I wonder you might think what is sweet fruits salad? Actually it is traditional Indonesia fruit salad, especially in the island of Java. When you look at the picture, all the ingredients are normal fruits. You can find them in your local store or supermarket. Like papaya, pineapple, cucumber, tofu. But of course they are some that might not be in your country.
A = Cucumber
B = Bengkuang (Pachyrhizus Erosus)
C = Papaya
D = Jambu Cincalo Merah (Syzygium Samarangense)
E = Tofu
F = Pineapple
Like the picture number D. It is Jambu Cincalo Merah or in latin it is Syzygium Samarangense. This particular jambu has natural sweet and it is red. Not only this jambu tastes good, but it contains Vitamin A, C, calcium and lot of natural water. When you are thirsty you can just eat some of these jambu.
Also picture number B, Bengkuang, or in latin it is Pachyrhizus erosus. Bengkuang contains phosphor, sugar and calcium. Bengkuang can also be used to substitute water because it contains 80%-90% natural water.
But what I want to talk about most is the dressing of this particular salad. It is gula merah or you can say it brown sugar in English. Actually it is not really brown sugar. It is a liquid produce from flower of Sugar Palm or Gomuti Palm. Because this sugar is produced from flower of sugar palm/gomuti palm, you can say the level of sweetness is pretty natural. Imagine the natural sweet from sugarcane. It is the same thing. Even in Chinese medication, this particular sugar can be used to cure some illness along with other herbs. You can see the picture below.
How to make the dressing?
The process is pretty simple. What I have done here is I take about 300 gram of gula merah, mix it with 250 ml of water and boil it for about 20 minutes. If you like your dressing a little bit thicker, you can add less water and the boiling time a little bit longer. For me, I like it thick and I used to add some chilies and peanut as necessary. The idea is to go as natural as you can according to your taste 
It is as simple as making mayonnaise right?
Preparation
Basically, you just peel all of those fruits or if you like it with skin you can just leave as it is and then put them on a plate. As simple as it gets! But for tofu, it must be fried. I know when you hear ‘fried’ you must be thinking “well, that’s not good for our health”. Yes, I know it’s not good. But you can just do slight fry. Not deep fry. Just enough to make the outer of tofu turn yellow. That will be enough. I do not know how to say it here, but when those fried tofu dip into gula merah and you take a bite, you can feel the nature taste of gula merah right from tofu itself. Very very delicious!
You can put anything you want in this salad. You can put apple, strawberry, mango, melon, watermelon, or any other fruits that you can easily find in your country. The idea is to be creative with your salad with your favorite fruits.
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Nowadays our diets are jeopardized and we end up eating a lot of junk food which ends up harming our body tremendously. So it is important for us to somehow follow a balanced diet such that we may live life to the fullest. In order to do that, we must eat healthy and plan our diet smartly.
In order to maximize nutrition from what we eat, we should make sure that certain food items are always included by us at some point of our diet and eaten as frequently as possible. Nutritionists have therefore found out 8 foods that we should eat. These foods help us avoid all kinds of diseases and help us to be healthy and remain youthful and beautiful.
These 8 foods which we should eat are Spinach, Yoghurt, Tomatoes, Carrots, Blue berries, Black Beans, Walnuts and Oats.
Spinach may be green and leafy but it is the ultimate food for a healthy person. It is a rich source of the Omega 3 acids and Folate. It helps to reduce the risk of heart disease, Stroke and Osteoporosis. Furthermore spinach also helps to gain sexual enhancement. This is rich in Lutein which helps in reducing macular degeneration which is caused by old age. One should have around half cup of cooked spinach a day.
Yoghurt is rich in small micro organisms which grow inside it due the fermentation process and hence it has several probiotic qualities. It helps us to reduce the risk of cancer and greatly boosts the immune system. It is rich in calcium and proteins. One cup of yoghurt is optimal for a healthy diet.
Tomatoes are rich in antioxidants like lycopene and helps in avoiding several types of cancer and coronary heart diseases. 22mg of lycopene should be taken per day.
Carotenoid rich carrots help to negate several types of cancers and respiratory asthma as well as rheumatoid arthritis. This is the most easily accessible low calorie food item.
Blue Berries, also known as “brain berry” are most anti oxidant rich fruit and allows us to avoid several types of cancer along with age related memory disorders. Scientists have also concluded that the blue berry is very rich in Vitamins A and B and hence allows us to maintain very good cardio vascular health.
Black Beans are good for our heart and can improve our brain’s capacities like no other. They are rich in antioxidants like anthocyanin and other antioxidants.
Walnuts are richer in omega 3 fatty acids than salmon and have more anti inflammatory polyphenol compounds as compared to red wine along with half as much muscle building proteins as compared to chickens. A serving of seven nuts should be good as daily intake.
