So for this week’s recipes I tried to focus on the “super foods”. Over the years I have heard this food is great because it boosts your metabolism etc, etc. These recipes come from a website called www.health.com. They give a little description what the benefits are, tell you how many calories etc are in them also they talk about MUFAs. Now I had not a clue what this was so googled it, MUFAs (pronounced moo-fah) are monounsaturated fatty acids, plant-based fats found in some of the world’s most delicious foods— avocado, nuts and seeds, oils, olives, and dark chocolate! Studies show that these good-for-you fats enhance heart health and protect against chronic disease.
Banana & Almond Butter Toast
This simple yet tasty morning pick-me-up features no fewer than three of the best foods to eat for breakfast. The bananas and whole-grain rye bread are high in resistant starch, to help boost metabolism, while the almond butter adds hunger-curbing protein and healthy monounsaturated fats.
One slice contains just 280 calories, but it’s guaranteed to keep you full until lunchtime.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 slice rye bread, toasted
- 1 banana, sliced
Preparation
- Spread almond butter on toast.
- Top with banana slices.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
Nutritional Information
| Calories per serving: | 280 |
| Fat per serving: | 11g |
| Saturated fat per serving: | 1g |
| Monounsaturated fat per serving: | 7g |
| Polyunsaturated fat per serving: | 2.5g |
| Protein per serving: | 6g |
| Carbohydrates per serving: | 44g |
| Fiber per serving: | 5g |
| Cholesterol per serving: | 0.0mg |
| Sodium per serving: | 260mg |
Good to Know
This breakfast option couldn’t be simpler, but it packs a nutritional wallop. The rye bread and banana will get you halfway to your daily Resistant Starch goal, and the almond butter adds metabolism-boosting MUFAs
Italian Garbanzo Salad
This vegetarian salad is a textbook example of the Mediterranean diet, which has become renowned for its ability to promote overall health, including a healthy weight.
This salad features some of the diet’s key pillars: low-fat dairy (represented here by feta cheese), fresh vegetables (tomato, onion), healthy fats (olive oil), and lean protein (chickpeas). Best of all, one serving (1 cup) is only 159 calories!
Ingredients
- 3 cups finely chopped fennel bulb
- 2 cups chopped tomato
- 1 3/4 cups finely chopped red onion
- 1 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
Preparation
Combine all ingredients except the cheese in a bowl; toss well. Let stand 30 minutes; sprinkle with cheese.
“This can be served as a first course or antipasti with Italian food, or as a side to grilled chicken. It’s even better the next day over salad greens.”
- Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
Nutritional Information
| Calories per serving: | 159 |
| Calories from fat: | 29% |
| Fat per serving: | 5.2g |
| Saturated fat per serving: | 1.3g |
| Monounsaturated fat per serving: | 2.3g |
| Polyunsaturated fat per serving: | 1.3g |
| Protein per serving: | 5.9g |
| Carbohydrates per serving: | 23.9g |
| Fiber per serving: | 5.9g |
| Cholesterol per serving: | 6mg |
| Iron per serving: | 2.2mg |
| Sodium per serving: | 368mg |
| Calcium per serving: | 103mg |
Good to Know
Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are a great source of soy protein and fiber. This dish works as a side or a starter salad.
Raw Kale, Grapefruit, and Toasted Hazelnut Salad
Grapefruit—the scene-stealer of this salad—has a long-standing reputation for spurring weight loss. In fact, eating it at every meal was the basis of a fad diet that began in the 1930s and has made something of a comeback lately.
Guess what? It might actually work. In a 2006 study, overweight people who ate half a grapefruit at the beginning of each meal lost more weight than their fellow participants.
Ingredients
- 2 pink grapefruit
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced, divided
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces lacinato kale, very thinly sliced, or baby kale leaves
- 1 ounce toasted hazelnuts, chopped (1/3 cup)
Preparation
- Peel and segment grapefruit; reserve 3 TBSP juice in a large bowl. Mince 2 rings onion. Add to grapefruit juice, with lemon juice, yogurt, oil, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well mixed.
