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Phytonutrient-Packed Watermelon With Honey-Lime Mint Syrup

Anna Monette Roberts — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 02:46:15 PDT

It's common knowledge to eat macronutrients like protein, fat, and carbohydrates, but many people skimp out on micronutrients, especially those that come from plants. Phytonutrients, or "plant-based" nutrients, consist of fruits and vegetables that make up the colors of the rainbow. By eating a variety of colors, you are providing your body with antioxidants and other nutrients that protect your body from disease and degeneration.

Lycopene, the phytonutrient that gives fruits and vegetables a red pigment, is part of the carotenoid family. You can easily obtain a high dosage of lycopene by eating watermelon. Lycopene acts as an antioxidant, and daily consumption may reduce risks of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Boost the flavor of the watermelon by tossing it in a honey-lime mint sauce.

See the watermelon recipe after the break!

Smarter Eats: Add a Little Fat to Your Tomatoes

FitSugar — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:30:38 PDT

After years of being maligned, fat is making a comeback. It's the macronutrient necessary for absorbing fat-soluble nutrients like carotenoids, the antioxidant the body converts to vitamin A. This family of antioxidants gives fruits and veggies their orange and red hues, so the produce containing these antioxidants is easy to spot.

Take tomatoes, for instance. They're known for being high in the antioxidants lycopene and beta carotene, two types of carotenoids. But since lycopene and beta carotene are fat soluble, tomatoes need to be paired with a bit of fat to absorb these important nutrients. Spritzing a little olive oil over your tomatoes adds flavor and will help you reap the benefits of this fruit disguised as a veggie. Or go all out and make a Caprese salad.

5 Things About the Wonders of Watermelon

FitSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:30:00 PDT

No backyard barbecue would be complete without some refreshing watermelon. This Summer fruit has more to offer than the raw material for a seed spitting contest. Here are five great things about watermelon:

Red, juicy watermelon is high in the super antioxidant lycopene. Lycopene can be found in few other red and pink foods, including tomatoes and pink grapefruit, and it looks like it might play a significant role in preventing certain kinds of cancer.
Watermelon is beneficial to the skin and aids in the regenerative process. Eating the melon has benefits, but you can make a toner with it too. What else are you going to do with all the post BBQ melon?
This red melon is a low calorie food and one cup of melon balls contains just under 50 calories. It is also high in vitamin C.

To see if watermelon is nature's Viagra, just

Tomatoes For Sunburn?

FitSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT

Tomatoes might just be my favorite "veggie that is really a fruit." And now I have yet another reason to love them. It appears that eating tomatoes can improve the skins ability to protect against UV rays, which can cause premature aging of the skin as well as skin cancer. Although the study was quite small, involving only 20 volunteers, the results are promising. Ten volunteers ate 55 grams (just shy of two ounces) of tomato paste with 10 grams of olive oil daily, while another 10 volunteers ate 10 grams of olive oil daily. After three months, the tomato group had 33 percent more protection against sunburn (like wearing a very low factor sunscreen) and considerably higher levels of procollagen, which gives the skin its structure and keeps it firm.

Researchers believe that the antioxidant lycopene gives tomatoes their healthy edge. Good news is that concentrations of lycopene increase when tomatoes are cooked. So bring on the red sauce!

Source

Tips to Slim Down Your Pizza

FitSugar — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 03:00:00 PDT

Barbecue season has basically come to an end and pizza is taking over now. While we may be tempted to order a meat lover's pizza with extra cheese (this is NOT on the Atkins Diet by the way), we should rethink our topping choices so we can still have our pizza and enjoy it too! Plus, besides pizza being yummy, it can also be really good for you (think lycopene in the tomato sauce and veggies galore).

Here are some fabulous ideas from MSN for keeping your pizza healthy and tasty:

Vegetables are by far the best topping for a pizza and offer a wide range of options. Experiment with different varieties such as green and red peppers, zucchini, broccoli, or be adventurous and pick a fruity topping like pineapple or mango.
Cheese belongs to the Milk and Alternatives food group and is an excellent source of calcium and protein. Keep the fat content to a reasonable amount by ordering regular cheese, rather than "double." (I personally like to order "light" cheese, most pizza guys will know what you mean.)
Meat is a source of protein - and fat. Leaner choices are chicken and ham. Typically, pepperoni is leaner than beef and sausage. Multi-meat pizzas contain high levels of fat, calories and salt.
Crusts made from whole wheat or multi grain are more nutritious. They deliver a boost of fiber and fewer calories than traditional dough crusts.

