Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods

September12

You can Stand Up to Cancer by making sure you eat lots of these top 10 Cancer-Fighting Foods. How many of these are you eating regularly?

Garlic-Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods

1. Garlic – Hard to say how much of this pungent herb you need to eat each day to prevent cancer… even the experts don’t know. But many studies have shown that garlic helps prevent cancer in the esophagus, stomach and colon. What’s a little bad breath in exchange for something this good for you?

Blackberries-Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods

2. Berries – What’s not to love about blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries? Not only are they a fantastic source of antioxidants, fiber and Vitamin C… they may help prevent cancers of the bladder, lung, breast and esophagus.

Tomatoes- Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods

3. Tomatoes – Whether you eat them fresh or out of a can, tomatoes are rich in the cancer-fighting antioxidant lycopene (that’s what gives them their red color!). Tomatoes are also full of Vitamin C and beta-carotene, and studies show that they have the potential to fight prostate cancer.

Purple Cauliflower- Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods

4. Cruciferous vegetables – Veggies like kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and bok choy all fall into this cancer-fighting category. These vegetables contain phytochemicals that may prevent stomach cancer and cancers of the mouth and larynx, uterine lining and cervix.

Green Tea - Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods

5. Green Tea – Over the last 10 years, the popularity of green tea in this country has exploded. As most of us know, it’s been widely consumed in Japan, China and other Asian countries for centuries, where the incidence of cancers of the esophagus, stomach and colon are significantly lower. Green tea contains the antioxidant catechins, which some researchers believe may help protect against cancer and slow tumor growth.

corn tortillas - Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods

6. Whole Grains – We all need more of the good grains in our diets… whole grains that have all three parts of the grain kernel (germ, bran and endosperm)… like oatmeal, barley, whole wheat and even popcorn! Corn tortillas are made of whole grains… flour tortillas are not. Whole grains are full of fiber that helps reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Turmeric- Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods

7. Turmeric – When I was in Grenada, I met a woman selling raw turmeric (it looks like big grub worms when it is raw, and saffron colored once it’s dry and ground). Besides cooking curry, she uses this spice as an herbal remedy to prevent stomach ulcers and other intestinal disorders. Now, new research shows that it may prevent and slow the growth of several types of cancer… including stomach, breast and mouth cancers.

lettuce-  Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods

8. Leafy Green Vegetables – If you eat romaine lettuce, kale and spinach, then you are on the right track for preventing breast, skin, lung and stomach cancer. These vegetables, and others like chard, mustard and collard greens are rich in fiber and antioxidants beta-carotene and lutein.

Grapes -  Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods

9. Grapes – What? Grapes? I’ve been conditioned to think of grapes as nature’s sugar bombs. Well, they are full of sugar, but the skins of red and purple grapes are packed with the antioxidant resveratrol… which has the potential to keep cancer from forming in the liver, breast, stomach and lymphatic system.

Red beans-Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods

10. Beans – I grew up eating beans, and I still love them, so I’m glad beans are one of the Top 10 Cancer Fighting Foods. Dry beans and peas are mega sources of fiber, protein and folate. Studies have shown that folate helps reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer.

There you have it: easy, simple things that you can eat to lower your risk of getting cancer. So, stand-up! Get to the grocery store or the farmer’s market and start eating better.

It’s easier than you realize… and you have everything to gain.

Note: My information was gathered from the doctors at M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas, whom successfully treated my mother for breast and colon cancer. My mother’s cancer is in remission. Other information sources include the American Cancer Society  and The American Institute for Cancer Research.

Showcase: Grenada’s Spice Market… The Most Glorious Market in the Caribbean

March11

Grenada's Spice Market

I’ve never visited a country that smells this good.

Grenada, a tiny island nation tucked away in the eastern corner of the Caribbean, has the heady scent of cloves, bay leaves, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg, especially nutmeg, the leading export.

It’s like nose-diving into eggnog.

It’s an intoxicating mix, especially inside the Grenada Spice Market in St. George, Grenada’s capitol. The market sweeps up from the Caribbean sea and is wedged between impossibly narrow streets that wind steeply past bright red-tiled rooftops and up into the hills.

