6 foods you and your family need to eat often

Garlic spinach (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many of us have become with Dr. Oz through the years and know that he is always giving us great recipes, advice and information on how to take better care of our bodies. This list is a few things he says we need every day.

1. Garlic- What's not to love about garlic? In addition to the wonderful flavor it imparts on so many of our favorite dishes, garlic is used the world over for it's medicinal properties. Garlic is a natural antibiotic, fights high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and has cancer fighting abilities as well. 
2. Tomatoes and/or paste- You want to  aim for at least 10 tablespoons a week.  Beware many commercially prepared sauces have excess preservatives, sugars and additives that you do not need. Ideally the best sauce is the ones that have had the least amount of processing. Look for sauces and pastes that are 100% USDA organic, certified Kosher, and Vegan which means it will be gluten free.
3. Olive Oil- Olive oil  should be kept in a dark bottle/container in your refrigerator.
   Do not fry foods in Olive oil as the heated oil loses any benefits you may want to gleam from it. Olive oil should be used and treated as a condiment and used to flavor foods that are already cooked or raw. Instead of cooking food in Olive oil, choose another healthy cooking oil.
4. Spinach- How many ways is spinach healthy, let me count the ways..just be sure you've got nothing better to do for the rest of the day. That's because spinach is considered a super food and with good reason. Here are just a few things to know about spinach and why you should have it as often as possible.  Spinach is full of Flavonoids -- a phytonutrient that has anti-cancer properties.  These phytonutrients have been shown to slow down cell division in the stomach and in skin cancer cells. And for the fellows out there spinach has proven to be a  significant guard against aggressive prostate cancer. The list goes on to show that spinach is helpful with inflammation, lowers blood pressure, eye sight issues related to age like macular degeneration, and cataracts. The high levels of vitamin A also help with all sorts of skin maladies including wrinkles, acne and other things that rob us of our youthful appearance.
   
5. Almonds- Always opt for raw unroasted Almonds. Roasted nuts are heat damaged and the nutritive and healthy attributes are thereby damaged. Always keep your raw Almonds and nuts  in the refrigerator to ensure freshness. Almonds are great for your heart, prevention of prostate cancer, blood sugar issues, inflammation, lowering cholesterol, and more.
6. Pomegranate- Pomegranate juice is a natural source of polyphenols and other antioxidants including tannins and anthocyanidins. These antioxidants guard against the damaging effects of free radicals, unstable molecules that attack cells and may lead to numerous health concerns and premature aging.

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How to make baby spinach dip

This recipe is super fast, super easy and super tasty. You will need a good quality processor or an appliance similar to a Ninja Master Prep Professional processor for best results. This recipe only has a few ingredients is low carb, low fat and ideal as a vegetable dip, or for chips.
Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup of low fat Greek yogurt
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup of fresh, washed baby spinach leaves
• Seasonings (your choice)

Instructions:
In a food processor, add all ingredients and pulse thoroughly until well blended. Chill in your refrigerator for an hour and serve.
Other suggestions:
Add ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese and mix into hot pasta for a nice creamy spinach pasta side dish. Try different seasonings depending on what you are serving. 1 cup of Avocado in exchange for your spinach will be a nice dip for tortilla chips as well. Remember to add a little diced onion to make easy Guacamole.

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How to Make Healthier Spaghetti

Image via Wikipedia

Healthy Spaghetti is just as delicious as the traditional version...
This spaghetti recipe has all the flavor of regular spaghetti with a lot less guilt. Using canned crushed tomatoes instead of store brand sauces, low carb pasta, and low sodium condiments make this a healthier choice.

Things You'll Need:
 
* 1-2 tbsp. Basil
* 1 tbsp. Oregano
* 1 tsp. Garlic powder
* 1 tsp. Onion powder
* 2 tbsp. Low sodium soy sauce
* 1 13.25 oz. box of Dreamfield's Spaghetti Pasta
* 3-4 lbs. of lean ground beef or ground turkey
* 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
* 2 15 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
* 1/2 of a large onion diced
* 1-2 cups of diced Portabella mushrooms
* 2 tsp hot sauce
* several cloves of garlic (minced)
* 1 tsp cayenne pepper
* 1 tbsp. Paprika
* 1 large diced bell pepper
* ground black pepper to taste
* 2 large pots, or one large skillet and one large Dutch oven
* Low fat Parmesan cheese

1.

In either a large skillet or pot, brown your ground beef or turkey. Add all diced veggies and spices. Once your meat has been thoroughly browned, drain all fat. To remove up to an additional 30% of the fat in the meat, you can leave it in a strainer, put the strainer over a large pot and rinse thoroughly with hot water. This practice removes most left over grease from the meat. If you choose to do this, wait to add your spices until after this is done. Set meat aside, and discard grease.

2.

In a large Dutch oven fill up to two thirds of the way with water and bring to a rolling boil. Add Dreamfield's Low Carb Spaghetti to the pot and cook for 9-10 minutes. Add a little Olive oil to the water to prevent over boiling and to keep pasta from sticking. Stir frequently to keep noodles separate as well. I like to break my spaghetti noodles in half before adding to the water so that they fit into the pot better and a little less messy when eating. Dreamfields Pasta has only 5 grams of digestible carbs per serving. Compared to regular pasta.

3.

Return your meat to the skillet, and add your diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and heat through allowing to simmer while the spaghetti noodles are cooking. Cans of crushed tomatoes are far healthier than store bought sauces as they have less sugar added, less additives, and lower carbs per serving. This allows you to control the spices and flavors as well. Store brand spaghetti sauces are packed with sugar and sodium and cost far more per ounce. Do a little comparison shopping next time and see if I'm telling the truth.

4.

Strain your noodles, and if you like mix in with the meat sauce of serve separately with the meat sauce served on top. Add a little olive oil to the noodles if you are going to serve them separately and stir so they won't stick together.

For information on low carb pasta, see-         www.netrition.com