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Tag: antioxidant

Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate has long been recognized as a healthy treat. As many American’s have savored this festive indulgence on Valentine’s Day or celebrate National Chocolate Lover’s Month, it’s good to know what the standards are surrounding dark chocolate health benefits. To get the most antioxidant benefits from cocoa beans it’s best to pick chocolate with 70% or higher cocoa content. A higher cocoa percentage typically means the product is lower in sugar and is associated with heart health benefits.

Another tip for purchasing healthy dark chocolate is to look at the ingredient list. Look for cocoa, or a form of cocoa, as the first ingredient. Also avoid dark chocolate that contains trans fat, artificial flavors or high amounts of sugar. It’s also wise to look for fair trade organic chocolate. This kind of chocolate is usually more ethically sourced and pesticide-free. Visit the Clearly Organic blog for a homemade chocolate recipe this month.

Health Benefits of Garlic

For many years, garlic has been used in Mediterranean, Italian, and Chinese cooking because of its fragrant aroma and delicious flavor. Garlic not only delivers a savory taste but it has long been used for its medicinal properties. Studies show that garlic can help reduce LDL cholesterol levels which can reduce the risk of heart disease. It’s also notable that garlic contains a high concentration of antioxidants and nutrients that can assist in boosting your immune system while also helping ward off brain conditions like dementia.

The best way to reap the most beneficial nutritional properties from garlic is by chopping or crushing the garlic clove after removing it from the garlic bulb.  A mechanical garlic press can make this process simple and easy. Crushed garlic is very delicious cooked into a stir fry, mixed in a salad dressing or used as a marinade. It’s also easy to roast a whole bulb of garlic. Then you can have a hearty stock of fragrant caramelized garlic ready to use in a variety of recipes. Roasted garlic helps jazz up roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, a green salad or scrambled eggs. If you love garlic consider adding more of this healthy and delicious food to your meal plan.

Here is a recipe for Easy Roasted Garlic:

2 garlic bulbs
Clearly Organic Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the head off of each garlic bulb to expose most of the garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place bulbs cut side down on a piece of foil. Secure foil around garlic bulbs. Then roast in a preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Garlic skins will turn golden brown and the cloves will become tender.

Health Benefits of Walnuts

Walnuts are a super food that contain many beneficial nutritional components. Incorporating walnuts and a variety of other tree nuts into your daily routine not only adds flavor and texture it can boost your overall wellbeing.

Here are 3 benefits of eating walnuts consistently:

1. The omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids in walnuts make them the perfect food to help with memory enhancement and cognitive functioning.

2. Out of the entire tree nut family walnuts have one of the highest concentrations of antioxidants. Which means these tiny nuts can help prevent the growth of certain types of cancers.

3. The monounsaturated fats in walnuts help keep your heart strong. The nutrients in walnuts help lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and raise your good cholesterol.

Consider adding walnuts to your next salad, bowl of oats, yogurt or cottage cheese. These small nuts pack a big nutritional punch.