Enter Grenada’s Spice Market and your senses get whacked. Wooden tables sag under the weight of exotic vegetables. Vendors shout out their offerings. The nubby green football-sized breadfruit begs to be touched. The air is heavy with the bittersweet perfume of spices, herbs and fruit.

Grenada's Spice Market

Nutmeg is everywhere in the market and in every incarnation. Nutmeg jam. Nutmeg syrup. Nutmeg ketchup. Nutmeg aromatherapy oil. Nutmeg toothpowder. Nutmeg sports cream. Nutmeg lotion. Nutmeg soap. (I sound like Bubba in Forest Gump.) Manila-colored nutmeg is a fruit with a hard stone-like seed in the middle, like a peach. The seed is really the nutmeg. Bright scarlet mace delicately wraps around the dark brown kernel, like a lacey web. When dried, both nutmeg and mace are used in cooking, but mace is used in cosmetics, as a preservative and to color food. I’ll let my pal, Roger R. Augustine, take you on a tour

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Wander around the market and you’ll find strange fruits and vegetables that’ll make you do a double take. Those aren’t grub worms, but piles of turmeric (which Grenadians call saffron because the color is similar to the real thing). That huge green hedgehog-looking thing is really soursop fruit (which makes a deliciously sweet fruit drink). You’ll also see a big leafy green vegetable called callaloo. It’s a lot like spinach or kale in the nutrient department… but you have to cook it before eating. Callaloo’s root, taro, is also an excellent source of potassium.

 Caribbean Island Vegetables in Grenada Spice Market

Love coconut water? Here’s the real thing (and the Grenadians have been drinking it for centuries!):

Grenada, lies at the southernmost tip of the Windward Islands, just 100 miles north of Venezuela. The island feels remote and removed from the rest of the world, even though it’s visited by international flights and cruise ships every day. But mention Grenada, and most people think of long ago coups, revolts and rescue missions, or 2004’s Hurricane Ivan that damaged almost every home and building on the island. They don’t think of the lush, tropical green paradise that Grenada is today.

Which is exactly why this is the Caribbean’s best kept secret. I’ll write more about what I discovered on this charming island in the coming weeks!

posted under Showcase | 6 Comments »

Try This: The Apples of Autumn

October10

25 Different Apples to Try This Fall

Really? A Red Delicious apple? Why… when there are so many more interesting and tastier apples out there?

Here are 25 apple varieties you should definitely try this fall.

Oh, and one other thing. You’ve got to love the names of some of these apples: Twenty-Ounce, Sweet Sixteen and my personal favorite: Prairie Spy! Let me know which ones you try!

Autumn Crisp Apple

 

 

 

 

Autumn Crisp (formerly known as NY674) – Perfectly balanced sugar and acid with an extra crunchy texture and fantastic juiciness makes this one of the best eating apples. Perfect for: eating raw, salads, applesauce.

 

 

Blushing Golden Apple

 

 

 

 

Blushing Golden – The crisp white flesh has an almost sweet flavor very much like a Golden Delicious Apple. It holds its texture well so store in a cool dry place for up to 3 months. Perfect for: baking, applesauce.

 

 

 

Cortland Apple

 

 

 

Cortland – This apple is tart and crisp with pale flesh that is slow to brown. Perfect for: eating raw, baking, cooking, applesauce.

 

 

 

 

Empire Apple

 

 

 

 

 

Empire – This firm, slightly tart medium-sized apple with a crisp cream-colored flesh gradually gets sweeter and juicier as the days gets colder. Perfect for: eating raw, baking, cooking, sauce.

 

 

 

 

Fortune Apple

 

 

 

 

Fortune – A unique spicy-flavored apple with a crisp, yellow flesh. Perfect for: eating raw.

 

 

 

Grimes Golden Apple

 

 

 

 

 

Grimes Golden – This apple has a crisp, juicy flesh with an aromatic taste, which makes it a great cider apple. Perfect for: eating fresh, salads.

 

 

Hardy Winesap Apple

 

 

 

 

 

Hardy Winesap – This somewhat tart, juicy apple is very aromatic, which is why it is used to make delicious cider. Perfect for: eating fresh, cooking, cider.

 

 

 

Honey Crisp Apple

 

 

 

 

 

Honey Crisp – An explosively crisp, white-flesh apple with a slightly tart, honey-like sweet flavor. Can be stored Store up to 3 months. Perfect for: eating raw.