Lastly Oats are the most prominent health food which is available in the market and approved by the FDA, have carbohydrates but help in releasing the sugars locked by fibers. As oats provide 10 grams protein per half cup serving, they provide ample amounts of muscle building power.
Thus we now know the 8 foods that we should eat for a healthy living.
If you have any experience with some of these foods, please do share it with the rest of us. I would love to here from you. So add comment below or just tweet this article to your friends or share it in facebook.
To make our bodies function to the fullest we must include whole foods in our regular diets. The market provides numerous highly nutritious whole foods, but the dozen that I am going to mention on this list contribute more than just playing the role of healthy nutrients —they help you heal. In fact, starting from fighting cancer, reducing cholesterol and guarding against heart diseases, these foods will put a shield of protection around you and do even more. So I suggests include these super-healing foods in your daily diet and rejuvenate yourself.
Kiwifruit
This fruit, though tiny in size, does more than merely appealing to our taste buds. It holds double the amount of vitamin C than orange, contains more fiber than apples and even beats bananas as a high potassium food. The composition of phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals in kiwifruit act as medicinal treatment against heart disease, heart strokes, cancer, and respiratory disease. This fruit contains natural blood-thinning properties, which unlike aspirin work without the side and support vascular health by reducing the formation of spontaneous blood clots, lowering LDL cholesterol, and reducing blood pressure. It has been researched that kiwifruit not only reduce oxidative stress and damage to DNA but also instigate damaged cells to repair themselves.
Kiwifruit are often suggested as part of a dietary routine to battle cancer and heart disease, and in China this fruit is used as medicinal ingredient to speed up the healing of wounds and sores.
How much: I would suggest one to aim at eating one to two kiwifruits a day while they are in season, for the best consuming of taste and nutrients. California-grown kiwifruit are in season from October through May, and New Zealand kiwifruit are available between April and November.
Tips: The enzymes in this fruit activate once you cut the fruit, aiding the flesh to tenderize. So when I make a fruit salad, I cut the kiwifruit last. The antioxidant power also rises with the ripening of the fruit, so let them ripen before you dig in.
Cherries
Cherries take the credit of containing a laundry list of healing powers. To begin with, they pack a powerful nutritional punch for a relatively low calorie count. They’re also full with substances that help fight inflammation and cancer. To add it up, lab studies show, quercetin and ellagic acid, two compounds contained in cherries, have been shown to inhibit the growth of tumors and even cause cancer cells to commit suicide—without effecting healthy cells. This fruit also is known for containing antiviral and antibacterial properties.
Anthocyanin, another component in cherries, lowers the uric acid levels in the blood, thereby reducing a common cause of gout. Researchers believe anthocyanins may also reduce your risk of colon cancer. Further, these compounds work like a natural form of ibuprofen, reducing inflammation and curbing pain. I would suggest regular consumption as it reduces the chances of heart diseases. In china cherries are used on regular basis as a remedy for arthritis and rheumatism (as well as anemia, due to their high iron content). Plus they’re delicious.
How much: daily intake is definitely suggested, when they are in season. As frozen cherries retain 100 percent of their nutritional value and make a great addition to smoothies, yogurt, and oatmeal, I store a bag a cherries for the rest of the year in the freezer, and would advice all to do so
Tip: traditionally grown cherries are known to be high in pesticides; hence I prefer buying organic ones.
Guavas
This small tropical fruit can be round, oval, or pear-shaped. As they are not common they might be hard to find, depending on where you live. But it is more than worth it if it can be tracked down. This fruit has high content of cancer fighting antioxidant lycopene, and is more than what any other fruit or vegetables contain. Even tomatoes fall short by 20 percent. The lycopene content in tomatoes are hard to process for our body until they are cooked; it is this processing that helps break down tough walls. However it has been noticed that the cell structure of guavas are such that it facilitates the absorbing of the antioxidant whether in raw or cooked form. Hence the raw consuming of the food offers only the nutrition without the added sodium, which comes along with processed tomato products. The high lycopene content protects healthy cells from free radicals that can cause all kinds of damage, including blocked arteries, joint degeneration, nervous system problems, and even cancer. Lycopene cancer is related with reducing rates of prostrate cancer. It has also been noticed that men suffering with prostrate tumors consuming lycopene supplements show marked improvements, like that of reduction is tumor size and decreased chances of malignancy. This component also inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells and advanced research say it might also protect against coronary heart disease. Guava is also enriched with immense high vitamin c content and other antioxidants. Even a banana offer 60 percent less the potassium offered by this fruit, helping to fight against heart disease and stroke. The rich nutrient content lower the LDL and boosts the HDL cholesterol, reducing triglycerides, and lowering blood pressure.
