NJ Cops November 2016 | Page 76

HEALTH & WELLNESS Healthy lifestyle tip: Enjoy delicious superfoods! • Sweet potatoes are not only sweet to your “Superfoods” are those exceptionally nutriHEALTHY LIVING TIPS FROM taste buds, but also good for your cardiovascular tious and healthful foods containing powerful ingredients that help reduce – and in some cases, health. This crunchy, starch root vegetable is a reverse – your risk of heart disease, lower your rich source of flavonoid anti-oxidants, vitamins, cholesterol, improve hypertension and fight canminerals and dietary fiber that are essential for cer and other diseases. Superfoods support a longer, improved optimal health. Because the sweet potato has higher amylose quality of life and even put you in a better mood – and, an added content (amylose raises the blood sugar levels rather slowly in bonus of these “real” foods: They are also delicious. comparison to simple fruit sugars such as fructose, glucose, etc.) Here are a few superfoods, readily available in your local it, therefore, is recommended as a healthy food supplement in supermarket, that are incorporated into this month’s delicious, moderation, even in cases of diabetes. d heart-healthy holiday recipe: roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon pecan crunch. Roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon pecan • Cinnamon helps to regulate blood sugar, thanks to the natcrunch ural compound polyphenol. It also helps reduce nausea and serves as an anti-inflammatory. Ingredients: • Ginger does wonders for your digestive system. It may help • 1 tablespoon maple syrup prevent ulcers, calms stomach nausea and speeds the diges• 1/4 teaspoon salt tive process through the body. Ginger is an anti-inflammato• 1 tablespoon orange juice ry and may help reduce pain associated with osteoarthritis. • 1/4 cup dried cranberries • Nutmeg is a little spice that packs a big punch. It may help • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with nausea, stomach pain and intestinal gas. Nutmeg will • 1 tablespoon Smart Balance Blended Butter Sticks help relax you before going to bed. • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon • Pecans are an excellent source of vitamin E and a rich source • 1/4 cup flour of phytochemicals including beta-carotene, lutein, ellagic • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg acid and zea-xanthin. These phytochemicals can reduce • 1/4 cup pecans, chopped free-radicals and protect against some diseases, cancer and • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger infections. Pecans are also high in mono-unsaturated fat and have been shown to lower total and LDL cholesterol. • 3 ½ cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks 76 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ NOVEMBER 2016