The Best Food?
When you clicked on the headline you might have thought I was talking about the “best tasting” food.
Maybe your mind raced to that juicy steak you had for dinner last night … or the decadent chocolate cake that melts in your mouth. Hey, I’m right there with you – the first thing I thought about was a big thick hamburger! With Blue Cheese!
No, I’m talking about the foods that are the “Best For You” … and they can taste good too!
Kudos to you if you guessed “orange” (the picture is a misleading little hint). It’s not oranges, but I’m tempted to give extra credit for at least thinking that fresh fruit would be at the top of the list.
No extra credit if all you saw in the picture was the chocolate! Though much good can come from chocolate.
The Good Stuff
We hear so much about what is bad for us, and what NOT to eat. But what about the good stuff?
The Institute of Food Technologists recently published their finding about the good stuff. This group of professionals usually deals with food chemistry, but this time they have some very useful information that consumers can use … how to pick out “the good stuff”.
Here’s the entire article about Nature’s Bounty and the Fab Fourteen – foods that are actually good for you.
It’s filled with whole grains, fruit, and nuts. Most things on the list are not processed very much – close to their natural state.
The Food Technologists ranked the top 14 foods on their list, based on years of scientific data. But which one was Number One?
The Best Food
And the winner
is … (drum roll, please) … Barley
Let’s face it, barley is not that sexy as food goes. In fact, it’s kind of bland.
But it’s bursting with nutritional value and has real rock star appeal when it comes to what it can do for your body.
- lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol
- reduces blood sugar levels (diabetic friendly)
- excellent source of fiber
- even small amounts can give health benefits
Give yourself double extra credit if you guessed ‘whole grains’ as the best food, and triple credit if you actually guessed barley!
Barley in Your Diet
Actually, the fact that barley is bland and doesn’t have a strong flavor is a benefit too – it’s easy to sneak it into different foods.
Here are several easy ideas to get some barley into your diet:
- add barley to beef or vegetable soup (add it early, or cook it first then add it – barley takes a while to fully cook)
- add cooked barley to salads
- use it in place of rice or in place of part of the rice in a recipe
Barley will tend to absorb the flavors around it and adds a good texture to a lot of dishes.
This looks a lot more appetizing than the grain:
Beef Barley Soup
(and the bread looks like it may have some barley flour in it!)
OK. So now you know what ranked #1 on the list. Try some barley, and if that doesn’t appeal to you, check out the entire list and find something that does.
Find food you really like, that’s on the “good stuff” list, and invest in your health. A diet that has balanced nutrition is the goal, but you’ve got to like what you eat … or you won’t stick with it.
