12 of the healthiest foods

by Real Simple Magazine

To adopt healthy eating strategies, start by incorporating these foods into your diet. By Liz Welch and Lindsay Funston

Super Foods

Real Simple asked the country's top dietitians and nutritionists to tell us which superpowered ingredients we should be incorporating into our diets regularly. Here are their combined picks, plus some simple and delicious preparation suggestions. 

Mushrooms

Meaty and filling, as a stand-in for beef they can slash up to 400 calories from a meal. They may also protect against breast cancer by helping to regulate a woman's estrogen levels.

Try this: Saut? sliced mushrooms and shallots until tender. Add a splash of white wine and cook until evaporated. Serve over roasted fish or chicken. 

Barley

Another high-fiber cholesterol fighter. On weeknights use the pearl or quick-cooking variety. More time? Give hulled barley, with its extra layer of bran, a go.

Try this: Add saut?ed mushrooms and sherry vinegar to cooked barley.

Walnuts

A surprisingly good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Those are the fats that lower the bad-for-you cholesterol (LDL) and raise the good-for-you kind (HDL).

Try this: For a healthy on-the-go snack, pack a handful of walnuts with some dried figs and a few anise seeds. (As the ingredients sit together, the anise releases flavor.) 

Whole-Grain Pasta

Contains three times the amount of fiber per serving as the typical semolina variety. Skip pasta labeled "multigrain": It may be made with a number of grains, but they aren't necessarily whole ones.

Try this: Toss whole-grain pasta with pesto, chopped arugula, and grated lemon zest.

Peanut and Almond Butters (All-Natural)

Heart-healthy monounsaturated fats abound in these protein-rich spreads. Opt for those with just two ingredients?nuts and salt.

Try this: Mix with soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice wine vinegar to make a quick Asian dipping sauce for chicken skewers. 

Oatmeal (Steel-Cut or Old-Fashioned)

Holds cholesterol in check, helps fight against heart disease, and keeps you full until lunch, thanks to its soluble fiber.

Try this: For a savory breakfast, drizzle cooked oatmeal with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Quinoa

It may cook like a grain, but quinoa is actually an herbaceous plant. It's a complete protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids, and offers the same energy and satiety you would get from meat, sans the fat or cholesterol.

Try this: Stir fresh lemon juice and chopped fresh dill into cooked quinoa. 

Skim Milk

It offers nine essential nutrients: calcium, of course, but also B vitamins, which help neurological function, and vitamin D, a potential cancer fighter.

Try this: If you want a break from your regular morning coffee, warm a cup of skim milk with a dash of vanilla and ground cinnamon.

Almonds

Packed with monounsaturated fatty acids, which keep blood vessels healthy. The plant fibers help lower cholesterol.

Try this: Fold chopped almonds into cooked whole grains, along with raisins or dried currants.

Lentils

A protein powerhouse, these are flush with folate, a nutrient that may prevent certain birth defects.

Try this: Toss cooked lentils with extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, chopped celery, and fresh thyme. Serve over salad greens.

Blueberries

Packed with fiber, this superfruit was one of the top antioxidant-rich picks in a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study.

Try this: Serve over vanilla frozen yogurt with a pinch of ground cardamom. 

Bulgur

Made from wheat that has been steamed, dried, and cracked, this delivers more fiber than brown rice, plus you get a boost of potassium, B vitamins, and calcium.

Try this: Cook bulgur as you would oatmeal. Top it with honey and chopped nuts for breakfast or a hearty snack.