I beleive you can benefit from healthy eating by trying healthy foods from different countries. You can try making these healthy foods at home by finding the recipes. A food from my country that i thought is healthy and easy to make is a bolani which is a flat-bread from afghanistan that is baked or fried with a vegetable filling.
Bolani Recipe
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup water room temperature
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
4 potatoes trampled
1 leek finely chopped
1 green onion finely chopped
Coriander pieces finely chopped
I found that making a bolani is fairly easy. First you have to boil at least 3-4 potatoes and then trample them. (This can be done a day before and then refrigerated). Then, you mix flour and salt together in a large bowl while slowly adding water. Mix to a firm dough and knead the dough until it forms a ball. Cut the green tops from the leeks and throw it away. Rinse well to remove the soil between the leeks and cut the middle portion lengthwise. Cut coriander into small pieces and mix it in a bowl with the pieces of leeks and trampled potatoes. Add black pepper and salt. Use a rolling pin to open up the dough balls into the shape of a moon. Use the filling from the large bowl and put on only one side of the dough. Fold the other side to make a half moon and seal the upper parts. Fry 2 at a time in hot olive oil until golden brown.
I believe these bolanis are healthy because of the leeks used which are low in calories and fat-free. In addition to being fat-free, these leeks also have a nutritional value. Leeks are a good source of the minerals
manganese, iron, and folate. Manganese is essential for your body's growth. Manganese helps your body break down fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Iron helps carry oxygen in the blood and helps your cells use oxygen. Folate is also essential for cell growth and reproduction. Another reason why a bolani is a healthy choice is because of the green onion being used in the recipe. According to an aritcle i read, green onions also may act to protect against osteoarthritis. I beleive that if we eat green onions, we are eating the recommended nutrients needed for our bodies.
Nutrition Fact
"One green onion stalk contains 3 calories and no fat or protein. It contains 10 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin A, 9 percent of vitamin C and 1 percent of calcium and iron".
When i go grocery shopping, i check the back of the product for the nutrition facts table. I try to find out if the product i am buying is high in saturated fat, trans fat or calories. I believe this is another technique in which you can use to benefit from healthy eating.
When i use the nutrition facts table, I am able to:
- Choose products more easily.
- Compare two products to make better food choices and eliminate one or the other
- Learn about the nutrition information of the foods I am eating
- Increase or decrease my intake of any specific nutrient
Saturated fat
Is a type of fat found in food that raises LDL or bad cholesterol levels. I believe if people are increasing the intake of saturated fats, they are risking of getting heart disease.
In accordance to saturated fats, I believe these are the foods people should limit:
- Animal foods such as chicken, pork, lamb, beef
- Dairy products such as butter, yogurt, cheese, whole milk
- Vegetable oils, including coconut palm kernel oils
Trans fat
Similarly, trans fat had been shown to raise bad cholesterol levels. Trans fat also lowers HDL or good cholesterol. A low level of HDL or good cholesterol can result in heart disease.
In accordance to trans fat, these are the foods i beleive people should limit:
- Fried foods and bakery products such as crackers, cookies, doughnuts, French fries, muffins
In general, i think people should choose products that have little saturated fat and trans fat. Everyone should lower their intake of saturated fat and trans fat to reduce their risk of getting heart disease.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a nutrient that is essential for your health. It plays many significant roles in the body such as:
- Helps your teeth and bones
- Helps to keep skin healthy
In order to increase your intake of Vitamin A, i believe you should eat more:
- Fish and sea food such as tuna, oysters, salmon
- Orange vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato
The deficiency disease for Vitamin A is night blindness. In my opinion, vitamin A is a nutrient you would want more of to prevent night blindness and unhealthy skin.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is another nutrient that is essential for your health. It plays many significant roles in the body such as:
- Helps maintain healthy capillaries, bones, skin, and teeth
- Helps your body heal wounds and resist infections
- Aids in absorption of iron
In order to increase your intake of Vitamin C, I believe you should eat more:
Scurvy is caused by a Vitamin C deficiency. In order to prevent this disease, I advise people to start eating more limes and citrus fruits.
Not all recipes show the percent fat on the nutrition facts table. In order to calculate the percent fat of the product and how much fat one is consuming, we must take into consideration that fat contains 9 calories per gram. We find the fat percentage by following these steps:
1. On the nutrition facts table of the product, we look for the number of calories from fat or we can simply calculate it ourselves.
2. In order to do calculate this, we multiply the number of calories fat contains which is 9 calories per gram by the amount of grams of fat from the product.
3. Once we find the number of calories from fat, we divide it by the total calories which can be found on the nutritional facts table of the product and then multiply the result by 100 % to find the fat percentage.
For example, suppose you eat a box of cookies with 5 grams of fat and 110 calories per serving.
Percent Fat
5 grams of fat x 9 calories per gram= 45 calories from fat
45 calories from fat divided by 110 x 100%=40.9% of fat
