Smart Veggie Combos
Here are some food combinations that provide an extra nutrition boost
Combining certain foods when you eat can influence the way your body absorbs nutrients, notes Penny Kris-Etherton, Evan Pugh University professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State University. Although all of these foods are good on their own, they’re even better with a partner.
1. Salads with dressing: Pair salads and vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and carrots that are high in fat-soluble vitamins with an oil-based dressing. A basic vinaigrette with salad oil, lemon juice, mustard and pepper does trick.
2. Vitamin C boost: Non-heme iron, a mineral found in vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts and string beans, carries oxygen throughout the body so that our cells can produce energy. Help it do its job by pairing these vegetables with vitamin C-rich foods such as oranges, grapefruit and surprisingly, roasted russet potatoes.
3. Greens and avocado: Mixing leafy greens with avocado can increase the absorption of nutrients that are essential to keep your eyes, skin and immune system healthy.
4. Tea with lemon: Tea and lemon make a dynamite combo. Both green tea and black tea contain a substance with the tongue-twisting name epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is linked to reduced inflammation. The body can better absorb EGCG when tea is flavored with citrus.
5. Tomatoes and oil: Roasted tomatoes with oil, tomato sauce and salads with oil-based dressing all help increase the body’s absorption of lycopene, a plant pigment that gives tomatoes their vibrant color. Lycopene helps protect the body’s cells from damage and has been linked to good oral and bone health, as well as a reduced risk of heart disease and some cancers.
