5 Healthy and Clean Superfoods that Taste Great in Meals – One Green Planet

Superfoods offer a larger amount of nutrition than we’d get with other foods, which makes them healthy, diet-friendly, and good-for-you. These foods contain many different types of nutrients that can have varying, positive effects on the body.

Luckily, when it comes to superfoods, being good-for-you doesn’t have to mean bad-tasting. There are endless, tasty possibilities to consuming them. Here are 5 superfoods that taste great in meals:

1. Edamame

Edamame, or shelled soybeans, are full of fiber, low in cholesterol, and are low fat. One cup of prepared, frozen edamame contains 17 grams of protein and 16 grams of carbohydrates, so eating organic/non-GMO soybeans is a good way to contribute to your RDA amount of protein. These soybeans are versatile for using in meals since they’re great eaten cold or hot. Mix them up in an oil-free Kale-Edamame Hummus, or enjoy them steamed in the pods with a bit of salt alongside vegan sushi. You can also throw the cooked soybeans on top of a salad. More recipes below:

2. Berries

Goji and açaí berries are loaded with nutrition. Acai berries have high levels of antioxidants, amino acids, and essential fatty acids. They also contain vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, potassium, magnesium, copper, and calcium. Goji berries contain specific antioxidants, including carotenoids, flavonoids, and phenols, as well as vitamins A, C, E, B2, calcium, potassium, zinc, and iron. These tart berries taste excellent with chocolate and on top of parfaits or oatmeal. Try a Raw Vegan Chocolate Pudding Tart with Coconut Cream and Goji Berries or a Berry Mousse Parfait. More recipes below:

3. Nutritional Yeast

Nutritional yeast looks like golden, powdery flakes. Known as “nooch,” the flakes make it possible to make rich, creamy sauces and cheesy tastes and textures. By using nutritional yeast, you can create delicious, creamy sauces like Alfredo sauce, a bechamel sauce for moussaka burgers, and cheese sauce for mac n’ cheese. Nooch is a star ingredient in vegan hot corn dip, and it tastes great for breakfast too, in a tofu scramble with spinach and nutritional yeast. More resources below:

4. Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes contain calcium, iron, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin E. They’re the clear nutritional winner against white baking potatoes, because sweet potatoes have a low glycemic index number and are the best source of beta carotene out of all produce. Baked, boiled, fried, cut, mashed, you name it, and you can probably do it with a sweet potato. Try these Sweet Potato Fritters, sweet potato tofu pizza, or sweet potato and kale patties to please a crowd. For breakfast, get everyone to the table with sweet potato pancakes with maple sage butter. More recipes below:

5. Quinoa

This ancient grain is high in protein (8 grams per cup), fiber (5 grams per cup), and is a good source of iron. Like rice, you cook quinoa by boiling it on the stove, and this fluffy cooked grain can be used in many ways. Quinoa can be eaten with any meal. For breakfast, try eating quinoa like oatmeal with some fruit, almond milk, and nuts, or try baking quinoa, apricot and oat muffin clusters. For lunch or dinner, you can make Quinoa Salad with Figs, Purslane and Goji Berries, Quinoa and White Bean Burgers, Pistachio Pesto Quinoa. The grain can even be used in dessert recipes, such as Quinoa Lavender Cookies.  More recipes below:

We should strive to eat superfoods every day. They can easily be used in delicious meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, so eat up and stay healthy!

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home

Reducing your meat intake and incorporating more plant-based foods into your diet is known to Support various health benefits, including reducing chronic inflammation, improving heart health, enhancing mental well-being, achieving fitness goals, meeting nutritional needs, managing allergies, and promoting gut health, among others. Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer,  prostate cancer, and has many side effects.

For those of you interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend grabbing our favorite plant-based cookbooks and downloading the Food Monster App — with over 20,000 delicious recipes, it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals, and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some great resources to get you started:

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