Summer - The 10 best Foods for your health

Healthy food is boring - Healthy food is tasteless!

This and similar prejudices you can hear whenever people talk about nutrition and healthy eating. Well, this is absolutely untrue! Healthy food can be very tasty, healthy food can be spicy, healthy food can be very exiting! A fresh tomato salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the side and a grilled chicken-breast with broccoli and almonds is neither boring, nor tasteless.

Nowadays more and more people are having problems with their weight. Overweight and obesity are very common problems in our society. And most of these problems could be so easily avoided, just by eating the right food. If you are on a weight loss diet at the moment, the listed foods can freshen up your diet.

Please take the following list as an advice. Just a proposal, how you can plan a healthy nutrition, by using these foods as the base for your future meal-plan.

Ok - in no particular order - the best foods are:

1. Carrots
No, they do not make you see at night. But science has proven that they improve the vision in dim light and they also reduce the risk of lung-cancer. And besides they are helping to regulate the blood sugar and lower the cholesterol. 100 grams of carrots contain 29 kcal.

2. Broccoli
You can look at it from the simple side - Broccoli is green, therefore it is healthy! It is good for you because of its ingredients like chromium, riboflavin and vitamin K. Additionally, Broccoli boosts your immune systems with vitamins A, C and E. It also helps, to build strong bones and to keep the blood sugar level steady. 100 grams of Broccoli contain 26 kcal.

3. Tomatoes
Vitamins A and C, which tomatoes are full of, are fighting disease. And, very important, Tomatoes contain a lot of Lycopene. Lycopene is very important, because it reduces the risk of prostate cancer, which is the second deadliest cancer amongst men in the UK. 100 grams of Tomatoes contain 17 kcal.

4. Bananas
Only two things are selling better in the UK than Bananas - lottery tickets and petrol. Bananas are full of potassium and carbohydrates and they help to regulate muscle contractions. Because of this, Bananas are the best snack after a workout. 100 grams of Bananas contain 91 kcal.

5. Kiwi
Kiwi is full of vitamin C, even more than an Orange. This fruit stabilizes the blood sugar level and lowers the cholesterol. Kiwis are an excellent resource for fiber and research hints that they also improve the eyesight on the long term. 100 grams of Kiwi contain 61 kcal.

6. Blueberries
They are boosting the immune system tremendously, because Blueberries contain more antioxidant than any other fruit. They also help to lower cholesterol, improve your eyesight and they are preventing brain damage which is age related. 100 grams of Blueberries contain 36 kcal.

7. Chicken
Free range - that is the most important! Not the mass-produced birds that sit in their own poo and live on steroids! A grilled chicken breast from a free range chicken is the best provider of lean protein. This helps to grow muscles and prevents osteoporosis. 100 grams of chicken breast contain 127 kcal.

8. Mackerel
Omega3 fat - that is what is so healthy! Mackerel is full of it and number one amongst the "oily fish". And we all should eat a lot more of that. Ideally we should eat 4 times a week fish. 100 grams of Mackerel contain 91 kcal.

9. Garlic
The "Powers" of Garlic were already known by our ancient ancestors. Garlic is fighting infections and it has a strong anti-cancer effect. Reason for this is Allicin - Garlic is full of it. 100 grams of Garlic contain 143 kcal.

10. Olive Oil
Extra virgin Olive Oil is the main ingredient of the Mediterranean Diet - and we all know how healthy this diet is. Due to the high content of monosaturated fat and antioxidant, Olive Oil reduces the risk of heart diseases, cancer and diabetes. 100 grams of Olive Oil contain 831 kcal.

Now, like already mentioned, there are more foods which are healthy and which are helpful for weight loss, but i wanted just to give some examples. Base your diet or your weight loss programme around these items, and you can´t go wrong and your health will increase.

Perfect Diet - Trying to lose weight and still eat well

Contrary to popular believe: Trying to lose weight, does not necessarily mean, to eat boring food. Trying to eat healthy, does not necessarily mean to eat meals you do not like.

I want to show you that you can actually can have all in one:

• Good Food
• Weight Loss - (IF you are trying to lose weight!)
• Improving your health

You will see: all the recipes will be easy to cook - even if you are not a trained chef. They will be tasty, but still "edible" for the ones who are trying to lose weight.

