A Whole Lot of Veggies Going On

small ten-vegetable-soupIt’s National Garden Month and what better way to celebrate than trying our Health-e-Recipe for Ten Vegetable Soup. Chunky and filled with satisfying fiber, this soup brings you a wealth of cancer-fighting phytochemicals.

At 70 calories a serving, you can savor this tasty combination of cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, potato, onion, leeks, celery, tomatoes and Swiss chard. Parsley and thyme also offer health-boosting compounds, as does red pepper. In fact, every ingredient has cancer protection to offer.

Eaten together, the different set of phytochemicals in each kind of vegetable reinforces the health benefits of the other veggies. That’s why AICR recommends eating a wide variety of plant foods — including vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans — for the majority of your diet (2/3 or more of your plate at each meal, or bowl in this case) to get important phytochemicals plus vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Add a piece of whole-wheat bread or some brown rice to your plate, plus some low-fat healthy protein (maybe Greek yogurt and fresh fruit for dessert?) and you have a complete and very healthy meal.

The AICR Test Kitchen offers more delicious cancer-preventive recipes. Subscribe to our weekly Health-e-Recipes.


A Virtuous Cupcake

small cupcakesIf the cupcake trend has smitten you with too much “cupcake awareness” and high-calorie temptation, try this Health-e-Recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Beets are the key ingredient and we’ve added cocoa plus spices, a little healthy fat and not too much sugar to concoct a delectable treat to indulge in with less guilt. Using canned unpickled beets provides natural red color that translates perfectly into a Devil’s Food-like cake. The red color comes from betacyanin, an indole phytochemical also found in chard.

If you don’t have or can’t find buttermilk, just use the same amount of reduced-fat milk and sour it with a teaspoon of lemon juice to get the same result. As for the cream cheese frosting, it can also be substituted with just a sprinkle of powdered sugar on the tops of these cupcakes to save a few more calories.

You’ll love the velvety texture of these cupcakes. The AICR Test Kitchen features more tempting healthy recipes. Subscribe to our weekly Health-e-Recipe.


Study: Organic Foods Just Seem More Nutritious

If that organic yogurt you’ve switched to just feels all-around healthier than its non-organic counterpart, it’s possible you may be under the powerful sway of its “organic” label, suggests a new study.canstockphoto2438106

The study was published early online today in Food Quality and Preference.

Researchers went to a mall and laid out pairs of three foods: yogurt, cookies, and potato chips. Each pair of foods was identical to one another. The only difference between the two foods was its packaging. One yogurt, cookie and potato chip packaging prominently displayed that the item was organic. (All were actually organic.)  None of the items featured brand names and the packaging was designed to appear similar.

Yet after the 115 participants tasted each pair of foods, one after the other, they judged the organic yogurt and cookies as having fewer calories than its twin. For example, the shoppers estimated the organic cookie had on average 48 fewer calories than the conventional. Continue reading