The term superfood has become a bit of a buzz phrase over the past couple of years in the health and lifestyle press, but what does it actually mean? Well, superfoods are labelled as such because of their power to provide amazing health benefits, such as lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease, and enhance your mood.
Take blueberries as an example; packed with antioxidants and phytoflavinoids, they are high in potassium and vitamin C, making them a popular recommendation of doctors and nutritionists. Not only can they lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, they are also non-inflammatory.
The best thing about superfoods – as well as their huge health benefits – is they are all quite common foods such as the following:
| Beans | Blueberries | Oranges | Pumpkin | Tea |
| Broccoli | Oats | Salmon | Soy | Spinach |
| Tomatoes | Turkey | Walnuts | Yogurt |
So it’s easy to pick them and all the other superfoods up next time you are doing your shopping as you will find them all at any decent supermarket. Adding them to your diet is simple, particularly if you include them in salads.
One of our favourites is sweet potato and turkey salad, here’s the simple recipe:
SWEET POTATO & TURKEY SALAD
- Preheat the oven to 220 C/Fan 200 C/Gas Mark 7. Place oil, potatoes, turkey and peppers in a large roasting tin and toss together. Roast for 20 minutes.
- Add garlic and ginger to the turkey and vegetables and roast for a further 15 minutes or until the turkey is golden and the potatoes are tender.
- Add orange zest and juice, soy and honey and mix well.Cool slightly and then season to taste.
- Empty salad leaves into a large bowl, add the turkey mixture and lightly toss to mix. Serve straight away.
If you’re a bit sick of turkey after Christmas, we have another suggestion, which is equally easy to make:
SUPERFOOD SALMON SALAD
- Begin by drizzling olive oil onto salmon and then season with salt and pepper. Add quinoa to boiling water and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed. Cool for five minutes and blanch peas and broccoli in boiling water in another pan.
- Then mix sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds and place them in a shallow pan. Over a medium heat, toast for them around five minutes and then cool.
- Wash some mixed salad leaves (along with any herb leaves you like) and put them in a mixing bowl. Toss with avocado, broccoli, cucumber, peas, parmesan, and the cooled quinoa. Then mix together some lemon juice and virgin olive oil. Add this dressing to the salad, then season with salt and pepper.
- Cook the salmon to your taste; cook the skin side first to make it nice and crispy, then rest it for five minutes in a warm place. Garnish with lemon and serve!
As you can see, these superfood recipes are simple, so what are you waiting for? Add a superfood salad to your diet today!