- Toss in kale. Top with remaining onion, grapefruit, and hazelnuts.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Makes: 4 servings (serving size: 1 3/4 cups salad)
Nutritional Information
| Calories per serving: | 184 |
| Fat per serving: | 11.6g |
| Saturated fat per serving: | 1.4g |
| Monounsaturated fat per serving: | 8.3g |
| Polyunsaturated fat per serving: | 1.5g |
| Protein per serving: | 5g |
| Carbohydrates per serving: | 18g |
| Fiber per serving: | 3g |
| Cholesterol per serving: | 1mg |
| Iron per serving: | 1mg |
| Sodium per serving: | 179mg |
| Calcium per serving: | 138mg |
Good to Know
Superfoods abound in this tasty salad recipe. Kale contains vitamins K, A, and C, and grapefruit helps speed weight loss by curbing hunger and lowers cholesterol.
This Recipe Is
Pan-Grilled Salmon with Pineapple Salsa
Lean protein is essential to any successful weight-loss plan. And there’s no better source of lean protein than salmon, which has the added benefit of being filled with monounsaturated fats.
These healthy fats have been shown to be a natural aid to weight loss. A 2001 study, for instance, found that people eating a MUFA-rich diet lost an average of nine pounds, while their counterparts on a low-fat diet gained six, on average.
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
- Cooking spray
- 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1/2-inch thick)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Preparation
Combine first 5 ingredients (through pepper) in a bowl; set aside.
Heat a nonstick grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish with salt. Cook fish 4 minutes on each side or until it flakes easily when tested with a fork. Top with salsa.
Fish is prominent in the Willett plan since it’s a lean protein source. Salmon is particularly good because it contains plenty of heart-healthy fats called omega 3s
- Yield: serves 4 (serving size: 1 fillet and 1/3 cup salsa)
Nutritional Information
| Calories per serving: | 294 |
| Calories from fat: | 41% |
| Fat per serving: | 13.2g |
| Saturated fat per serving: | 3.1g |
| Monounsaturated fat per serving: | 5.7g |
| Polyunsaturated fat per serving: | 3.2g |
| Protein per serving: | 36.4g |
| Carbohydrates per serving: | 5.6g |
| Fiber per serving: | 0.6g |
| Cholesterol per serving: | 87mg |
| Iron per serving: | 0.8mg |
| Sodium per serving: | 375mg |
| Calcium per serving: | 26mg |
Good to Know
This tropical salmon provides omega-3 fatty acids. Add fiber, which aids in digestion, with half a cup of whole-grain rice.
Dark Chocolate & Oat Clusters
Yes, desserts can help burn fat too! These tasty clusters offer up two appetite-suppressing ingredients: The oatmeal contains 1.7 grams of resistant starch, and the dark chocolate is full of healthy fats to help curb cravings.
Peanut butter—the glue that holds the clusters together—also provides satiating protein. The result? One satisfying and guilt-free treat
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk
- 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
Preparation
- Heat peanut butter, milk, and chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat 3 minutes or until chips melt.
- Stir in oats. Remove from heat.
- With a spoon, small ice cream scoop, or melon baller, drop 8 ball-shaped portions on a wax paper−lined baking sheet. Let set in fridge 10 minutes.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Nutritional Information
| Calories per serving: | 160 |
| Fat per serving: | 8g |
| Saturated fat per serving: | 3g |
| Monounsaturated fat per serving: | 3.5g |
| Polyunsaturated fat per serving: | 1.5g |
| Protein per serving: | 5g |
| Carbohydrates per serving: | 19g |
| Fiber per serving: | 3g |
| Cholesterol per serving: | 0mg |
| Sodium per serving: | 40mg |
| Rs per serving: | 1.7g |
Good to Know
What’s not to love about chocolate and peanut butter, especially when both are high in MUFAs? As a bonus, the oats provide resistant starch.
Fantastic receipes ????????thank you