11 Healthiest Foods That Won't Go to Waist

What's in your cupboard and refrigerator? Are you regularly preparing and enjoying foods that can reduce your cholesterol along with the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer? Some of these superfoods can help you manage your appetite by stabilizing your blood-sugar level and can even lift your spirit. All of these benefits are critical to those of us seeking to keep our weight in check.

Here are 11 of the 150 healthiest foods, according to Dr. Jonny Bowden, a nationally known expert on weight loss and nutrition and author of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What You Should Eat and Why. Dr. Bowden promises us that if we make a place for these foods on our table, we'll instantly upgrade our  health-without a prescription:

1. Beets
2. Cabbage
3. Swiss chard
4. Cinnamon
5. Pomegranate juice
6. Dried plums (otherwise known as prunes)
7. Pumpkin seeds
8. Sardines
9. Turmeric
10. Blueberries (frozen or fresh)
11. Pumpkin (canned or fresh)

How many do you eat regularly?  I enjoy 8 of the 11.

I keep canned beets chilled and ready to toss on a green salad. Cabbage makes a great salad, especially when combined with grapes, nuts and a citrus-based dressing. I toss cinnamon on my cereal and add an extra teaspoon to baked goods. Dried plums are great for midafternoon snacks. I keep sardines in the refrigerator for a high-protein, calcium-rich lunch. Turmeric is a wonderful spice to add to any egg dish. I enjoy blueberries many different ways-by themselves, with yogurt or in muffins. Until recently, I used canned pumpkin only to make holiday pies. Now I serve it as a side dish instead of sweet potatoes.

But I've missed out on three of Dr. Bowden's superfoods. So next week, when I go grocery shopping, I'll add swiss chard, pomegranate juice and pumpkin seeds to my grocery cart.

You can be confident that these 11 superfoods won't go to waist. As I discovered from my own weight-loss journey, eating for enjoyment and health rather than dieting is the way to successfully achieve and maintain a peak level of fitness.

Photo credit: La Grande Farmers' Market on Flickr.