Try This Healthy Lunch Idea

On today’s post, we’ll discuss a lunch option that’s low in calories, healthy, yet extremely delicious. And that’s corn, baked potatoes, and baked carrots. Next, we’ll talk in more details why each of these items is delicious and beneficiary on its own.

We’ll begin with the baked potato. It’s good for you because:
• Has among the most potassium-rich foods
• It’s high-dietary fiber food
• Also, low in calories

BAKED POTATOES 

Blunt the harmful effects of too much sodium with potassium and keep blood pressure in check. Also, it’s good to know that eight ounces of baked potatoes have 1000 mg of potassium!!!

While it provides about 12% of an adult woman’s daily fiber needs, for an adult male, a baked potato provides only 8% daily fiber needs. Fiber is essential for good digestion and efficient absorption of nutrients. Baked potatoes have both soluble and insoluble fiber, which is great! Because soluble fiber controls cholesterol, while insoluble fiber makes it easier for waste to pass through your system. Just don’t put anything on top of the potatoes, it’s best to just sprinkle them with sea salt. And contrary to popular belief, the potato is low in calories. One medium baked potato only contains 170. Even if you eat a large baked potato you consume 300 calories, but you also get 28% of your daily portion of the fiber.

CARROTS

First, let’s list the general benefits of carrots:
• incredibly rich in both alpha-carotene and beta-carotene (which converts into vitamin A in your body)
• fiber-rich
• contains lots of anti-aging and disease-fighting phytonutrients
• a big dose of potassium, as well as some calcium and magnesium

COOKING CARROTS

And now, cooked carrots are good because, cooking, especially prolonged boiling, does reduce the vitamin content of vegetables. Did you know that Carotenoids found in carrots, such as the beta-carotene, are more readily available when vegetables are cooked or processed, such as chopped or puréed? Cooking it and processing it, helps release the carotenoids, which are bound to the cell wall of the vegetables. Interestingly, cooking carrots actually make the nutrients more bio-available, which is so much fancy, it’s easier for your body to use the nutrients in carrots if the carrots are cooked. Even more interesting is the fact that fat-soluble carotenoids in carrots are best absorbed by your body if you eat the carrots with a bit of fat. Furthermore, the same thing for tomatoes, the lycopene found in tomatoes is best absorbed with some fat, which is why it’s not a good idea to eat “fat-free” tomato sauce!

CORN

Corn has a high amount of important vitamins, and also provides minerals, fiber, carbohydrates and important calories to millions of people every year. For example, organic corn is a vitamin C food, magnesium-rich food, and contains certain B vitamins and potassium.

Pros of corn:
• good source of antioxidants
• high in fiber
• slowly digested source of carbohydrates
• naturally gluten-free
• part of traditional diets linked to longevity and overall health

Corn is a high-antioxidant food. The different color of corn variates, signify various types of nutritional values of corn. The most popular type, yellow corn, is particularly a good source of carotenoid antioxidants.
Although many antioxidants are heat-sensitive, as well as become reduced during cooking, some research has shown that drying corn slowly at low temperature preserves a high percentage of the nutritional value of corn, especially the beneficial antioxidants.

ANOTHER HEALTH BENEFITS OF CORN

Corn provides a nice dose of filling fiber, with about 4.5 grams of fiber per cup of kernels. It has a high ratio of insoluble-to-soluble fiber, which means it has various beneficial effects on the digestive system.
Corn has a high quantity of starch, which is a type of complex carbohydrate that supports steady energy levels. In contrast to refined carbohydrates, which zap us of energy and aren’t filling for long periods of time, foods high in starch and fiber are beneficial for controlling blood sugar levels, because the fiber slows down the rate at which glucose (sugar) is released into the bloodstream.
Aside from fiber, corn also has a decent amount of protein. Fiber and protein, help fill us up better than carbohydrates because they stabilize the passage of food through the digestive tract, as well as help prevent drastic blood sugar fluctuations. Plus, protein foods have their own list of benefits.

GOOD TO KNOW

Corn is also low in calories while still providing nutrients. In fact, this is less than most grains and is roughly equivalent to eating a nutritious banana, except the corn actually has much less sugar and more protein and fiber.
So next time you are in the mood for a low-calorie, fiber-rich healthy lunch, that at the same time is delicious, consider preparing this dish.

-DHCN.