Consumer Reports evaluates online recipe sites so you can find the healthiest choices
As the holidays approach, Consumer Reports has been digging into popular online recipe hubs to do what they do best—review products for consumers. This time, they have evaluated the nutritional quality of the recommended menu items from popular culinary blogs.
The magazine shares that while some sites offer up delicious tips and tricks, a nutritional report card is often left out. So their lab experts reviewed a handful of online chefs and their recommendations based on daily dietary needs from calories, protein and carbohydrates to fat, saturated fat, fiber and sodium.
To read their findings along with helpful holiday cooking tips, check out the Consumer Reports article here.
The sites they reviewed include:
Dynamic duos
Speaking of spinning November meals into healthier options, here are five super food combinations that www.undergroundhealthreporter.com suggests: See if you can add these combos next time you reach for a snack.
Vitamin C and iron
The site shares that a popular vitamin C and iron duo might be bell peppers and artichokes. When you pair foods rich in iron with those packed with vitamin C, your body can absorb iron more efficiently, they say. And we all know that iron is essential for carry oxygen throughout our body and without enough, it can lead to a slew of symptoms like feeling exhausted.
Foods chocked with iron include: leafy greens, dried fruits, artichokes and legumes.
Vitamin C is found in foods like tomatoes, peppers, citrus fruits and leafy greens, too.
Green tea and lemon
The site shares that adding lemon to your daily cup of steaming green tea might enhance the health qualities of tea such as its ability to repair DNA in our bodies. You can add a quick squeeze of a fresh lemon if you have some lying in the fridge, but I find that most cooks already have lemon juice in a bottle and that works just as well. You only need a couple drops though, so try not to overdo it!
Avocados and tomatoes
If you’re like me, this might already be a favorite lunchtime duo. But if not, perhaps next time you slice a ripe avocado, you’ll consider tossing in a few grape tomatoes on your plate, too.
Here’s why: www.undergroundhealthreporter.com says both fruits are supreme options but when combined in your meal or as a snack, the cancer-fighting abilities quadruple. According to researchers from Ohio State University, the monounsaturated fat in avocados boosts the effects of lycopene in tomatoes by four times—Lycopene happens to be the main stage kick boxer against cancer in tomatoes. If you are planning for holiday guests, news flash, these two colors work great for a tray of appetizers!
Dark chocolate and apples
Call me bananas but I gave this one a try yesterday—for breakfast! Let’s just say I was fully energized for the day—and loved it!
www.undergroundhealthreporter.com shares that when you pair apples with your favorite brand of dark chocolate, the two unite to ward off heart disease like never before. Apples are known to have quercetin, an anti-inflammatory, which supports heart health as it is. But dark chocolate has hefty antioxidants called flavanoids, so together, the duo prevents blood clots, ramps up blood circulation and reduces your overall chance of developing heart disease as you age.
Disease fighting foods you can add to your day
Another interesting read by local holistic nutrition therapist and lifestyle change expert Anne Baker details 10 disease-fighting foods. You might want to check it out here.
Have a health tip you want to share? Be sure to leave a comment below or send reporter Jen Bucciarelli a note at Jenbucciarelli@gmail.com.
About Jen Bucciarelli