How much: I would suggest to aim at picking up guavas as often as you see them in store and to consume as often as possible. But guava juices are generally processed and sweetened hence juice intake is not always equivalent to the whole fruit intake as don’t provide the same nutrients. One or two guavas a day is a good amount.
Tip. Any form of guava is loaded with antioxidants but to consume better nutrient it is preferable if one goes for the red-fleshed ones.
Beans
Beans are a miraculous food with strange powers. They can lower cholesterol, regulate blood sugar and insulin production, promote digestive health, and protect against cancer. The general idea has been that protein; antioxidants and fibers are only components of whole grains, meat and fruits. But this idea is wrong as beans too can offer all of these in a single package. Beans also possess the capacity to reduce the growth of cancerous activity in the body as the assortments of phytochemicals contained in beans inhibit cancer cells from reproducing. Hence slows the tumor growth. Women who follow a routine of beans intake twice a week face 24 per cent less chances of breast cancer, says researchers at Harvard school of public health. Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and colon cancer are also expected to have lesser possibilities with the consumptions of beans. Beans are known to emit huge amount of antioxidants which help fight against oxidative damage. And it is for this reason that the three varieties of beans (red beans, read kidney beans and pinto beans) are placed in the top four –among all food groups, by the USDA’s ranking of foods as per antioxidant capacity. It acts as a great storehouse of dietary fiber, protein and iron. The amino acid trytophan in beans is such a rich component that it helps regulating ones appetite, aids in sleep and helps in altering mood. Beans can also be selected as per the body requirements of nutrients. While some beans are rich in potassium and magnesium the others provide high amount of vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and vitamin k. And for omega-3 fatty acids, soybeans are the best. Various types of beans have been used to treat alcoholism, food poisoning, edema (particularly in legs), high blood pressure, diarrhea, laryngitis, kidney stones, rheumatism, and many other heath related conditions in China.
How much: I would suggest two servings of beans per week to get the best out of it.
Tip: while some beans like adzuki and mug beans can easily be digested, pinto, lima, garbanzo, kidney, navy, and black ones are difficult.
Watercress
This is that food which is known for its extremely low calorie content and at the same time highly nutritious components. Even 2 percent of milk falls short of providing the calcium that this food can give. orange and spinach are nothing in comparison to it as it has more vitamin C content than an orange and more iron content than spinach. Watercress is highly enriched with vitamin A and vitamin K, with various carotenoids and protective phytochemicals. Proper intake of this food helps in improving the immune system by supporting the bone health, protecting against cancer and macular degeneration. While the phytochemical fights cancer by killing the cancer cells and blocking the carcinogens, the red rich iron content aids the red blood cells in carrying oxygen to ous bodies. Lung and esophageal cancer can also be prevented with regular intake of watercress. In Chinese medicine this fruit is used for various purposes including stimulating bile production, improving night vision, reducing tumors, and as a remedy for jaundice, urinary difficulty, sore throat, mumps, and bad breath.
How much: though mostly available during spring and summer, watercress can be cultivated all year round in greenhouses, hence it can be found in all seasons. So I would suggest daily consumption.
Tips: watercress can definitely be cooked, but serves better when eaten raw. It can be tucked into a sandwich or added into the salad and also serves as a very good ingredient for smoothies or juices.
Spinach
It is a known fact that spinach is good for health. But we do not have a clear picture of how good it is. To begin with it enriches the body with numerous nutrients which help in keeping the body fit. It is extremely high on vitamin K, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin c, folate, magnesium and iron. And it because of these components that it can fight against vision loss, aids brain function, guards against colon, breast, and prostrate cancer, lowers blood pressure, improves bone health, and safeguards from stroke and dementia. The carotene found in spinach helps killing cancer cells and stops them from further multiplying. The folate by lowering the homocysteine, promotes vascular health and it is this amino acids aggravates the chances of dementia and cardiovascular diseases. This component in spinach helps reducing the developing of colorectal, ovarian, and breast cancer. Folate stops the uncontrolled cell growth at the primary level of cancer. Spinach is also rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene, which fight against inflammation and transform them to key components of brain health particularly in adults. Vitamin K is in excess in spinach hence it builds strong bones, the rich lutein content on the other hand help protect against age related macular degeneration and heart attacks by safeguarding the artery walls from cholesterol build ups.
How much: as their will be no difficulty in finding spinach all year round, I would suggest regular intake. It is best if it is taken as a daily staple. A few ounces, raw or lightly steamed, every day serves as a very good favor for oneself.
Tips: to make my smoothies healthier I add spinach to it, which does change its clour but not the taste. I would suggest sticking to organic spinach, as conventionally grown ones are susceptible to pesticides.
