Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times Maybe you should be eating more beets, left, or red cabbage.

I agree! I particularly eat/use a lot of tumeric, cinnamon (every day, in oatmeal and sweet potatoes), beets. I eat sardines every day! I get my sardines packed in spring water, without added salt or oil.  A 4 oz can of sardines in water has 100 less calories than one packed in oil.  I eat 8-12 oz of sardines at lunch and dinner.

I don’t often eat prunes, but I love dried cherries! (In fact, I ate so many after a shopping trip to Costco before Christmas that I put on 5 pounds – true confession! I’m back on track now; I have to go back to ordering unsweetened cherries 🙂

By the way, if you’re able to eat cherries in moderation (I put them in my oatmeal every morning), try Costco or Amazon.

 

• Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
  How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.
• Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
  How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.
• Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes.
  How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.
• Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
  How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.
• Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded withantioxidants.
  How to eat: Just drink it.
• Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants.
  How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.
• Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death.
  How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.
• Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.” They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
  How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread.
• Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,” it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
  How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.
• Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies.
  How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.
• Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.
  How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.