That's Fit

Each week, we'll be offering original recipes and unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

Sunday's Parade magazine lists some Super Foods we ought to embrace. Each one is packed with nutrients. And flavor too. Can't beat that combo. Check out these six.

Coconut Milk
Coconuts are rich and saturated in fat. Sound scary? It shouldn't. The people in the South Pacific enjoy diets loaded with coconut oil, yet studies show that these people don't get heart disease. U.S. researchers are hot on the trail of this interesting fact, hoping to support the claim that the fatty coconut is a heart-healthy fruit. What they do know is this: Coconut flakes, coconut milk and cream, and coconut oil contain lots of an antiviral, antibacterial fatty acid called lauric acid. It's one of the immune-boosters babies get from breast milk.

Try this: Mix a can of coconut milk with a pint of chicken stock and some grated ginger for a healthy coconut chicken soup.

Grass-Fed Beef
All beef is a great source of iron, B vitamins, and zinc -- three nutrients most of us don't get enough of. But grass-fed beef (versus grain-fed beef) is best. It contains less fat, less saturated fat, more CLA (an anti-cancer fat), and more omega-3 fatty acids.

Try this: Use the very lean grass-fed beef for spaghetti sauce, chili, and meatloaf.

Nuts
Rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and antioxidants, moderate amounts of almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, and hazelnuts are a good addition to a healthy diet. Walnuts too. They are one of the best vegetarian sources of the omega-3 fatty acids that fight obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Try this: Put nuts in a blender with a little olive oil, milk or water for fresh nut butter.

Cinnamon
Cinnamon regulates blood sugar, inhibits cancer cells, and is anti-inflammatory. Can't beat that.

Try this: Sprinkle cinnamon on French toast, oatmeal, or a cup of hot chocolate.

Raw Honey & Molasses
Great for a sweet tooth, these whole and natural sweeteners make for a healthy sugar substitute. Unfiltered, raw honey contains lots of phytonutrients and enzymes to aid digestion. Blackstrap molasses is a surprisingly good source of iron and many other minerals.

Try this: Honey is best unheated but molasses already has been boiled, so there's no reason not to cook with it. Use with baked goods like muffins and pumpkin pie.

Olive Oil
Olive oil's monounsaturated fats reduce inflammation. Its phenols fight cancer. And its vitamin E lowers the risk of heart disease, protects skin from damaging agents, and prevents nerve damage.

Try this: Gently sauté vegetables in olive oil, drizzle it on salads, or use it in pesto.

Herbs are amazing things, and they can do so much for us besides just seasoning our food and brewing us a good cup of tea -- they can also go a long way towards helping to relieve stress and improve your mood. Stressed out? Annoyed? Worried about finances? The right herbs can help. According to Natural Health elm, for example, can help you get perspective, beech can increase your tolerance, and mimulus can help ease anxiety.

I can be really moody so some of these may soon be finding their way into my medicine cabinet!

Each week, we'll be offering original recipes and unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

Nutrition experts have long claimed that Mediterranean diets are some of the best around. Heavy on fish, fruits, and vegetables; moderate in nuts and red wine; and low in red meat, these diets are tops for heart health, say researchers at the Mayo Clinic. One more item puts the Mediterranean diet high on the heart health list: Olive Oil. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to be exact.

The Super Food olive oil, containing monounsaturated fat, helps lower the risk of heart disease by reducing the total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol levels in your blood, unlike saturated and trans fats (found in better, tropical oils, and hydrogenated margarines) which spike these levels. Get two tablespoons of olive oil per day -- make it "extra virgin" or "virgin" for less processing and more polyphenol antioxidants -- and you'll be on your way to better health.

It's not just your heart that will benefit from regular doses of olive oil, made from the crushing and then subsequent pressing of olives. Prevention magazine cites one Greek study (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 1999) indicating a little olive oil can dramatically cut the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Study participants with the lowest consumption of extra virgin olive oil had a 2.5 greater chance of developing the condition, in fact.

Just three weeks after giving birth to little Olive, Isla Fisher seems to have her petite pre-baby frame back, according to this article and photos on the Daily Mail. You might remember that before giving birth, she was sporting a huge pregnancy belly that apparently was so big that she could no longer drive her car.

Isla's not losing the weight for a movie role -- she's vowed to take her time after giving birth, but she sure is looking great in a hurry. I wonder what her secret is? The article cites breast feeding, which burns at least 500 calories a day. Wow -- that's the same amount of calories that I burn in 45 hard minutes on the elliptical trainer.

I think she looks great -- don't you agree?

Want to model some of the best eating habits in the world? Then consider adopting a Mediterranean diet. People from this region of the world have low cholesterol, few incidences of coronary heart disease and cancer, and much longer lives than those who eat the typical American diet. Amazingly, their diet is significantly higher in fat than what the American Heart Association recommends. How do they do it?

Well, they eat loads of plant foods rich in antioxidants. Think colorful fruits and vegetables. Seafood, abundant with heart-healthy nutrients, is also a staple in their diet. Most important: Their diet is free of the two bad fats we tend to consume without a second thought -- saturated fats and trans fats, the ones that stick to our arteries like glue. Try extra virgin olive oil and grapeseed oils to trim your intake of these fats.

It seems the Mediterraneans have the right idea. We should be so wise to follow their lead.

Confused about how many trans fats your body needs? Let me help. Zero.

Trans fats -- abundant in cookies, candies, pastries, fried food, and margarine -- are not necessary in any way, shape, or form. There's no need to eat them at any level, especially because they seriously up the risk of heart disease.

Make it your project, starting today, to buy only foods with zero trans fats. Nutrition labels now make it easy to identify trans fat-free foods, and there are more of these products on the shelves than ever before. Head to the outside aisles of your grocery store for fresh fruits, veggies, fish, and whole grains -- OK and maybe small amounts of healthy oils like olive and canola. This way, you'll be sure to stay out of trans fat trouble.

Olive oil has long been known to have a wealth of health benefits. Whether used for cooking, dipping or just taken straight, one to two tablespoons daily has been proven to lower bad cholesterol.

But wait! Don't just go out there and start gulping down any bottle of the stuff that you can get your hands on. As the research shows, there is one type that stands high above the others. Virgin olive oil (especially the "extra" variety) is the best type when it comes to heart disease defense. So what's the difference anyway?

Well virgin oil comes from the first pressing of the olives, giving it more polyphenols than the others. Coupled with monounsaturated fatty acids, which are good for you, this type of antioxidant lends itself to reducing heart disease risk. Virgin olive oil contains more of these antioxidant polyphenols, thus lowering LDL cholesterol and defending the heart.