My roommate just came back from the farmers' market with a bag of fresh Ontario green beans and promptly cooked them up with some garlic and slivered almonds - really simple. She asked if I wanted some to which I responded "no thanks" as I'd just eaten. They smelled really good, though, so I rethought my position. "I'll try one," I said. And that lead to another and another and soon I was feasting on the poor woman's dinner. They were just too good to pass up.

We're right at the beginning of green bean season -- a season that should last through until October, depending on the weather. You can usually get them all year, but this is when they're at their best and least expensive, so take advantage over the next few months.

Green beans are a great source of vitamin K, vitamin C and manganese. They're also a very good source of beta carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, and they also contain a variety of other important carotenoid phytonutrients. You can tell by their crunch that green beans are a good source of dietary fibre. They also contain zinc, potassium, the all important folate, are a decent source of iron, magnesium, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), copper, calcium, phosphorus and niacin (B3), all of which is to say they're quite a nutrient-dense little veggie.

If you've ever gone into the produce section at a health food grocery store, you've likely been confronted by a lot of leafy greens you didn't necessarily recognize or know much about. Don't be intimidated - even people well aquainted with leafy greens can often come across something they've never encountered before. But it makes for a good opportunity to expand your knowledege and add variety to your diet. So jump in!

One of the greens you may be unfamiliar with is dandelion greens. And, yes, it is the same annoying weed you work so hard to keep off your lawn? The fact is, the greens from this "weed" are actually quite tasty and good for you. They make an excellent addition to salads and can also be cooked in the same way spinach is prepared.

Dandelion gets its name from the French "dents de lion", or lion's teeth, which describes the jagged edges on the leaves. The "lion" part of the equation might be there due to the fact that the fluffy yellow flowers of the plant resemble a lion's head with its furry mane.

Dandelion greens are loaded with beta carotene, the carotenoid phytonutrient that is a precursor to vitamin A. Dandelion greens are considered to be the richest source of beta carotene in the vegetable kingdom! In fact, dandelion greens contain over four times the amount of beta carotene found in broccoli. They are an extremely nutrient-dense food. They contain almost double the vitamin K, twice the calcium and almost three times the iron as broccoli. That's a lot of nutrients. They're also rich in fibre, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and the B vitamins thiamine and riboflavin.

Quinoa is a bit of a perplexing grain, especially since it's not actually not a grain -- it's a fruit! Yes, it both looks and cooks like like a grain but it has a distinct taste and texture. It's also nutritionally similar to grain, but it's high in protein and calcium. In fact, it has more calcium than milk, by volume.

It's really easy to prepare, too -- if you can cook rice, you can cook quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). Just rinse the grains well in a fine mesh strainer, then put one part quinoa to two parts water in a pot with some unrefined sea salt. Bring this to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

In vegetarian circles, quinoa is held in high regard because it contains all eight essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. It's particularly high in lysine, an amino acid in short supply in the plant kingdom. In short, quinoa is a fantastic food choice that deserves a regular place in your diet.

There are more than a few ways to enjoy quinoa -- the simple recipe I gave above is, quite frankly, a little boring. Here are my top five favourite methods of enjoying this grain-like fruit that are guaranteed to excite your tastebuds:

Dear Sarah, I have tried many sports enhancing 'remedies' that claim to help me lose more fat when I'm working out. Recently I heard that taking calcium can help you lose weight. Is it true?
Thanks,
Helen

Dear Helen, Yes, but don't run out and buy a bottle until you read the rest of this article.

Calcium is an essential mineral as it cannot be made in the body and therefore must be obtained through diet. Calcium is one the most abundant minerals in your body accounting for 1.5 percent of your total body weight. When there isn't enough calcium in the body, the body responds by releasing hormones to help conserve as much calcium as possible for critical bodily functions.