Carrots
This is one underground food which is known to be a great source for the potent antioxidants called carotenoids A. Food high in this component reduces the risk possibilities of postmenopausal breast cancer, cancer in bladder, cervix, prostate, colon, larynx and esophagus. Just one carrot a day can even reduce the chance of lung cancer by half- says researchers. Apart from fighting kidney and ovarian cancer, the nutrients in it inhibit cardio vascular disease, improve the immune system, facilitate eye and ear functioning and promote colon health. The nutrients that make carrot such a rich food are, calcium, potassium, Magnesium, phosphorus, fiber, vitamin C and a very high amount of vitamin A. Tumor growths can be challenged by the alpha- carotene in carrots. The other diseases that can be prevented by the caroteniods lutein and zeaxathin are macular degeneration and cataracts. Ear infection, skin lesions, deafness, night blindness, urinary tract infection, diarrhea, kidney stone, tumor, indigestion, coughs and constipation are treated with the components of carrots in Chinese medicine.
How much: carrot consumption are good if done on a regular basis. I would suggest having them cooked though it is as good when raw. Cooking breaks down the fiber and hence helps the nutrients to be absorbed. Firm and fresh looking carrots are best for it nutrients. And I would suggest avoiding pre cut baby carrots as they lose important nutrients.
Tips: the tops of carrots drain moisture from the roots. Hence I would suggest removing the tops before storing. Conventionally grown carrots tend to have high pesticide residues, so I prefer buying organic ones.
Cabbage
One cup of cabbage can provide 91 percent of the prescribed amount of vitamin K, 50 percent of vitamin C, a huge amount of fiber, a decent amount of manganese, vitamin B6, folate and much more. It is a storehouse of nutrients like vitamin K and vitamin C. It even offers more vitamin C than oranges. And all this come only at a cost of 33 calories. Sulforophanes- the antioxidant in cabbage along with fighting free radicals before damaging DNA, detoxifies carcinogens in the body. Studies show a high ability of cruciferous vegetables to lower the cancer possibilities more effectively than other plant groups. Lung , breast, ovarian, and bladder caner can be avoided by proper intake of cabbages. This vegetable also controls allergic reactions, helps build strong bones, betters gastrointestinal health and reduces inflammation. Due to its high glutamine content even peptic ulcers can be treated with cabbage juices. The cardiovascular system in the body is benefited by cabbage intake as it prevents plaque information in blood vessels. Adding cabbage components in Chinese medicines treats constipation, the common cold, depression and irritability and stomach ulcer. This vegetable often heals bedsores, varicose veins, and arthritis.
How much: the more the cabbage intake the better it is. Studies show that consuming cabbage four days a week can reduce possibilities of breast cancer in women.
Tips: I would suggest trying raw sauerkraut as it has all the health properties of cabbage, plus some potent probiotics, which are excellent for digestive health. The whole of the cabbage should be consumed, as the outer leaves are richer in calcium content than the inner. Though both the cabbages are rich in nutrients the red ones are far superior than the white ones as they protect cell from oxidative stress and cancer.
Broccoli
Broccoli is one of the most enriched foods in health revitalizing properties. It is rich with high contents of folate, fiber, sulfur, iron, vitamin B. Just about one whole cup of steamed broccoli can provide more than 200% of the RDA for vitamin C. Which is again much more than that provided by oranges. It even outruns steaks in the protein content. The phytonutrients present in broccoli does not only fight cancer but also eliminates carcinogens from the body, and inhibits tumor caused by those carcinogens. The nutrients present in broccoli are capable of fighting and preventing all sorts of cancer including lung and gastrointestinal cancer. Indoles- the phytonutrients, provides a very good protection against cervical, prostrate, gastric, skin and breast cancer. The indoles are also known for protecting the structure of DNA and reducing health risk factors. Apart from all these, advanced studies show 20 percent reduction of heart diseases due to the consumption of broccoli. Eye inflammation, in Chinese medicine, is treated with broccoli.
How much: I feel even a small amount of consumption of broccoli each day is a favor to our body. The more often it’s taken the better it serves. This vegetable is available almost all year round. If you cannot find one, even frozen broccoli can serve as a good substitute. Both raw and cooked are good for health, even though cooking slightly kill the anticancer components. I would suggest slightly steaming it, as it preserves almost all the valuable nutrients of this vegetable.
Tip: sometimes steaming broccoli releases the antioxidant- sulforaphane.
Alright, there you go! You have all 9 super foods with Super healing power. I hope you can make the use of each one of them. Start applying it in your daily diet. Also I like to hear from you about all these foods. I am sure you have experience you like to share with us. So do not hesitate to leave a few comments and also please share it with others using one of the buttons below.
