I’m always on a mission to eat the healthiest foods possible. Here’s twelve of the most nutritionally dense foods in our supermarkets and tips on how to eat them.

Black Beans:

Black Beans:

Great sources of folate, thiamine, magnesium, iron and potassium. Great souce of fibre and protein.

The folate helos reduce blood levels of homocysteine. When elevated, homocysteine is associated with heart disease risk.

Fibre helps reduce bblood cholesterol and stabilise blood sugar levels.

Other beans to eat: kidney, chickpeas, lentils and navy beans.

Eat them in salads, soups, stews, chili, salsas, burritos, wraps. Can also make a dip  with mashed beans.

Blueberries:

So many anti-oxidants, blueberries also require the least pesticides of all the berries.

High in vitamins A,C,E and beta-carotene, potassium, manganese and magnesium

Phytonutrients: anthocyanins protect the blood vessels, chlorogenic acid is anti-cancer, ellagic acid, catechiins and resveratrol.

Blueberries contain the highest amount of antioxidants for weight of all fruit and vegetables, and also, some studies suggest eating bluberries may improve coridination and improve memory

Eat raw to obtain the most benefits. Frozen in smoothies is fine.

Broccoli:

Broccoli is a crucifer with a huge load of antioxidants, making it one of the healhtiest vegetables you can eat

Broccoli contains vitamins A,C,K, beta carotene, folate and potassium,

It also contains sulforaphane, indoles, and carotenoids all help detoxify carcinogens out of your body. The beta-carotene , lutein and zeaxanth are for eye health, quercetin helps uptake of zinc.

Other helpful cruciferous vegetables: bok choy, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, mustard lettuce

Cooking: Drier, quicker cooking methods retain more of the vitamin c and folate. Sauteing. stir frying and steaming are best. Steam for three minutes and then plunge into cool water to halt the cooking process and retain the bright green colour of the vegetable. To make lunchbox worthy snacks, plunge broccoli in boiling water for 2 minutes and then keep in the fridge to use with dip.

Have you tried poor mans asparagus? Broccoli stems are delicious, cut off the branched top and bottom, and then stand the stem up to cut away the tough outer layer. Eat raw or cook with the florets.

Chocolate

Dark chocolate has mega antioxidants and is also high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. It's also high in flavanoids that boost healthy HDL cholesterol levels.

Make sure you go with the darkest you can.  The darker it is the less sugar and other additives it generally contains. And a little goes a long way. Making your own hot chocolate from cacao is an excellent way to take in some chocolate goodness.

Cacao Hot Chocolate: Place 1 heaped  tsp of cacao in a saucepan in with a little bit of hot water. stir until dissolved. Top up with a cup and a half or so of homemade almond macadamia milk (or milk of choice).  The higher fat content of the macadamias make a much creamier nut milk.

Almond macadamia milk recipe: Place 1 cup of almonds and half a cup of fresh macadamias in a blender with two cups of water. Blend completely, then drain through a nut bag (this is a bag made of very fine porous fabric, available from health food shops). Squeeze the excess liquid.

The fibrous nut leftovers can be used for making gluten free desserts (pie crusts etc) or can simply go in the compost.

For an easier version, make cacao with hot water alone and sweeten with honey and cinnamon, or  use a store bought nut milk or simply make with mostly hot water and top up with a little bit of dairy cream.

Oats:

Although oats are hulled, the process does not strip away their bran and germ, so they remain a rich source of dietary fibre and nutrients. They are excellent sources of both soluble and insoluble fibre.

They grow in places many other crops are unable to endure and their hardiness and fortitude seems to transfer to those that eat them. Oats are also soothing for the nervous system and oat greens are readily used in western herbal medicine for this purpose.  Excellent sources of manganese  and selenium and good sources of tryptophan, phosphorus and B1. They're also a great source of plant protein with 1 cup of oats containing 6.1g.

Eating oats regularly may reduce insulin resistance and stabilise blood sugar. Keep oats in an airtight container and extra points for keeping in the fridge, where they'll stay fresh for up to 2 months.

A yummy way to eat oats: Easy bircher museli. Grate 1 apple into 3/4 cup of oats, stir through yoghurt and leave overnight in the fridge. Add chopped nuts, seeds and berries in the morning.