Source

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Sunscreen season is upon us and if you're like me, you hate slathering the stuff all over your skin. But nonetheless, if I'm going to be out in the sun for an extended period of time, I put on some sunscreen. There are very real consequences to staying out in the sun unprotected for too long. These consequences are different for for everyone and and depend on skin type, location in the world and time of day.

This being said, some people go overboard with sunscreen. Despite what you've heard, getting absolutely no unprotected sun exposure per day is not ideal. Just like all life forms on the surface of this planet, we need to get some sun, plain and simple. If we block all our sun exposure we're just asking to get sick.

One consequence of our continued sun-dodging, whether purposeful or simply a result of the increasingly indoor existence of the western world, is low vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is created by the body when sunlight reacts with cholesterol in the skin (yep, cholesterol. Not such bad stuff after all). Vitamin D is a hot-bed of scientific research at the moment. It has already been found to be vital for immune system function, maintaining bone density, helping with calcium absorption and maintaining calcium and phosphorous levels in the blood. Add to that the preventative role vitamin D plays in autoimmune disease, hypertension, osteoporosis and cancer and it is clear this is a vitamin you do not want to be without.

I picked up some seasonal Ontario asparagus at the market the other day and let me tell you, it was so good to have fresh asparagus again! I'd forgotten how much I love it. Asparagus season runs from May until June, although you may be able to get the fresh local stuff into July if you're lucky. Take advantage while you can!

Generally, I'm happy with asparagus fried or grilled with just a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon, but sometimes I get a little more fancy and on this occasion, I went for a batch of sesame asparagus.

Although sesame and asparagus are a fairly common combination, it was a staple at one of restaurants I worked during my illustrious career as a chef, so I really mastered it during that time. Although they served it all year, these days I prefer to hold out on asparagus until it's in season. It's one of our cherished local foods, so take pride in it.

Sesame asparagus combines all the vitamins and phytonutrients from asparagus with the calcium and protein found in sesame seeds. This recipe is great along side almost anything - meat, fish or vegetarian dishes. Cut the spears in half and they're quite nice on top of a soba noodle salad.

Recipe for Sesame Asparagus after the jump.

If you've been looking around for healthy, dairy-free alternatives to cow's milk, perhaps due to allergies or digestive intolerance (pain, gas, bloating), your research might have led you to either brown rice or almond milk, both of which I recommend. That said, while the store-bought nut milks aren't bad, they often contain additives such as carrageenan (often irritates the gut) and soy lecithin (many people are intolerant or sensitive to this additive) and preservatives such as excess sodium. Almond milk is a source of protein, vitamin E, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, calcium, magnesium and zinc.

Homemade almond milk sounds like a time-consuming luxury, but it's surprisingly easy. In fact, you can have creamy, rich nut milk for your granola as early as tomorrow morning if you follow these six easy steps:

Almond Milk Ingredients:
1 cup raw almonds, (preferably organic) unroasted, no salt
5 cups of filtered water
2 tbsp of maple syrup or 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
You will also need a blender or food processor and a fine strainer or cheesecloth.



Step 1:
Soak 1 cup of almonds in filtered water overnight on your kitchen counter. Cover with enough water to completely submerge all the almonds by at least 3 cm (1 inch).

The following is an email conversation between one of our participants in the 30-Day Challenge, Carole and the Healthy Foodie. It's presented here so others participating in the challenge can get some helpful tips and advice. If you missed our other posts and want to follow the challenge, here are some resources to get you started:

Benefits of eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol and processed foods.
What you can and cannot eat
Getting started and getting off coffee
Recipe ideas and resources

Healthy Foodie: Hello Carole. How is everything is going. How are you finding the challenge?

Carole: I had told you that eliminating sugar would not be too difficult. Well, I am amazed at just how much hidden sugar I have been eating every day! Wow. From the dressing I put on my salad to the TV dinner (I know - not healthy) I often have for dinner. I am just amazed after checking out labels how much sugar there is in so many products. Your list of off-limit ingredients included avoiding fructose. Is that not the sugar found in fruit? This confuses me as I had thought that agave was a fruit nectar.

