Stock your kitchen with these healthy foods to eat every day.  Include these foods in your everyday diet to make sure that your daily diet is packed with antioxidants, fiber and other healthy nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and protein.

The Best Foods To Eat Everyday

1. Spinach – Anti-Inflammatory: This green and leafy vegetable is rich in many nutrition elements, including folate, vitamin D, vitamin K, calcium, iron, magnesium and manganese. It takes the top position because it’s not only a well-known muscle builder, but also a rich source of plant-based omega-3s and folate, which help cut down the risk of heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis. Recent study has found that among cancer-fighting fruits and veggies, spinach is one of the most effective.

Bonus: Folate also boosts blood flow to the nether regions, helping to guard against age-related sexual issues. And spinach is full of lutein too, a compound that protects you from age-related muscular degeneration. Try to have 1 cup fresh spinach or 1/2 cup cooked per day.

Alternative Choices: Kale, bok choy, romaine lettuce

How To Fit It In Your Diet? : 

(i) You can use this as a healthy and flavorless addition to any smoothie. You won’t taste it, I promise! Try blending 1 cup spinach, 1 cup grated carrots, 1 banana, 1 cup apple juice, and ice.

(ii) Have your salads with spinach; add spinach to scrambled eggs; dress it over pizza; mix it with marinara sauce and then microwave for an instant dip.

2. Tomatoes – Rich In Vitamin C: Here are two secrets you need to know about tomatoes: One, Red are the best, because they’re chock-full of the antioxidant lycopene. Two, Processed tomatoes are just as effective as fresh ones as it’s easier for the body to absorb the lycopene. Many research papers have found that a diet rich in lycopene can reduce your risk of bladder, lung, prostate, skin, and stomach cancers, and also can cut down the risk of coronary artery disease. Try to have 22 mg of lycopene per day, which is about 8 red cherry tomatoes or a glass of tomato juice.

Alternative Choices: Red watermelon, pink grapefruit, Japanese persimmon, papaya, guava

How To Include It In Your Diet? : Pile on the low sodium ketchup and tomato sauce; double the amount of tomato paste / puree called for in a recipe.

3. Yogurt: It’s chock-full of bone-building calcium. Its real forte lies in live beneficial bacteria, well-known as probiotics, which stem growth of harmful bacteria in your gut. The fermentation breeds hundreds of millions of probiotic organisms that serve as reinforcements to the brigades of beneficial bacteria in your body. They help to build up your immune system and provide protection against cancer. It’s also rich in pantothenic acid, vitamin B2 or riboflavin, calcium, phosphorous, potassium and iodine.

Eating more of yogurt can also help with inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, urinary tract infections and vaginal yeast infections.

Total Fitness Tip: Not all yogurts are probiotic, so make sure the label reads “live and active cultures.” Try for 1 cup of the calcium and protein-rich goop a day.

Alternative Choices: Kefir, soy yogurt

How To Include In Your Diet? : Yogurt topped with blueberries, walnuts, flaxseed, and honey is the ultimate breakfast—or dessert. Plain low-fat yogurt is also a perfect base for creamy salad dressings and dips.

Our Recommended Power House Smoothie: Blend 1 cup low-fat yogurt, 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, 1 cup carrot juice, and 1 cup fresh baby spinach for a nutrient-rich blast.

Total Fitness Tip: When coating chicken, pork or fish with bread crumbs, replace the eggs used to moisten the meat with plain yogurt.

4. Carrots: Majority of the red, yellow, or orange vegetables and fruits contain carotenoids – fat-soluble compounds, which are linked with a reduction in a wide range of cancers, as well as decreased risk and gravity of inflammatory conditions like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Out of all these, carrots have lower caloric density and are easy to prepare and eat. Try to have 1/2 cup a day.

Alternative Choices: Sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, yellow bell pepper, mango

How To Include In Your Diet?: Raw baby carrots, sliced raw yellow pepper, butternut squash soup, baked sweet potato, pumpkin pie, mango sorbet, carrot cake

Our Recommended Recipe – Baked Sweet Potato Fries: Scrub and dry 2 sweet potatoes. Cut each into 8 slices, and then toss with olive oil and paprika. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 350°F. Turn and bake for 10 minutes more.

5. Beans: All beans are good for your heart, thanks in large part to their soluble fiber that soaks up cholesterol so the body can get rid of it before it sticks to your artery walls. They are rich in folate, vitamin B1 or thiamine, magnesium, molybdenum, soluble fiber, iron and potassium.

Research papers have found that diets high in soluble fiber bring down total cholesterol by 10 to 15 percent. A recent research paper has also ranked beans among the top antioxidant foods.

Although all beans (peas, lentils, and pinto, kidney, fava, and lima beans) are good for your heart, but none can boost your brain power like black beans. It’s due to the fact that they’re packed with anthocyanins, antioxidant compounds that have been found to perk up brain function. A daily serving of 1/2-cup provides 8 grams of protein and 7.5 grams of fiber. It’s also low in calories and free of saturated fat.

Total Fitness Tips:

(i) Beans have more protein than any other plant food, but the protein is not complete. Eat a grain such as wheat at any time of the day to “complete” the protein.