Onions:

Regular consumption of onions is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, lowered cholesterol levels and reduced blood pressure. This can be attributed to the sulfur containing phytonutrients.

The sulphur is also responsible for the strong smell and eye-watering sting. The stronger the eye irritation, the healthier the onion!

They are excellent sources of quercetin, chromium, vitamins  and fiber, and are rich in many other nutrients.

Eating raw is ideal from a health perspective, but sauteeing, grilling roasting or boiling is still beneficial. Eat all kinds, red, brown, sweet, spring onions, shallots. Leeks are yummy but contain less alliums.

Salmon:

Salmon is an excellent food, high in omega 3 and sadly only available from farmed sources most of the time in Australia. I still feed it to my family as I believe the benefits outweigh the negatives.  It's true that farmed salmon are fed colourants in their pellets and also are fed antibiotics because their overcrowded environments are conducive to excessive waste and disease.

We can buy canned wild salmon with the bones still in it. This is extra good because the bones are great sources of vitamin c and D.

Salmon is an excellent souce of EPA and DHA, tryptophan, selenium, protein B3, B12 and magnesium.

Soy

This is a controversial one. I'm talking about whole soy, in it's edamane bean state or in tofu, tempeh or miso.

Soy protein isolates, TVP, soy oil or other ultra-processed forms of soy found in many MANY packaged foods in the supermarket are not healthy or recommended.

Soy has been cultivated in China for over 3000 years and it's chinese name translates into 'greater bean'

Soy beans promote heart health, regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and estrogen balance.

It's also a very high quality source of plant protein.

They are contraindicated in people with thyroid conditions and estrogenic cancers. however, japanese women with the highest consumption of soy have the lowest levels of breast and uterine cancers. It is thought that this is because  soy actually binds to estrogen receptors, blocking excess estrogen from taking effect.

Research using isolated soy isoflavones as a supplent found that they did seem to stimulate breast cancer growth, however, epidimiological reseach tells us that in women consuming whole soy beans, the risk of cancer is reduced. And especially in women who are still mestruating.  This is an example of why eating foods in their whole and natural form has the most benefit.

Tip: to enjoy tempeh, steam it for 20 minutes before marinating and bake or stir fry. Steaming takes away the bitter fermented flavour of the tempeh.

Spinach:

Yummy green spinach. An excellent source of iron and carotenoids such as beta-carotein, lutein and zeaxanthin. Overcooked and canned spinach loses much of it's nutrients. Eat raw in its baby form or boil quickly for about 1 minute. It tends to have high levels of pesticide residue so go organic if possible but definitely wash well if not.

Has really great levels of vitamin K, A C, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, B2 calcium, B6 and tryptophan.

Eating it with a source of vitamin c (like lemon juice), helps the absorption of iron.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes have mega beta-carotene, more then carrots or pumpkins. Great for boosting the immune system and reducing free radicals. They are also great for your eyes.

Good source of Vitamins E, C beta catotene, folate, B1, B2, quercetin, caffeic and chlorgenic acid

Great source of fibre.

Love them baked with some olive oil.

Tomato

Tomato's are known for their heart protecting souces of lycopene. Cooking increases the absorption of lycopene and you need to eat your tomatoes with some fat to enhance bioavailability. Olive oil is ideal for this. Lycopene is also only in red tomatoes, not in yellow and orange varieties.

There are plenty of useful nutritrients in raw tomatoes as well, so enjoy tomatoes both ways to get the full benefits.

Tomatoes are a great source of Vitamin's A and C, potassium, lycopene, quercetin, and alpha lipoic acid. helps oritect against prostate and other cancers, heart disease, and age related macular degenration

Walnuts

Walnuts are a great source of good fats that reduce the risk of heart disease and lower blood cholesterol.

It's best to eat them raw as heat destroys the delicate fats. about 14 halves is a good amount for a snack.

Walnuts are great sources of Vitamin E, folate, thiamin and riboflavin, magnesium, manganese and potassium.

The contain ellagic acid, a cancer fighting compound, and one of the few plant sources of omega 3 acids.

They also contain arginine, which helps keeps arteries relaxed and reduces blood pressure.

Roasting nuts damages the delicate oils so it's best to eat fresh and raw. Likewise, the healthy walnut fats do go rancid quite quickly so please buy fresh and store in the fridge.