10 Unlikely Healthy Foods You’ll Thank Us For
Losing weight and eating healthy foods are different. You can lose weight eating ice cream if you eat in a calorie deficit, meaning you eat less than the calories you burn in a day.
But eating healthy foods is different, you are actively choosing foods that are good for your body. Weight loss may not be the goal, you could just be trying to fix a problem. For example, I suffer from slight anaemia, so I have to eat more spinach and foods high in iron.
So we have a list of 10 surprisingly healthy foods for you that will make the quest for health easier and tastier. Unfortunately ice cream is not one of those healthy foods, unless you fork out for that high-in protein brand.
1. Baked Beans
Baked Beans aren’t just known for making you fart. They’re high in protein and fibre, as well as packed with nutrients like iron and zinc. They are also a good source of antioxidants that protect your body from cancers and other diseases.
Plus they come in handy tins that can be eaten whenever. As part of your breakfast on some toast or a midnight snack. The bean is versatile. The bean is good. The bean is a healthy food.
2. Pork Scratchings
Pork scratching are the most surprising on this list I think. In moderation, they can actually be considered a healthy food.
The fatty part of the pork scratching is mainly poly and mono-unsaturated fats which are beneficial to you. These fats don’t contribute to raising cholesterol levels which is good news.
They are also a high source of protein, meaning it has health benefits for your bone and muscle growth. And no carbs!
Just don’t go overboard on them, leave it as a Sunday treat.
3. Cheese
Cheese is milk, and milk is protein. So believe it or not, cheese can be considered a healthy food. Cheese provides you with crucial vitamins, such as B12 which helps in the production of red blood cells, as well as helping with your mental health.
It is obviously an excellent source for vitamin C, which contributes to healthy teeth and bones. Cheese can even help prevent osteoporosis as you grow older, keeping the bones strong and full.
So if you want healthy bones until you’re grey and old, here’s your excuse to indulge in mac & cheese.
Just don’t go eating a whole block of cheese, it’s no longer healthy when eaten in excess.
4. Pineapple
Before we get started, I am not encouraging anyone to put pineapple on pizza! That is a no go! Leave it away from the cheese.
But pineapple on its own, or in a fruit salad perhaps, is a healthy food in moderation.
Pineapple is known as a ‘negative calorie food’, which means it uses more calories to digest than the actual food itself. Unbelievable I know, although not proven, a small list of foods are thought to fall into this category, including cucumber and grapefruit.
The fruit contains plenty of vitamins and fibre as well, being another source for vitamin C and A, as well as small amounts of iron. It also helps with muscle fatigue and promotes healthy bones.
And if you need a final reason to eat more pineapple, remember that it makes your cum taste sweeter…
5. Chilli Peppers
For those who enjoy a bit of spice, chilli peppers are a great healthy food to add more of into your diet. They can keep you warm in the winter, as well as being a natural pain relief. Fighting inflammation and pain in conditions like arthritis.
They are also great for boosting your immunity when you have a cold, clearing any congestion to give you the ability to breathe.
And like the pineapple, the heat that you feel after eating a chilli takes energy from your body, contributing to weight loss.
A healthy food that I strongly recommend adding to your diet. But, if you aren’t a fan of spicy food like me, you can grind it into a powder or blend it with a fruit smoothie to drown out the heat.
You’re still consuming the healthy food, you just aren’t sweating as much.
6. Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes are always thought to be bad, but sweet potatoes allow you to eat a healthy food while eating carbs. Best of both worlds.
Sweet potatoes are a complex carb, they release their energy at a slower rate. They are high in fibre, as well as vitamin C and A. The sweet potato contributes to a healthy digestive system, heart and it can boost your immune system.
But more than that, sweet potatoes help ease stress, anxiety and contribute to a healthy brain, as well as improve your vision. Apparently its not just carrots that are good for your eyes.
Sweet potatoes are tasty, and versatile, being able to go with any dish; whether as mash, chips, wedges, topping to a Shepherds pie. An amazing healthy food for a nation that loves any form potatoes come in.
7. Pancakes
Pancakes are made from egg, flour and milk. Nothing inherently wrong with these ingredients so it should be considered a healthy food. We have protein and a source of calcium from those 3 ingredients. Its what happens after it has been cooked which determines whether it has any health benefits for you.
If you smother it in Nutella and sugar and maple syrup, then it is less healthy. Obviously. That is pretty self explanatory. However, strawberries, bananas and blueberries add an extra source of nutrients.
Bodybuilders and fitness fanatics use pancakes as a simple way to get protein in to their bodies, by adding protein powder to the mixture, you have a great healthy food in front of you.
However, be careful in the flavourings you chose, I had a banana flavoured protein powder pancake which was great. A chocolate flavoured one was not so great.
8. Dark Chocolate
Chocolate is known as a guilty pleasure. But it shouldn’t be, its really rather a healthy food.
Dark chocolate has many proven health benefits behind it, including increased brain function. Possibly because people are so happy at eating chocolate, or more to do with more blood flow to the brain, either way, chocolate makes you smarter.
Dark chocolate could also decrease the risk of heart disease, as it improves the blood flow and lowers blood pressure.
It is also loaded with nutrients and fibre, and is a great antioxidant.
Overall a healthy food…Â what more excuse do you need to eat chocolate?
9. Black Pudding
Although labelled as gross by many, it is actually quite a healthy food. The Scots got it right.
Black pudding is rich in protein and low on the carbs. What’s not to love?
But the blood provides a great source for calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and iron which contribute to making healthy blood cells and preventing anaemia.
So next time you’re having a full english breakfast, include black pudding. Your body will be thankful for the extra nutrients and a healthy food on the plate next to the fatty bacon, sausages and hash browns.
10. Honey
Winnie the Pooh loves honey, and so should you. And not just for its sugary sweetness. Honey is quite a healthy food when consumed in small amounts, just not in the amounts of Pooh.
Honey can be used to treat coughs and illness. Mix honey with lemon and hot water and you have a soothing beverage for that tickly cough.
Honey also helps with fighting hay fever, a natural remedy for those teary eyes and runny nose. Try adding more honey into your diet if you suffer a lot, you may be surprised.
The sweet treat also contributes to reducing blood pressure, and improving your cholesterol level. Adding some honey to your oatmeal or porridge in the morning will give you that extra bit of nutrients to start the day of right.