 

 

 

Honeygold Apple

 

 

 

 

Honeygold – A medium to large apple with smooth skin and yellow, crisp flesh. Perfect for: eating raw, baking, salads and sauce.

 

 

 

Idared Apple

 

 

 

 

Idared – The tart and juicy white flesh often has a pinkish tint, which adds a bit of colorful excitement when making applesauce. Excellent for storing. Perfect for: eating raw, cooking, baking, applesauce.

 

 

Jonagold Apple

 

 

 

 

Jonagold – These red-orange colored apples have a firm, crunchy sweet white flesh that is also very juicy. Stores well for up to 3 months. Perfect for: eating raw, baking, cooking, applesauce and juice.

 

 

 

 

Liberty Apple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liberty – Fine, juicy white flesh with a nice sweet flavor. Perfect for: eating fresh, applesauce.

 

 

 

 

Lobo Apple

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lobo – Sweet and crisp, with McIntosh-apple qualities. Perfect for: eating raw, applesauce (because it breaks down easily when cooked).

 

Macoun Apple

 

 

 

 

Macoun – A great all-purpose apple that’s highly aromatic… some regard it as the “finest eating apple in the world.” The snow-white flesh is extra sweet and juicy. Stores very well. Perfect for: eating raw, salads, applesauce. Great with cheese!

 

 

McIntosh Apple

 

 

 

 

 

McIntosh – The unique, perfume-like aroma really sets this firm and juicy apple apart. A great all purpose apple. Perfect for: eating raw, cider, cooking, baking, juice.

 

 

 

Melrose Apple

 

 

 

 

 

Melrose – The official apple of Ohio! Large and slightly squat, this firm sweet-tart apple has a yellowish-green skin, streaked with red. Gets better if stored properly. Perfect for: baking, cooking and sauce.

 

 

 

 

Mutsu Apple

 

 

 

 

 

Mutsu (Crispin) – This sweet-tart apple originated in Japan. Crisp and very refreshing. Perfect for: eating raw, ciders, salads, baking, cooking, applesauce.

 

 

Northern Spy Apple

 

 

 

 

 

Northern Spy – A large and stout aromatic apple with a tangy taste. Considered the best apple for making pie. Stays crisp and juicy for long periods of time in storage. Perfect for: eating raw, baking, cooking, applesauce, with cheese.

 

Prairie Spy Apple

 

 

 

 

 

Prairie Spy – One of the best storage apples! It has an excellent tart-sweet flavor and is very juicy. Perfect for: eating raw, cooking, applesauce.

 

 

 

Snapp Stayman Apple

 

 

 

Snapp Stayman – Tangy and flavorful with a hard, crisp yellow flesh. Perfect for: eating fresh (if you like tart apples) baking, sauces, cooking and ciders.

 

 

 

 

 

Spigold Apple

 

 

 

 

Spigold – Firm with a tangy, sweet flavor. Stores very well. Perfect for: cooking, baking, applesauce.

 

 

 

Sweet Sixteen Apple

 

 

 

 

Sweet Sixteen – Very, very sweet in flavor with aromatic, crisp flesh. Perfect for: eating fresh.

 

 

 

 

Swiss Gourmet Apple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swiss Gourmet (Arlet Apple) – Firm, tart flesh with a very distinctive flavor. Perfect for: eating raw.

 

 

Twenty-Ounce Apple

 

 

 

Twenty-Ounce (aka Cayuga Red Streak) – Yes, this one really lives up to it’s name… these juicy, sweet-tart apples are HUGE. Perfect for: eating raw, salads, cooking and baking.

 

 

 

Zestar Apple

 

 

 

 

Zestar (formerly known as the Minnewashta) – A crisp apple packed with sweet, tangy flavor. Perfect for: eating raw.

 

 

 

So… which one will you try first?

posted under Try This | 3 Comments »

Hi…
I’m Christina Chavez

I was a TV journalist for many years, but with a house full of kids I decided to come off the road, go to culinary school and follow my passion for cooking. Mama’s High Strung is all about food… everything from creative recipe ideas to some really cool kitchen gadgets and cooking tips. I live in Chicago, but I love to travel and write about my food discoveries! You can reach me by email: mamashighstrung@gmail.com