If ever there was a time to work out, it’s after a month of butter and alcohol consumption is over. There are no holidays or holidays anymore. It’s time to replace your liver.
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Now is when people rush into healthy changes with enthusiasm it can be dangerous. Spin classes are filled with people who seem unsure if they want to be there. The sidewalks are choked with runners in new, squeaky-clean shoes that are sure to blister.
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I double my vegetable intake this time of year. It’s not a hard change, as I’ve been trying to eat well since my “health food store” days. As a teenager, I was one of those insufferable vegans who stared at people just trying to eat a hot dog in peace. I’m a more gentle guide now. I’m at home eating a hot dog and I’m chomping on my salad. It’s all about balance. And the balance feels great after months of overindulgence.
A word on the term “superfood”: There is no shortcut to health. But adding some of these nutrient-dense foods to your diet, especially if you’re replacing junk, can change your diet in small ways. Let’s get started.
Kale and other leafy greens
Kale is almost a cliche these days, but dark leafy greens of all kinds are rich in vitamins and minerals including iron. But just because it’s good for you doesn’t mean it has to taste like medicine.
The key is to add lots of flavour. Fat is good. Acidity is essential. Cooking time is also crucial. While braised cabbage is excellent with a hint of pork, kale is only slightly better when steamed in a skillet just enough to wilt but not lose that vibrant color.
For a quick side dish, I like to strip the cabbage leaves from their stems and chop them into coarse ribbons. I saute a few cloves of minced garlic in olive oil, add kale and then stir in a spoonful of adobo sauce from the bowl of chipotles I always have in my fridge. I add a little rice vinegar, some salt and pepper, and a bit of water, then cover the cabbage and cook until it’s dark green and tender.
Adding more leafy greens to your diet doesn’t have to mean cooking. If you like iceberg lettuce salads, try adding kale or watercress. Or toss some baby spinach into your smoothies.
More greens, please:Pass the greens, please: 12 Southern recipes for collard greens, kale, and turnips
blueberry
People claim that blueberries can do everything from relieving depression to fighting cancer. I can’t make these claims, but it’s packed with vitamin C and powerful antioxidants. Eating them is simple. Just, you know, eat them.
My advice is to buy large bags of frozen berries, which last longer and can be more cost effective especially if you can find them on sale. Thawed and frozen blueberries are great in cereal, yogurt, and oatmeal. When they’re frozen, I like to stir them into a smoothie with yogurt, oat milk, and some protein or collagen powder as a recovery drink after a long workout.
avocado
Avocados are full of good fats and vitamins, and honestly, this is one of the healthiest foods you should be able to get your hands on. You can make guacamole. You can add lightly salted avocado slices to tacos. Don’t forget the lime juice! Avocado toast gets a bad rap, but it’s a huge improvement nutritionally over a piece of buttered bread. Even my 7-year-old loves avocado toast for breakfast, as long as I drizzle a little honey on it.
Here’s how to make avocado toast: Toast a slice of whole-wheat bread, top with sliced avocado, and add sea salt, olive oil, scallions, and chili slices or red pepper flakes. You can also add a fried egg on top of it for extra protein. Here’s a simple breakfast that’s right for you.
fermented foods
I suppose you could buy probiotic supplements and hope for the best, but nothing works better than the real thing. Fermented foods are great for gut health and overall health, but they remain a somewhat misunderstood category. That’s because Americans are really starting to embrace fermented foods. Yes, we’ve been eating sauerkraut for years, but we, as a culture, have recently jumped on the funky food bandwagon.
It’s easy to get more fermented foods into the diet. Use plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Add kimchi to burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, and omelets. Develop a taste for kombucha. Even real pickles fermented with lactic acid (look for that on the label) are packed with probiotics. There are plenty of companies that make excellent types of yeast, including Wildbrine that is fairly readily available. I love the company’s fermented red cabbage and beets on tacos, salads, and tempeh reubens. Tempeh? Another great product for you is made from soybeans.
Salmon
My advice is to find higher-fat salmon (I especially like the big freezer packs from Whole Foods) and keep them frozen even before you’re ready to cook. I usually thaw fish in the fridge overnight, and if I’m working from home, put them in a relatively cool oven—only 300 degrees! – to slow cooking. If your salmon has a lot of fat in it, it will melt completely at that temperature, leaving you with a very tender filet.
Slow-cooked salmon is served with a luncheon salad, but it’s also great with risotto, potatoes, greens, or any vegetable really. Yes, full-fat fish can have a stronger flavor, but it’s worth getting used to. Fish should never smell “fishy,” but those aromatic fats are where the good stuff lies, including memory-boosting, skin-soothing omega-3s.
Don’t like to cook salmon? Buy it hot or cold smoked at the store and eat it with bread or scrambled eggs and salad in the morning. Delicious breakfast salad? It’s a thing of beauty and the perfect way to get your vegetables done beautifully and early.
Do you have questions about cooking? Want to share a topic for a future column? Email Mackensy Lunsford at [email protected]