Source

Homemade Fruit Salsa

FitSugar — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 02:30:00 PDT

I know buying salsa in a jar is so easy, but it doesn't have nearly as many vitamins as when you make it with fresh ingredients. Once you have all the ingredients, whipping up a batch of your own salsa is simple, delicious, and always a hit at a BBQ.

This salsa is made with tomato (a great source of the antioxidant lycopene) and all kinds of delicious fresh fruits. I love it because it's so juicy and refreshing on a summer's day. It's a much better alternative to downing a ton of greasy potato chips and fattening dip, and much tastier in my opinion.

Source

If you want to see the recipe then

Fruit Salsa

You'll need:

1 tomato
1 mango, peeled
1 medium peach, peeled
6-8 strawberries
1/2 cup pineapple
1 red pepper
1 small jalepeno pepper, seeded
1 small yellow onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 lime
1/2 tsp salt

Here's what to do:

Dice the tomato, mango, peach, strawberries, pineapple, peppers, and onion and place in a bowl. Add the minced garlic.
Chop the cilantro and add it to the bowl.
Squeeze the lime juice all over the fruits and veggies, add the salt and mix well.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours. Take out and allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving (it tastes better when it's not so cold).
Serve with corn chips or crackers.

Print recipe with images | without images

Grapefruit: White vs. Pink or Red

FitSugar — Thu, 31 May 2007 03:00:00 PDT

When the nights are warm, I always wake up craving something cool for breakfast. Grapefruit from the fridge is one of my top choices because it's so tangy, juicy, and refreshing - it really energizes me.

Not only do I love the taste, but grapefruit offers many health benefits. It acts as an excellent cleanser for the digestive and urinary tract, and promotes healthy skin.

Grapefruit is also rich in Vitamin C which supports a healthy immune system, and may help to reduce cold or flu symptoms. Vitamin C also helps to reduce inflammatory conditions such as asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Drinking grapefruit juice can reduce your risk of kidney stones and helps protect against lung and colon cancer. Grapefruit also contains pectin, a form of soluble fiber that lowers cholesterol.

Isn't that amazing? With all that said, I was wondering if there was a difference between white and pink or red grapefruit. Is one healthier for you? To find out

read more Here's the nutritional breakdown of both white and pink/red grapefruit:

	White	Pink / Red
Serving Size	1/2 fruit	1/2 fruit
Calories	39	52
Total Fat	.1g	.2g
Saturated Fat	0g	0g
Cholesterol	0mg	0mg
Sodium	0mg	0mg
Carbs	9.9g	13.1g
Fiber	1.3g	2g
Sugar	8.6g	8.5
Protein	.8g	.9g
Vitamin A	1%	28%
Vitamin C	65%	64%
Calcium	1%	3%
Iron	0%	1%

Fit's Tips: By the looks of that chart, it seems like the pink or red variety has a little bit more of everything, but the differences are nothing major. However, studies have shown the pink and red varieties contain higher amounts of antioxidants than the yellow kind. Pink and red grapefruit also contain lycopene, which has anti-tumor properties, and can help fight oxygen free radicals which are compounds that damage cells. So when you're shopping for grapefruit, opt for pink or red - they supply more bang (or should I say tang) for your buck. Source

Great Fruit: Grapefruit

FitSugar — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 09:15:17 PST

Grapefruit is packed with disease-fighting antioxidants, lycopene, vitamin C and fiber. In fact, half a grapefruit provides 110% of the recommended value for vitamin C and contains more than 60 phytonutrients, which health experts believe help your body battle heart disease, cancer and other maladies -- a high level of pectin found in the fruit may also help you maintain healthy levels of cholesterol.

With health in mind, the Florida Grapefruit for Your Best Life Chef Recipe Contest was born! The contest was hosted by The Florida Department of Citrus and Bob Greene (Oprah's personal trainer) -- Together, they sought out recipes that bring flavor and good health together using grapefruit and fit the health criteria of The Best Life Diet (Bob's book).