Not much of a surprise that most of the recipes will be part of the Mediterranean Diet. This diet has proven to be tasty, healthy and low on calories.

Today we start with one of the "Classics" of the Spanish kitchen. The Gazpacho - the cold vegetable soup, but I will add a little "something extra"!


GAZPACHO with PASSION-FRUIT ICE CUBES

You need:
1 large red pepper; 10 really ripe Cherry Tomatoes; about 150gr. Cucumber without peal; 2 spoons of Coriander - very finely grinded; a pinch of cumin seed; red Tabasco (after your personal taste); 4 spoons of chicken-chilli sauce; 90 ml of a good vegetable oil; 50 ml of really good virgin Olive Oil.

Now mix all the ingredients in a Blender until you have a really smooth and homogeneous liquid. Then take a fine sieve and strain the liquid through it. And your Gazpacho is ready!

For the Passion-Fruit Ice Cubes you need:
4 large spoons of Cane Sugar (white) and 100 ml of Passion-Fruit juice

Dissolve the sugar in 5 spoons of juice at low heat. Then mix it with the rest of the juice and fill it in a tray for ice cubes. Freeze over night!

And That´s It! Now you have a perfect starter for your next BBQ, or your next dinner. It is easy to prepare, you can prepare it a day in advance and, no matter who are your guests, you can serve it to everybody: vegetarians, people who are trying to lose weight, people who are living on a natural diet.

Everybody will like and enjoy your Gazpacho with Passion-Fruit Ice Cubes!

Mediterranean Diet

Since some years now, the "Mediterranean Diet" is talk of the town. Everybody seems to know about it, everybody heard about it, but actually very few people really understand what it means.

The "Mediterranean Diet is not just a Diet to lose weight. The "Mediterranean Diet" is a complete lifestyle, which influences your body, your mind, your health and your life expectancy.

The whole hype about the "Mediterranean Diet" started, when the "Harvard Medical School" released a study, which showed in very impressive figures that in the countries bordering the Mediterranean, the people were less obese, had a lot less heart problems and were living a lot longer. And, according to this study, responsible for these figures was the Diet in these countries.

One myth was shattered immediately: Fat is not always bad for the body. The right kind of fat is actually essential for the right and healthy diet. The right kind, the "Good" fat is necessary, because without it, even most of the vitamins cant be processed in the body.

The source for the good fat is Olive oil. It is a mono-saturated fat and in the "Mediterranean Diet" it gets used everywhere. The people use it for cooking, it gets used for the dressing of the salad and the people eat it pure with a piece of bread. Now this might sound a little bit strange, but once you tried a piece of fresh bread with a good quality Olive oil and some fresh tomatoes, you will understand, why this is even popular for breakfast.

The second column of the "Mediterranean Diet" is carbohydrates. The carbohydrates are coming from fresh fruits and vegetables and from whole grain products. Rice and pasta are basic ingredients of the "Mediterranean Diet". This might cause a little bit of a problem in some countries. Fresh fruits and vegetables are not available the whole year round, or quite expensive. Good quality frozen products are a possibility to substitute the fresh products.

Contrary to the diet in most countries, the "Mediterranean Diet" uses meat quite sparingly. Proteins are mainly coming from fish and sea-fruits. Red meat and poultry is used only a few times a month.

But still, even if you would change your diet completely to Olive oil, fruits, vegetables and fish, the "Mediterranean Diet" would not be complete. Because, as mentioned at the beginning, the "Mediterranean Diet" is not only about eating - it is a change of the whole lifestyle. Not only what you eat is important - it is HOW you eat.

The people around the Mediterranean are living a more relaxed lifestyle. Lunch is not something which gets "swallowed" within 10 minutes. Lunch is a real meal, where they sit down, where they enjoy their food.

And last but not least: mandatory for a well working "Mediterranean Diet" is daily physical activity. This does not mean a daily work-out in the fitness-studio. It just means, to walk short distances instead of driving. To use the stairs instead of the elevator.

Now let us see: eat healthier food - eat more fruits and vegs - be careful with meat - eat slowly and take your time - be physically active! Thats it! There are no secrets behind the "Mediterranean Diet", no miracles, no secret ingredient. Just eat healthy and be active!!

Thats how easy the "Mediterranean Diet" is!