Top 10 Healthiest Foods

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
There is much debate currently about which foods are the absolute healthiest for you; but, to me, the foods that are healthiest are the ones that are good for you and that you will actually eat regularly. That way, you can replace the less healthy foods within your daily menu.

As I entered my 40s, I had quite a belly on me.

Now, at 47, I’m leaner than I’ve been in over 15 years and I did it not by counting calories every day, but mostly by substituting better foods for worse foods.

 

Foods to Burn Belly Fat

Sometimes, instead of telling people what they shouldn’t eat, it’s more helpful to tell people what they can eat. Therefore, the following list of my ten favorite healthy foods contains many that are considered anti-inflammatory and that you can pretty much eat to (almost) your heart’s delight.

I like to eat a lot of anti-inflammatory foods because I found — by experience — that these foods seem to keep my belly area trim and firm (calories still count, of course, and it’s still best not to eat directly before bedtime, and if you’re really serious about burning belly fat, cardio and strength-training workouts are still a good idea).

“…fat cells, particularly those in the visceral fat that settles in the belly and around organs, were long thought merely to store excess weight. Instead, fat cells act like small factories to churn out molecules which set inflammation in motion” ~ Dr. Peter Libby

Here, then, are the ten healthiest foods that have been most helpful to me in losing weight and improving my health:

Cucumber

Cucumbers are hydrating and good for your skin. I have very sensitive, reactive skin (perhaps it’s my northern European heritage) so cucumbers are an essential part of my nutritional regimen. When I first realized that I wanted to try slipping vegetables into my smoothies, I knew that I had to do it gradually (to give my taste buds time to evolve), and cucumber is where I started.

Spinach

While it’s important to have as many dark, leafy greens in your diet as you can, many greens don’t taste that great raw. Expect spinach. Spinach is delicious raw. It’s good for your vision, bones, immunity, and it even has Vitamin K to help decalcify your body.

Broccoli

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli are loaded with special cancer-squashing enzymes! I have broccoli almost every day — usually a few florets in my breakfast smoothie (no, I don’t taste it — I taste the fruit instead; although it does help the texture of the shake).

Kale

What a powerhouse! Kale is truly a superfood loaded with an astounding nutrient profile, including Vitamin C for your metabolism and loads of fiber for your digestion!

Banana

Bananas have been real lifesavers for me. When I was trying to give up flour and refined sugar, it was very difficult. I was addicted! I was used to having a treat every night after dinner. I was able, instead, to make a raw dessert using frozen bananas. Unlike flour and refined sugar (like cookies or cake), my raw frozen dessert didn’t leave me with a bloated food hangover in the morning!

 

Pumpkin Seed

Raw sprouted pumpkin seeds are a great source of quality protein!

“…sometimes, instead of telling people what they shouldn’t eat,
it’s more helpful to share with them what they can eat”

Optimize your health! Our Longevity Lifestyle Kit is designed to provide you with the accountability you need to make improvements in how you manage your time, energy and nutrition. If the notion of becoming more clear-headed, organized and energized is intriguing to you, I encourage you to pick up the Kit. Among the 5 items that you get in the Kit, are the Best Green Smoothie Recipes and the Green Smoothie Shopping Guide. All ten of the healthy foods in this list can easily be enjoyed in a freshly made green smoothie. I have these foods every day in my smoothies!

 
“…if you saw my driver’s license photo, you wouldn’t recognize me in it — I barely recognize myself! The photo was taken before I discovered freshly made green smoothies, back when I was, well, fatter. After making and drinking smoothies for a year, all of that weight came off, plus my face looks less puffy and more youthful. I eventually had to get new clothes, even my ‘skinny clothes’ were too chubby.

Of course, it wasn’t all smooth-sailing: in the beginning, I made some mistakes (pretty much the same mistakes everyone makes). For instance, when I first started, I put milk and banana into a blender and then added some powder I got from a can at the grocery store. Wrong! That is not a freshly made green smoothie! Also, at first, smoothies made me light-headed and wouldn’t sustain my energy, but Dane showed me on to use the right ingredients and the right ratios. It turns out, I needed to add more ‘clean fat,’ such as raw, sprouted seeds. Thanks to Dane, I feel better now than I ever have before. Freshly made green smoothies ROCK!”

                                              ~ David, Age 58, International Relocation Specialist
 

If you feel like you really want to try using green smoothies to lose fat, increase your energy, detoxify your body and improve your health, then I encourage you to get the new Longevity Lifestyle Kit.

The 5 Best Smoothie Recipes eBooklet is one of many life-enhancing items within the new Longevity Lifestyle Kit. This eBooklet will help you to eat better. You can purchase this eBook separately for $4.95, or save money purchasing the entire Longevity Lifestyle Kit and get all 5 digital products instantly for only $14.95.
 

“…I’ve always been a no-breakfast person.
But what I didn’t realize was that
skipping breakfast only made me lethargic and lazy all day long.
And I’d eat a whole lot more at lunch than I would have otherwise!
So, when I came across Dane’s smoothie recipes,
I decided to give them a shot.
Only one week in and I already feel much more energetic
than I have in the last ten years.
And I also tend to eat less lunch
which is great to control weight.
I plan to start smoothies for lunch too.
Slim waistline, here I come!”

                            ~ Rabab Kahn, Editor / Bertelsmann Foundation

Almond

I like to soak my almonds overnight, then rinse them in the morning and make a big batch of fresh almond milk using my blender! Almonds provide me with a quality protein and they’re filling, so they sustain me and prevent me from getting hungry between meals. Almonds are good for your brain and your heart and they contain compounds that help with your body’s energy production.

Lemon

Lemons are anti-bacterial and full of beneficial bioflavanoids. What’s amazing is, even though lemons are acidic, they have an alkalinizing effect on the body!

 

Chia Seed

Chia seeds help to balance blood sugar and add those healthy omegas to your diet! I pre-soak mine for smoothies, or use my coffee bean grinder to turn the seeds into meal.

 

Red or Yellow Bell Pepper

Whether or not people eat organic is the least of my worries; however, when it comes to bell peppers, I definitely do try to get organic when possible, because it’s one of those foods that pesticide residues seem to hang around in.

 
Bell peppers have ample amounts of advantageous phytochemicals and enjoy robust antioxidant activity.
 

Ultimately, each person’s body chemistry is unique, and the only way to really know if your body loves a food, is to listen carefully to how you feel after you eat it. Your body will always tell you if you truly listen! Additionally, you can look at your body the next morning when you wake up. A bloated waistline and puffy eyes are definitely clues, and often indicate an inflammatory response to the foods you ate the day before.

I’m still trying to help people understand that their health hinges on finding clever ways to sneak more vegetables into their daily diet. We live within a culture of burritos, pizza, and hamburgers.

What adds more challenge to my mission, is I’m committed to not using fear to motivate people (I see some pretty alarming statistics in my daily work) but instead to inspire others to discover the joys and vibrancy of optimized health just for its own sake. It’s a good thing I’m passionate about it, because I’ve got my work cut out for me!