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.

Try This: The Popcorn Factory’s Halloween Popcorn Decorating Kit

October24

Popcorn Decorating Kit

Want your Halloween Party to really POP this year?

It’s so nerve-wracking throwing a Halloween Party. There’s always that moment of dread: What if it’s BORING? Here’s a great icebreaker for your guests while they mentally judge the other costumes (“That’s the fifth Heisenberg get-up I’ve seen!).

Now this will sound corny (ha!), but right after your guests walk in, have them begin creatively and ghoulishly decorating a popcorn ball. Then later on, have a contest and judge the creations across different categories… most ghoulish… cutest… weirdest… you get the idea.

Don’t worry… I’m not adding extra work to your party planning. My good friends at The Popcorn Factory offer an all-in-one Halloween Popcorn Decorating Kit that comes with Popcorn Balls and bags of goodies for creating enchantment. The kit even has writing “glue” tubes to personalize each creation.

Oh… and this is great for kids AND adults!

This is all you need to do:
1. Set up a table and cover it with a plastic tablecloth. Put out some hand sanitizer, paper plates and a roll of paper towels. Put a garbage can underneath the table.
2. Pour the decorating candy into small bowls. Open the candy writers.
3. Leave the popcorn balls in their wrappers and put them in a big bowl.
4. Share on Instagram and Twitter with #justbecause so we can all see them!

If you’re interested in ordering the Halloween Popcorn Decorating Kit, click here. Don’t wait… Halloween is a week away!

What other Halloween Party ideas do you have to get your guests involved?

I made these at the party… hey, I’m a cook not a crafter! But we had fun!

Halloween Popcorn Balls

 

posted under Try This | 8 Comments »

It’s National Caramel Popcorn Day!

April6

To celebrate National Caramel Popcorn Day, here’s a rerun of a favorite recipe: Chili-Spiced Caramel Popcorn. 

Keep this recipe in your back pocket for whenever you’re going to have a crowd over and you want something salty and sweet to snack on… it doesn’t have to be National Caramel Popcorn Day!

Oh… and don’t make this Chili Spice Caramel Popcorn too screaming hot… you’ll want the sweetness to come through, too!

 


Kitchen Think: Food Trends 2013

January11

Wanna know where food and drink are going in 2013? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Mama’s scoured the internet for food trends and predictions for the upcoming year. Would you believe:

• You’ll be drinking more wine out of a box

• Eating more sauerkraut and

• Taking more photos of the food you eat?

That’s where the trend trackers say we’re headed in the New Year. Here are a few more…

Veggies Rule: Whether it’s the rising cost of meat or our desire to eat healthier, we’re going to see more vegetables on our plates… and it won’t be the old stand-bys like corn and potatoes. Have you had a marinated cauliflower steak? Look for similar veggies with strong flavors like cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts… which leads into another hot trend…

King’s Spicy Kimchi

Sour Flavors: Last year I told you about my infatuation with kimchi (fermented Korean cabbage). In the coming year, you can look for similar sharp, sour flavors like brined Moroccan lemons, pickled Mexican carrots, sauerkraut and citrus cured Peruvian ceviche… which takes us into 2013’s smokin’ hot cuisine…

Peruvian Food: We’ve done Mexico, we’ve sampled Cuba, now it’s time to explore Peru. The South American country’s geographically and wildly diverse (Japanese, Spanish, African, Chinese, Italian and Quechua) cultures bring together crazy culinary flavors… from sashimi-inspired tiradito to aji chili-flavored pastas and snacks like…

Popcorn: The whole-grain appeal of popcorn makes this one-time movie snack a featured player in ice cream, as a crouton and topping casseroles. It’ll get exotically cheesed, spiced and flavored and will pop up everywhere, just like…

Boxed Wine: Higher quality wine producers will start thinking inside the box because of lower shipping costs and the elimination of oxidation. Single serve options (I keep thinking of juice boxes, and that really worries me) will also increase as more of us try to cut back on our alcohol consumption and opt not to open a bottle.

Social Food Sharing: Do you take a photo of what you’re eating (or just created in the kitchen)? You aren’t alone. In the coming year we’ll continue to upload millions of images everyday to sites like Pinterest, Foodspotting and Food Gawker. I’m still trying to figure out the psychology of why this has become such a trend…

And that’s not all. There are a bunch of other things trending, like protein added to everything from beverages to salty snacks and ramen noodles coming out of dorm room and on to our dinner plate.

Strap yourself in… 2013 is gonna be a great year for food, drink and new ideas!

 

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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