I came across an article about “The 20 Healthiest Foods”. I will admit before I clicked on the article I assumed I probably hadn’t heard or seen half of the foods. I had judged the article before even clicking. I’ve done that a fair amount of times and been pleasantly surprised.
To summarize the 20 Healthiest Foods they claimed were:
- Spinach
- Goji Berries
- Salmon
- Avocado
- Quinoa
- Broccoli
- Almonds
- Beets
- Sweet Potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Kale
- Raspberries
- Black Beans
- Cantaloupe
- Artichoke
- Watermelon
- Grapefruit
- Asparagus
- Kelp
- Cabbage
Oddly enough I have tried every single one of these except Goji Berries. I had even heard of all of them and a lot (salmon, spinach, artichoke and kelp) are some of my favorite foods. It actually motivated me because I felt like I was doing a good job in eating well and I never find myself stressed about eating well.
It made me think a lot that we often make healthy eating harder than it has to be. Healthy eating doesn’t mean trying the next new health craze, eating the most expensive food (produce or not). It just means fueling your body with simple and nutritious foods.
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated nor does it have to be expensive. This list isn’t exclusive and obviously each list will have foods that overlap and also foods that differ. I think it’s important to realize that eating healthy isn’t complicated. This article was a nice reminder of that. It’s a great article and I would recommend if you had a few minutes to read it.
Questions for you:
Have you tried all of the foods?
What are some healthy foods not on this list you can think of?
So true Hollie! That is how I ended up doing a ‘What IS Clean Eating?’ post last month … people seem to be getting all out of proportion with this stuff, rather than settling back to basics.
I’ve also had all of these things, and they are awesome! I can imagine some people bickering about what made the list and what didn’t and why … but that misses the point. Those are 20 really healthy foods, period. Do we really need to debate about watermelon versus pears or cherries … but who cares – eat #allthefruit instead 🙂
In addition to various fruits, I would add pistachios as a great ‘desk snack’ for the mid-afternoon munchies. They are super-healthy, and if you buy them in the shell, you need to use your hands and do work to get to the pistachio, meaning you can’t just mindlessly munch … which is a good thing!
I really loved that article too, and I think you’re absolutely right that people make healthy eating way more complicated than it has to be… which is sad because then it discourages people who want to start eating healthier from actually doing it because they get overwhelmed. I think we just have a hard time believing that something so simple could actually work…
That list is mainly what I have in my fridge each week…except cantaloupe and watermelon. It IS nice to keep it simple. Sometimes I wonder why there isn’t more variety in veggies though haha.
I like brussels sprouts too–but I know they are higher in the glycemic index.
Thanks for the article!
Thanks for stopping by. I did notice that the article was very fruit based!
I have actually tried everything listed there with the exception of kelp, beets, and goji berries. But I don’t think I’ll be trying beets now. I have a condition where my body stores high levels of iron so I’m monitored quarterly. Beets are crazy high in iron so I’ll be steering clear of those.
This reminds me of every time I go to the salad bar at Whole Foods and I try to pick my toppings based on what has the highest ANDI score. 🙂 I think I’ve tried them all except Goji berries, too. Kelp is amazing and I wish we used it more in American cooking. I’d say one food that’s not on there is cherries–I think most runners know about the awesome anti-inflammatory benefits of tart cherries. 🙂
I was actually thinking/wondering why they didn’t add cherries. It seemed like it would fit the list really well!
That’s a great list – perhaps I’m biased because I eat them all aside from salmon and artichoke (I really don’t like it for some reason). I definitely agree that healthy eating has become such a minefield that it can seem totally overwhelming at times. I was suckered into the whole ‘put 13 million superfood powders in a smoothie and drink it’ craze, and it was a ridiculous waste of money, and also worry and anxiety that I wasn’t eating cleanly enough.
Now, I have to be a little bit annoying and add chia seeds to that list 😉 I genuinely think they’re a great food and little nutritional powerhouses, but obviously they’re not essential and they’re definitely an acquired taste. Also, bananas! I’ve eaten more bananas in the past few months than perhaps the past year (no joke) and I feel a lot better than when I was obsessing over low carb/sugar.
xxx
Couldn’t agree more hun. Healthy eating is pretty simple if we don’t think too much about it…overthinking is what kills us 😉 I like the cherry addition (blueberry too) already mentioned. I’d put froyo too, but that’s more for my head than my body 😉
Totally agree with you. Eating healthy is not that hard, sometimes it just takes some prep. I have tried all of those foods except goji berries and kelp. The only food on that list I don’t like is beets, which really pisses me off since I know how good they are for me. I just can’t get past the dirt taste. Glad to know my favorite, black beans made the list!
I love most of these foods. Yay! If only they added eggplant I could eat forever on this list.
They forgot coffee!
I have never had kelp or gogi berries but have tried all the others (and like most of them).
I like how most foods on here aren’t exotic. Plus, they are available at most any grocery store- some of us have Walmart and don’t have Whole Foods. It’s good that this shows you can buy healthy foods most anywhere.
I havent tried all of these (and beets, yuck haha) but I think that healthy eating can be hard for people who havent done it. So they dont know how to make good foods taste good. that was probably the hardes for me.
Yup!!!! Love this. I haven’t tried all of them…but have heard of all of them and from someone who is on a budget these are are fairly reasonable price wise too. I am surprised blueberries isn’t on there!
Yum! Apples are pretty darn healthy, too. They do keep the doctor away, after all. 🙂
I don’t think i’ve ever had kelp or goji berries. I do love me some almonds though!
I go out for Japanese frequently and one of my favorite salads they do is the “seaweed” kelp salad. Delicious.
Ha! My husband is sitting next to me eating goji berries from whole foods as I’m reading. Definitely some of my favorite foods – salmon, spinach, sweet potatoes, kale, avocado and beets are pretty much on a daily basis for me, plus lots of weekly staples.
I think i have eaten everything on the list except goji berries and kelp. As others have said I’m surprised no cherries or blueberries, and also apples. You are right that sometimes we make healthy eating harder than it has to be!