And the winning recipe is...
Florida Grapefruit and Jerk-Grilled Chicken with Arugula Salad by Chef Matthew Laman (pictured)

To read the recipe,

read more Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 30 minutes Makes: 4 Servings Chicken: 4 (6oz.) boneless chicken breasts 1 tablespoon jerk marinade Sauce: 1 tablespoon minced garlic Non-stick cooking spray 2 cups no-sodium chicken broth Juice of 2 Florida grapefruits (about 16 oz. of juice) 1 tablespoon cilantro finely chopped Salad: 2 cups arugula 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 Florida grapefruit (peeled, segmented and coarsely chopped) 2 papaya (peeled, seeded and diced) Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste 16 grape tomatoes sliced in half (lengthwise) 4 fresh ¼ inch pineapple rings Place chicken breasts and jerk marinade in large zip-top bag, seal and refrigerate for one hour. Remove chicken from zip-top bag and place on hot grill. Grill chicken breast until thoroughly cooked, about 15-20 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, sauté garlic with non-stick cooking spray, then add chicken stock and grapefruit juice. Bring to a boil, lower temperature to medium low and reduce to syrup. Add cilantro. Stir well and set aside. In a large bowl, combine arugula, olive oil, chopped grapefruit and pepper together. Toss the ingredients to coat arugula. Add tomatoes and papaya. Place one pineapple ring on the center of 4 dinner size plates. Top each ring with one grilled chicken breast. Divide salad into 4 equal parts and place on the grilled chicken breast. Drizzle plates with sauce. Nutrients per serving: 414 calories , 39 g protein, 45 g carbohydrates, 6 g fiber, 10 g total fat, 142 mg sodium, Vitamin A 70% DV, Vitamin C 339% DV, Calcium 12% DV, Iron 14% DV. To get the other two winning recipes, check out the Florida Grapefruit For Your Best Life Contest site.

Taste the Rainbow: Colorful Antioxidant-Rich Foods and Their Benefits

Michele Foley — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:08:23 PST

Eating a rainbow of foods is an easy way to give the body much-needed antioxidants. Besides giving fruits and veggies their pretty colors, substances like lycopene and beta-carotene may protect against cancer, promote brain health, and act as an anti-inflammatory. This isn't the time to be monochromatic: since each pigment provides different benefits, get as many colors on your plate as possible. Keep reading for a rainbow color guide to see how each antioxidant helps the body and easy ways to incorporate them into your everyday meals.

5 Diet Foods That Are Making You Fat

Prevention — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:10:41 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Improve your weight loss plan by avoiding these health diet disasters
By Alyssa Shaffer

Thanks to confusing labels and unearned reputations, it's difficult to know what's good for you. You might automatically reach for items with a "health halo," such as spaghetti sauce (love that lycopene!), or labels like reduced fat!, low sodium!, and whole grain! But unless you're a super savvy shopper, be warned: your diet may conceal some nasty surprises. That low-fat cottage cheese you love? It could be higher in sodium than potato chips. And the low-fat dressing you drizzle on your salad? It could contain nearly as much sugar as two chocolate chip cookies.

The truth is that no manufacturer wants to compromise on flavor, so even healthy-sounding products can contain appalling levels of sugar, salt, and bad fats. To save you time, we've flushed out some of the most surprising diet food offenders - and found some truly healthy alternatives.

5 Weight Loss Excuses You Can Overcome

Fast Food Chicken Caesar Salad
Culprit: McDonald's Premium Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken contains 890 mg of sodium - more than half the recommended daily limit. And that's without the Caesar dressing, which can pile on another 500 mg. (Select the low-fat Italian and it's even 30 percent higher!) In these ready-to-go salads, says Lona Sandon, RD, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, "the worst part is usually the chicken, which is often cooked in a high-sodium marinade for flavor and may also be injected with a sodium solution to keep the meat moist."

Smarter choice: Skip the entrée salad and go for the burger with a garden salad on the side. A McDonald's plain hamburger has 520 mg of sodium (250 calories, 9 g fat); add the side salad (20 calories, 0 g fat, 10 mg sodium) or snack-size fruit-and-walnut salad (210 calories, 8 g fat, 60 mg sodium).

Have you fallen prey to other "fake" diet foods? Keep reading to find out!