You've just had a great workout. You really worked up a sweat and you know you did some good damage to those muscles. Now, you're thirsty, hungry and fatigued, so what should you reach for?

If you're like millions of North Americans, you'll probably go for a fluorescent-coloured "sports" beverage because the advertising campaigns have convinced you that they're better than water. It seems most of us have bought the line that these lab creations are superior at hydrating than the stuff created by nature that we've been surviving on for millennia.

But ask yourself this: Are sugary, artificially-coloured and flavoured, processed beverages really the best thing for your body after you work out? Are they good for you at any time? You obviously care about your body or you wouldn't be sweating so hard to keeping it healthy - so why feed it something that's hindering its healthy function?

Fortunately, there alternatives to these flashy sports drinks.

While I was staying with my parents over the holidays I was chopping celery to go into a salad. My mom commented that she never buys celery since it has no food value. I stopped chopping and gawked at her. "What do you mean 'no food value'? Celery is loaded with nutrition".

My mom went on to explain that when she was younger it was widely propagated that celery was an "empty food". It was promoted as a good diet food because you actually netted negative calories by eating it. In other words, celery's calorie count is supposedly so low that you actually burn more calories through eating and digesting it than the veggie had in the first place. Sounds delicious.

Unfortunately, celery got this bum rap back in the 70s and 80s when people seemed to only judge a food by its calorie count, and it hasn't shaken it to this day. I'm sure many people out there are under the impression that celery is pretty useless unless you're trying to lose weight.

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.

It's that time of day again or maybe that time of the month, when your craving for chocolate arises and nothing else will do. But with your New Year's resolution fresh in the works - what can you do about it?

Feeling instant warmth and joy is achievable when you create your own soup. And this recipe is comfort food like no other and so easy to make -- but you don't have to tell anyone that. I love to promote healthy food that tastes amazing and this recipe is extra-special because it meets the following criteria that health-conscious people really care about.

Gluten-free
The fact that so many people are embracing gluten-free diets doesn't surprise me. And it isn't just sufferers of celiac disease who benefit from eating gluten-free. In fact, my diet is 75 percent gluten-free because I appreciate the fact that I've eliminated gas and/or bloating after a meal and I feel satisfied and energized all day long. As I've mentioned in previous posts, Dr. Mercola (my nutrition guru) refers to gluten containing diets as "an epidemic of hidden intolerance." There are many people who have this intolerance and are not even aware of it. Try going gluten-free and see how you feel.

Dairy-free
Not as popular as gluten-free, but there are many people who cannot tolerate dairy. Dairy is acidifying, which some experts suggest causes the body to shuttle calcium from the bones to the blood as a buffering agent. This is one of the reasons that dairy may in fact not be the best choice for obtaining calcium in your diet. Of course, if you are vegetarian, you will love this recipe because it's a great choice, assuming you use vegetable stock.

Low Allergen
This soup recipe is corn, wheat, soy, nut and, of course, preservative, additive and chemical-free as those items are common allergens and best avoided to achieve your most joyous health. Unfortunately, these foods are added to nearly every packaged and processed food so we are literally overdosing on them, which eventually causes sensitivities in the gut and can lead to allergies and food intolerances.

Recipe after the jump

Hi Doug,

Quick question for you: Is rooibos tea as good for you as green tea? Just wondering if the nutritional properties are similar. I've been drinking rooibos because it's caffeine-free, but I'm wondering if I'm getting all those benefits of green tea drinking.

Charelle


Hi Charelle,

Unfortunately, the answer is no - rooibos does not have all the same properties as green tea. Proper tea, which includes white, green, black and oolong teas, are all from the evergreen tree Camellia sinensis. These teas vary due to the amount of processing they undergo, including cutting and fermenting. Here is a post I wrote a while back on white tea vs. green tea.