My girlfriend and I went on a trip last month and I noticed in her ‘night time reading material’ a book called: “100 Foods to stay young”. Now, she’s in her mid 60’s and looks like she’s 40. So, I thought: “I’d better read this”! lol
The book, by the way is from Charlotte Watts…. in case you want to buy it.
She talks about being healthy, inside out. Keeping both your mind and body young. Well, I think we all know your food is the best medicine….. and the importance of having a healthy lifestyle gives you good skin, hair, nails, mobility and strength, good digestion, brain and heart health plus a good immunity system to fight disease.
Who wouldn’t want that?
So, let me give you her ‘Top 10’…..
1.- Avocado ~ she calls it a “superfood packed with nutrients” that help you with wrinkles and keeps your heart strong. And geez… is that good.
2.- Banana’s ~ she calls it “the ultimate sports snack, providing quick, quality fuel replenishing cells, ensuring youthful repair to the body”. But what she doesn’t mention is: it’s really high in calories/sugar and spikes your glycemic index. So maybe a half a banana is enough?
WHAT’S A GLYCEMIC INDEX CHEF MARIAN?
Well, I’m glad you spoke up and asked that question. Your glycemic index “provides a measure of how quickly blood sugar levels (i.e. levels of glucose in the blood) rise after eating a particular type of food”.
To keep your body from experiencing inflammation, one of the things we all should try to do is keep our glycemic index from spiking. What goes up must come down. (Think about a sugar rush, which really spikes you).
I always wondered why (even though she recommends the banana skin be perfectly yellow) I prefer older bananas with dots of brown on the skin. She tells us when a banana is brown “the sugars will have broken down and the fruit becomes too sweet”. Well yeeeaaah. Now I get it. I like it because it’s sweeter. I’ve come to expect that from a banana. But now I have to re-think that…
Plus she says to keep away from banana’s if you have a cold… not good for people with nasal congestion.
That’s good to know…
3.- Raspberries… I always say “If the world was made of only raspberries…. I’d be skinny”. I just don’t like them. But she says: “They’re bursting with Vitamin C …….and have one of the highest antioxidants profile of any fruit”. And they have one of the lowest sugar profiles. (Yeah. That’s probably why I don’t like them). But actually anything seedy like blackberries or with hairs like raspberries are really not my thing.
4.- Peaches… “provide skin nourishing ingredients”…. aaah a good reason to eat peaches and cream. Not. No cream ~ my dears. Dairy is the last thing you want in your system. We are not meant to eat dairy. Our systems do not process it well, no matter how hard the milk people lobby you to drink more…. the cheese groups hit you will commercial after commercial. Tastes good? Is bad.
5.- Strawberries…. YUM. “Contains more fiber than whole wheat bread …. and is very effective at removing aging toxins from the body”. And if you want to bump it up a notch? Use dark chocolate and coconut creamer to make a ganache… and dip those strawberries right into that warm dark chocolate, place on wax paper and give them a chance to dry and cool in the fridge. Mmmmm.
6.- Passion Fruit…. Passion Fruit? Where does that come from, I wonder….Wiki tells us: “The passion fruit originated in the south of Brazil, Paraguay and the northern areas of Argentina”. Aaaah. That explains it. I didn’t grow up with it. So, I have limited interest in it. I don’t think I even know what it tastes like. Amazing for someone who has traveled, cooked and eaten everywhere on the planet…. So I guess I’m missing the boat here. She says: “it’s full of powerful antioxidants…… and slows down the sign of aging”.
7.- Papaya….” Contains papain, a protein digesting enzyme that counteracts digestive disorders and inflammation, helping reduce these aging factors”. And it contains lycopene too! I think I’d better start researching recipes to see if I can get my palate to like it!
8.- Olives…. surprise, surprise! These little babies give you “an anti-aging boost”. She talks about wrinkle prevention, bone strength and brain clarity. I used to really enjoy blue cheese stuffed olives. A good excuse to get a martini, especially at a high end steakhouse. But now, having been dairy free for a while… cheese is no longer on my ‘hit’ list. Really! I used to be addicted to cheese. Havarti, Parmesan Reggiano, Blue, White Cheddar…. No more. And think about all the money I save! lol
But I still do enjoy olives. A great way to get them into your diet is to put some out when you have people over for appetizers. You’ll find yourself picking at them…
9.- Prunes… Need to poop? That’s always done the trick for me! lol She says “they’re a highly concentrated source of fiber and very effective at flushing out aging toxins from the body”. She’s actually suggesting we blend boiling water, prunes, apricots and cinnamon and spread that on bread instead of jam. Good idea, Charlotte.
10.- Watermelon…. no wait a sec. I’ve heard that watermelon is not good to eat because of its’ sugar content, that any of the melons sugar content is pretty high…. Well, she says it: ” has beneficial effects on the body’s fluid balance, helping prevent water retention and promoting well-hydrated youthful skin”. And she says that because the water content is so high, it really dilutes the sugar content of 6%. What to do …. what to do…. Who do I listen to?
And that’s the problem with information like this. We have to take it in as one source, telling us what they know… and then make our own decisions with additional research.
Well, that’s the top 10. I may blog more about this next week. Keep your eyes and ears open!
Happy Eating,
Chef Marian