(ii) Eating a serving of legumes (beans, peas, and lentils) 4 times per week can cut down your risk of heart disease by 22 %. This habit may also lower your risk of breast cancer.

(iii) The darker the bean, the more antioxidants it contains. One research paper has shown that black bean hulls contain 40 times the amount of antioxidants as compared to white bean hulls.

Our Recommended Recipes:

(i) Wrap black beans in a breakfast burrito; use both black beans and kidney beans in your chili; puree 1 cup black beans with 1/4 cup olive oil and roasted garlic for a healthy dip; add favas, limas, or peas to pasta dishes.

(ii) Black Bean and Tomato Salsa: Dice 4 tomatoes, 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, 2 jalapeños, 1 yellow bell pepper, and 1 mango. Mix in a can of black beans and garnish with 1/2 cup chopped cilantro and the juice of 2 limes.

6. Blue Berries: They contain more antioxidants than any other North American fruit. They can help prevent a host of ailments – than 40 other common fruits and vegetables tested. This antioxidant plant pigments that make blueberries blue help prevent heart disease, cancer and age-related blindness and memory loss (hence the nickname “brain berry”). Bonus point is that it’s helpful in preventing urinary tract infections, thanks to antioxidant epicatechins that keep bacteria from sticking to bladder walls.

Research papers have found that blueberries are not only rich in fiber and vitamins A and C, but they also boost cardiovascular health. Aim for 1 cup fresh blueberries a day, or 1/2 cup frozen or dried.

Alternative Choices:  Acai berries, purple grapes, prunes, raisins, strawberries

Total Fitness Tips:

(i) Blueberries retain majority of its beneficial properties whether in dried, frozen, or jam form.

(ii) Toss some blueberries on your pancakes at the last minute – as cooking the berries destroys valuable vitamin C.

7. Broccoli: Broccoli is your best vegetable-friend that can be your number one cancer fighter, thanks to its sulfur compounds, like sulforaphane, which you can smell as you cook broccoli. These compounds prompt our genes to gear-up production of enzymes that detoxify potentially cancer-causing compounds. Include more broccoli in your diet and you can possibly cut down your risk of everything from breast and lung cancer to stomach and colon cancer.

Family Fitness Guide:

(i) One medium stalk of broccoli has more than 100 percent of your daily vitamin K requirement and almost 200 percent of your recommended daily dose of vitamin C, the 2 essential bone-building nutrients.

(ii) You can preserve up to 90 percent of broccoli’s vitamin C by microwaving. (Steaming or boiling conserves just 66 percent of the nutrient.)

Recommended Recipe: Steam broccoli for 3 to 4 minutes, until it’s crisp-tender to free up more of its sulforaphane.

8. Salmon: It’s packed with omega-3 fatty acids that have been found to help in slashing risk of depression, heart disease, and cancer. Besides omega-3 fatty acids, this fish is rich in biotin, vitamin B12, vitamin B3 or niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin D, potassium and choline.

A 3-ounce serving has almost 50 percent of our daily need of niacin, which may guard you against Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss.

Tip: Choose wild one instead of farm-raised as it has 16 times as much toxic polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) as wild salmon.

9. Walnuts: Richer in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids than salmon, packed with more anti-inflammatory polyphenols than red wine, and storing half as much muscle-building protein as chicken, the walnut is a natural bounty. Other nuts combine only one or two of these features, not all three. Of all nuts, walnuts contain the most omega-3 fatty acids, which can help lower cholesterol. Other benefits are that they boost up your mood, protect from cancer and sun damage, too (but don’t skip the SPF!).

Alternative Choices: Almonds, peanuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts

How To Fit In Your Diet: Sprinkle on top of salads; chop and add to pancake batter; spoon peanut butter into curries; grind and mix with olive oil to make a marinade for grilled fish or chicken.

Our Recommended Recipe: Mix 1 cup walnuts with 1/2 cup dried blueberries and 1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks.

10. Garlic: It’s known to have antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antiseptic properties.

Most of its disease-fighting powers come from its sulfur compounds and allicin that work as antioxidants, potent anti-inflammatory agent providing many of its cardiovascular benefits (such as lowering cholesterol and blood-pressure levels).

Best Way To Include It In Your Diet: Crush a little bit 1 fresh garlic clove in-between your teeth to release the most allicin and swallow it in morning.

Tips:

(i) Make sure not to overcook; as garlic exposed to high heat for more than 10 minutes loses important nutrients.

(ii) Include at least one garlic clove into your diet every day.

11. Avocado: It’s rich in healthy, satisfying fats. It has been shown to lower the cholesterol. One avocado has more than half the fiber and 40 percent of the folate you need daily, which may reduce your risk of heart disease.

How To Include In Your Diet: Add it to your salad to increase the absorption of key nutrients such as eta-carotene by 3 to 5 times compared with salads without this super food.

12. Some Other Good Foods To Include In Your Daily Diet:

(i) Mushrooms: Rich in biotin, vitamin B2, copper, chromium and pantothenic acid

(ii) Soy Beans: Rich in vitamin B1, vitamin B2, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, insoluble and soluble fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fats and protein

(iii) Kale: Rich in iron

(iv) Peppers: Loaded with antioxidants

Share with us your “what healthy foods to eat?” list.