Food for Everything
Some reputable sources have begun offering eating tips to help advance other areas of our lives. For instance, it is suggested that eating certain meals can help improve scores on scholarly exams or affect energy levels. These days, any edge is a good edge so here are examples of food for thought… or any other activity. Jessica Howard from www.startcooking.com says that the darker the vegetable, the more it can help our minds and bodies. They recommend substituting spinach for iceberg lettuce. Howard also explained that antioxidants are crucial for our body’s ability to fight off diseases. Blueberries are great for their high level of antioxidants. An article aimed at the parents of young children on www.scholastic.com says cereals with low sugars are the smarter choice and adding sliced fruit is a healthy way to sweeten the cereal in a natural way. On the subject of breakfast, they also suggest jelly as opposed to butter on breads, and oatmeal is a great option loaded with different kinds of valuable nutrients like protein, fiber and carbohydrates. Be sure not to overeat though; it takes about 20 minutes before our body realizes it is full so avoid snacking after a meal until after that elapsed time. A tasty and hydrating afternoon snack is homemade popsicles made out of your favorite fruit juices. I tried mixing cranberry juice and orange juice and freezing a few popsicle molds (you can do it in a regular ice tray for mini popsicles), and they were delicious. Be sure to check the labels on juices before buying though because some juices may be high in sugar. For instance, a glass of eight ounces of Welch’s 100% Grape Juice has 36 grams of sugar in it, six more than a Snickers candy bar. As for finals week, recent studies have shown that lentils enhance nerve function and can aid the brain. Lentils are bean-like seeds that have nutty flavors. To cook them, you add water periodically while they boil over low to medium heat. Lentils are a good choice for salty gravies or you can sauté diced onion and sliced garlic and boil them with the lentils for a smart snack. Lentils also contain folic acids which help improve memory and faster processing of images by the brain. Other foods that are high in folic acids are wheat pastas, wheat tortillas, asparagus and a lot of breakfast cereals.
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