt it down, and the whiteness will go away.
I recommend that you stock up on a lot of non-perishable food and lots of bottled water. Stock up on food like, canned baked beans, spaghetti, tuna, fruit; pasta; rice; dried vegetables and fruit; flour; and milk powder. When choosing food, pick the low fat, low salt/sodium, and low sugar options.
What’s better, home made popcorn or prepackaged pop corn?
It depends on what type of prepackaged popcorn you go for and how you cook your popcorn. Generally, I would say make your own, because you choose how you cook the popcorn, you can decide on the portion size and whether or not you add sugar, salt or butter. I think the healthiest option would be popcorn made in a popcorn maker, because it does not require you to add huge quantities of fat to the corn kernels. If you are going to make popcorn, use vegetable oil instead of butter, because vegetable oil contains “good” (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) fats. In addition, go easy on the icing sugar and salt. However, if you must buy pre-made popcorn or microwave popcorn, choose the low salt, low sugar and reduced butter options.
Will eating dog/cat food harm you? Does it have any nutritional value for humans? Is dry animal food or wet food better for you?
There are some pet food companies that claim that eating their pet food is not harmful. However, eating raw pet food can be harmful. I’m guessing that pet food does has some nutritional value for humans, but it’s probably in our best interests not to eat it, because our furry feline and canine friends have different nutritional needs to us, Homo sapiens.
Eating nothing but carrots or nothing but chocolate is not good for you as you would not get enough essential nutrients and you would get too much of some other nutrients. With an all chocolate diet your sugar and saturated fat intake would be much too high and too low in several essential nutrients. Eating an all carrot diet would provide you with plenty of vitamin C, vitamin E, thiamin, potassium, dietary fibre, vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin B6 and manganese, but not enough fat, protein, iron, calcium and many other micronutrients. Surprisingly, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotene, eating large quantities of carrots can actually give your skin a yellow hue (carotenodermia). See http://www.nutritiondata.com/ for nutritional value for an extensive range of foods.
Well, both are beneficial to one’s health and any vegetables are better than no vegetables. Both fresh and frozen vegetables have about the same levels of minerals and vitamins. However, these micronutrients stay in frozen vegetables for longer than they do in fresh vegetables, as light and air speed up the loss of minerals and vitamins, whereas freezing preserves these micro goodies. See http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/Food_Facts/FAQ/frozen_freshveg_faq.asp for greater details.
What about multi-vitamins, are they the way to go?
I recommend that you get your nutrients from eating varied diet. However, if your diet is low in energy (around 7000kJ or less), I would recommend that you take multi vitamin and mineral tablets.
Apparently, it is possible to become addicted to sugar (see http://www.saber.ula.ve/db/ssaber/Edocs/papers/medicina/rada_pedro/evidence-intermittent.pdf.
No more than 15% of your energy intake should come from sugar (which is no more than 70g in an 8000Kj/day diet), according to www.moh.govt.nz.
What things can you eat to make your hair healthier and shinier?
Eating foods rich in vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), biotin, folic acid, vitamin E, choline, zinc and sulfur helps make your hair healthy and shiny. These vitamins and minerals can be found in vegetable and seed oils, seeds, nuts, wholegrains, dark leafy green veggies, liver, broccoli, legumes, artichokes, mushrooms, eggs, bananas, cauliflower, grapefruit, oysters, pumpkin, ginger, seafood, onions, garlic, cabbage, brussell sprouts, meat and fish.