That's Fit

Are you a fan of kale, chard and spinach? Maybe not, since those are leafy greens that send some folks scurrying away fast. Although raw (and cooked) vegetables are not that palatable to many people, the vitamins and minerals many of them have should be a powerful motivator to eat them.

A secret of mine is spices -- I use spices like majoram, bay leaves, sage, garlic and pepper on so many things it would make even my head spin. The reason? The lack of "taste" is a common reason why good foods are not eaten as much as nutritionally-dead foods are eaten.

A history of processed food tastes is hard to overcome, but getting vegetables right with spices and taste (while adding hardly any calories) can be a great method for eating those "bland" leafy greens. Try it and see what you think. Fresh garlic is a taste that I'd rather have than a quarter-pound cheeseburger any day -- but it didn't happen overnight.

Are you a fan of eating fruits and vegetables? Sure, preparing fruits and vegetables can be a little more cumbersome than popping something in the microwave, but the extra few minutes (or maybe 10) to prepare a healthy dose of fruits and vegetables is easily worth it. The thing is, 10 minutes is quite a bit to ask in this age of extreme business.

The CDC said yesterday that fewer than a third of American adults eat the amount of fruits and vegetables the government recommends. This is not particularly surprising, but it is alarming to see it in print. The goal of the U.S. government is to see 75% of Americans to eating two servings of fruits and seeing 50% of American adults consume three servings of vegetables each day by 2010.

If this current trend -- which has remained steady for about a decade -- continues, that goal won't be met. What do you do to get your suggested fruit and vegetable servings eaten every day?

There are foods and then there are "super" foods. Superfoods are generally thought of as foods that have very healthy qualities when eaten correctly (i.e., raw instead of cooked in some cases), instead of foods that have satisfying qualities but inadequate nutrition. At least, that is how I think of foods in terms of an easy classification.

When you're trying to prevent disease and possibly even fight health complications, it's important to know which specific foods can help you achieve a particular goal. For example, the below list of foods that has been designed to fight diabetes makes not only for a disease-fighting list of foods, but an optimal shopping list as well. I know many of these vegetables are not palatable to many -- but try adding some spice. Below are the best foods for fighting the onset of diabetes according to eDiets:

1. Apples
2. Asparagus
3. Beans
4. Broccoli
5. Carrots
6. Fish
7. Nuts
8. Oranges
9. Soybeans
10. Tea