One of the best ways to start eliminating those damaging foods is to study their package labels and to learn about the good foods - greens, beans, fruit, nuts, and seeds. The best nutrition summaries of these foods is to Google "the nutritional value of..." I knew next to nothing about the good, unprocessed foods found in the produce department and a wee bit of them in the freezers. Our "largest WM in Arkansas" has one entire bank of freezers for ice cream, its crafts and assaults, but only one half of a bank for greens, raw vegetables, and frozen fruit. Yes, the rest of the nutritional freezer bank is filled with packaged, enhanced (salty, spicy, seasoned) frozen goods, much more expensive. Seasoned frozen blah-blah can cost many times more than its simply frozen counterpart. Check it out. Schocking!
The main leafy greens are kale, turnip greens, spinach, and collards. They have almost no calories.
Kale -
A single cup, or 21 grams (g), of raw kale contains (
- Calories: 7
- Carbs: 1 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Vitamin K: 68% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin C: 22% of the DV
- Manganese: 8% of the DV
- Vitamin A: 6% of the DV
- Riboflavin: 5% of the DV
- Calcium: 4% of the DV
Spinach is an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals, including (3):
- Vitamin A. Spinach is high in carotenoids, which your body can turn into vitamin A.
- Vitamin C. This vitamin is a powerful antioxidant that promotes skin health and immune function.
- Vitamin K1. This vitamin is essential for blood clotting. Notably, one spinach leaf contains over half of your daily needs.
- Folic acid. Also known as folate or vitamin B9, this compound is vital for pregnant women and essential for normal cellular function and tissue growth.
- Iron. Spinach is an excellent source of this essential mineral. Iron helps create hemoglobin, which brings oxygen to your body’s tissues.
- Calcium. This mineral is essential for bone health and a crucial signaling molecule for your nervous system, heart, and muscles.
Spinach also contains several other vitamins and minerals, including potassium, magnesium, and vitamins B6, B9, and E.
Spinach contains several important plant compounds, including (
- Lutein. This compound is linked to improved eye health.
- Kaempferol. This antioxidant may decrease your risk of cancer and chronic diseases.
- Nitrates. Spinach contains high amounts of nitrates, which may promote heart health.
- Quercetin. This antioxidant may ward off infection and inflammation. Spinach is one of the richest dietary sources of quercetin.
- Zeaxanthin. Like lutein, zeaxanthin can also improve eye health.
The same type of nutritional value comes from frozen, unprocessed broccoli, carrots, green beans, peas, lima beans, onions-green-and-red peppers sliced, sliced onions alone, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts.
The combination of greens and vegetables is satisfying, very nutritious and inexpensive, lacking in added salt.
I found super high salt content in my (former) favorite bread, in some canned beans but not others, in shockingly packaged pizza, snacks, and pre-cooked meals like Marie Calendars. I left one in the fridge with 650 mg of salt in one serving. I have found a can of beans with over 1,000 mg of salt, but the Cicero peas only 120 mg. I am keeping the 1,000 mg beans to use as snow melt.
If we are not satisfied with the super-salty processed meats, we can use ketchup and mustard to enhance their salinity with their contribution of salt.
