Last article I gave you the basics on Nutrition and Cancer Fighting Foods. This was to set your baseline of understanding about phytochemicals. Basically, phytochemicals are the functional nutrients along with vitamins, minerals and fiber, that help maintain healthy cells and reduce risk for growth of cancer cells. They are only found in plant foods.
Now, I can share more on the specifics regarding what makes the recipes from this article so healthy: Nutrition Through Soothing Superfoods Recipes!
If you want to read the recipe, simply click on the title and it will pull up the recipe. All recipes were developed by
Chef Ryan Hutmacher, Centered Chef. If you’re ever in Chicago, you’ve got to check out his studio!
Chilled Watermelon Beet Soup
This soup is very soothing and would be great for anyone. This is also a recipe for any patients who are facing nausea, as the aroma from hot foods often can cause my cancer clients some difficulty.
- Beets are one of the best sources of the phytochemical betalain, an antioxidant found in dark purple vegetables.
- Onion is part of the Allium Family along with garlic, scallions, leeks and chives. These allium vegetables contain many substances now being studied for their anti-cancer effects, such as quercetin, allixin and a large group of organosulfur compounds that includes allicin, alliin and allyl sulfides.
- Remember that any part of a plant that you can eat (that’s legal!) will be good for you. This goes for herbs too, like the mint in this soup! All herbs are great sources of phytochemicals. They are very potent, so a little bit goes a long way. I like to make infused water with fresh mint; I call it “make your own vitamin water”. For recipes and a review of Coca Cola’s vitaminwater®, check my article here: Is Vitaminwater® Healthy? Plus a Recipe to Make Your Own!
Kale Salad with Balsamic Honey Mustard
This is one amazing cancer fighting salad! The following ingredients from this salad are also on the list of AICR’s Foods that Fight Cancer:
- Cruciferous Vegetables
- Green Leafy Vegetables
- Garlic
- Cranberries
Here’s what makes them so healthy:
- Kale covers two of the top cancer fighting foods: Cruciferous vegetables and green leafy vegetables.
- Leafy greens are one of CSPI’s top 10 foods. Here’s why! Leafy greens are excellent sources of fiber, folate and a wide range of carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin, along with saponins and flavonoids.
- Garlic is also on the AICR’s Foods that Fight Cancer list. It is also in the Allium family, like onion.
- Cranberries are good sources of vitamin C and dietary fiber. They’re very high in antioxidant power, most of which comes from the following phytochemicals:
- Flavonoids, including anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins and flavonols
- Ursolic acid
- Benzoic acid and hydroxycinnamic acid
- Phytochemicals in mustard seeds called isothiocyanates are similar to the phytochemicals in the cruciferous vegetable group.
Chocolate Avocado Pudding
Everyone needs dessert! Make it a cancer fighting sweet treat!
Here are the health facts about this recipe:
- 1 avocado has 250 calories and 23 g of fat – but most of that is the healthy, omega-3 kind of fat. It might sound like a lot to you, but think about your bowl of ice cream – 1/2 cup of ice cream is 137 calories and 7g of fat, most of which is saturated, not healthy kind. You know you eat 4 scoops, so that’s 28g of fat and 550 calories!!
- Plus, an avocado is plant based and has lots of other healthy nutrients in it like potassium, fiber and folate, carotenoids, vitamin E and lutein. Definitely a cancer fighting food to include a few times each week.
- Cocoa powder – one study found that cocoa has more phenolic phytochemicals and a higher antioxidant capacity than teas and red wine. Wow – that’s powerful… and so tasty!! Phenolic phytochemicals “theaflavin, epigallocatechin gallate, resveratrol, and procyanidin, respectively, have been extensively investigated due to their possible role as chemopreventive agents based on their antioxidant capacities.” [note, i included cocoa powder in my oatmeal this morning and it was very tasty!]
Do you need more reasons to try these amazing recipes? I think not!!
– Julie
