One large egg contains six grams of protein with less than 100 calories and provides a number of vitamins and minerals including riboflavin, vitamin B12, phosphorus, selenium, and choline.

Eggs are also a rich source of lutein and zeaxanthin, classified as carotenoids and known antioxidants, that have been shown to protect against CVD disease and may help protect against the development of breast cancer.

Chef Tips

The way to test an egg’s freshness is to break it open and observe the shape and consistency of its yolk and whites. If the whites are firm and domed around the yolk then it is fresher; the whites are flat and runny, then it’s older.

Egg yolks can range in color from pale yellow to deep orange. The deeper the color, the more varied the hen’s diet was (and potentially a tastier egg).

Hard-boiled eggs are a delicious, easy snack, and can add a protein boost to salads. If you are in treatment and like your eggs fried or poached, it’s a good idea to cook them longer to harden the yolk. They will still be great with a piece of whole-grain toast.

The easiest way to eat more eggs is to live by the phrase, “Put an Egg on It.” The list of recipes is endless!

For tips on basic egg cookery, watch Ann’s videos on how to make the perfect poached, scrambled, and hard-boiled eggs.

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Stuff a few raw leaves into a sandwich or fold them into an omelet. If you are on chemo, add spinach to a soup, or add to a salad.

This grand green is high in folate, vitamin C, and also contains lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids that support a healthy and robust immune system. On top of all that, it has substantial levels of vitamin A, iron, fiber, and magnesium.

Chef Tips

Spinach is delicious and beneficial when bought fresh but frozen spinach is also packed with many beneficial nutrients. Select leaves from the loose spinach bin, if possible, over the packaged varieties, which cost more and may not be as fresh. Look for thin stems, since this is a sign of younger leaves, and look for a crisp, springy texture, rich color, and a fresh, slightly sweet scent. Store it in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer. Before cooking or eating, wash thoroughly to be sure to remove any grit, especially with curly-leaf varieties.

For a side dish, sauté spinach in some olive oil and finish it with a squeeze of lemon and a little salt and pepper. Cooked spinach is an easy vegetable to add to dishes – for example, it’s a delicious topping on a pizza. Or try it as the starring ingredient in our Sauteed Spinach With Raisins & Pine Nuts.

Pureed spinach can be added to soups, stuffed into pasta shells, or added as an ingredient of pesto.

Our Top Spinach Recipes

Spinach is one of our favorite green superheroes when it comes to healthy eating. It is readily available year-round in grocery stores and easily added to virtually any dish.

Browse Recipes

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Like all plants in the brassica family, collard greens contain indole-3-carbinol, and sulfur compounds, which have been shown to help protect against some types of cancers.

Collards are traditionally slow-cooked with ham hocks for flavor, but we think they taste great with less cooking, and with garlic and herbs instead of ham. Collard greens are available year-round, but taste best in winter after being nipped by the first frost. For freshness and extra nutritional value, purchase collard greens that are grown locally if you can.

Chef Tips

At the market, look for bunches of collards with small, bluish-green leaves rather than giant ones. The leaves should be crisp, without any wilting or yellow patches,. The woody stems of collards are inedible, so before cooking, strip the green leaves off and discard the stems.

The trick to maintaining the nutritional value of greens is to not overcook them. Sprinkle the greens with salt and steam them until water clings to their leaves and they are just tender. Drain and squeeze out the excess water. Roll up the leaves and chop into 1-inch thick slices. They will then be ready to sauté or freeze.

Collard greens prepared this way can be added to a number of dishes. For collards with a kick, try our Sautéed Collard Greens with a hit of jalapeno or miso lime sauce.

For a tasty, vitamin-packed supper, try our Greens & White Bean soup with a slice of hearty whole-grain bread.

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Chef Tips

There are three types of kale: curly (most common), purple-tinged Russian kale, and the dark green slender-leaved Lacinato kale (also known as dinosaur or Tuscan). Look for strong stems and dark-colored tops when shopping for kale. Check the leaves for wilting or discoloration. Do not wash the leaves until you are ready to cook them. Store in a sealed plastic bag in one of the crisper drawers of your fridge and it should keep for about five days.

When cooking your kale, there is no need to massage it first. Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan, saute some sliced garlic, add the kale, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon at the end to enhance the flavor and the absorption of vitamin C from the kale.

Try cooking kale in our Sauteed Kale with Sweet Potatoes. 

To enjoy your kale uncooked, like in a salad or slaw,  it is best to prepare the kale by massaging it. This will help breakdown the toughness of the leaves and remove any bitterness you might encounter. Start by rinsing the leaves well in cold water. Cut or strip the leaves away from the hard stems. Discard the stems. To massage your kale, place it in a large bowl and pour over a few glugs of olive oil plus a pinch or two of salt, then gently rub into the leaves so that they are all thoroughly coated. Let rest for about 5-10 minutes. The massaged kale is now ready for the next steps in your recipe.

We suggest trying our Kale Caesar Salad With Chickpea Croutons— it’s delicious!

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Good for the heart, blood, and digestive tract, one cup of cooked lentils contains 36% of the recommended daily value of complete protein. That same cup also delivers 37% of daily iron, essential for helping to carry fresh oxygen to cells and maintain strong bones during treatment. That cup again offers 90% of the daily recommended portion of folate, a naturally occurring B vitamin that helps to support red blood cell health.

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, laboratory studies suggest folate also helps reproduce and repair DNA. Diets deficient in the nutrient can yield damage that may lead to cancer.

Lentils come in an autumnal rainbow of brown, green, yellow, orange, black, and white varieties. Size, flavor, cooking time, and consistency will vary among seeds of different hues, but the legumes’ nutritional value is colorblind. Choose the variety that suits the recipe you are going to make.

Chef Tips

Lentils are a cheap pantry staple and a go-to standby. While they do come in pre-cooked and canned varieties, I recommend always keeping dry lentils and beans on hand for their versatility and nutritional value. Lentils are a favorite option of mine, as they don’t need soaking and cook quickly.

Quick-cooking lentils are a great addition to many soups and stews. Try our Brown Lentil and Rice Soup with carrots. This classic recipe is quick and easy to prepare, provides complete protein, and is delicious year-round.

Lentils are also the perfect side dish to chicken or fish, simply sautéed with olive oil, fresh herbs, and salt to taste. For a comfort food staple try our Lentil Shepherd’s Pie.

Once cooked, leftover lentils can be stored in the fridge for up to one week or frozen for future use.

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Curry powders are an ancient and traditional part of Indian cuisine, used almost universally to flavor meat, vegetables, and fish. The curry powder familiar to Western cuisine, available in most supermarkets, is a blend composed primarily of powerful antioxidant and antibacterial spices, turmeric, coriander, and cumin. Not only do these spices give curry its distinctive flavor and orange color, but also its cancer-fighting properties.

Turmeric is a source of the healthy phytochemical, curcumin. Animal and laboratory studies have suggested that curcumin can successfully slow the growth of and even diminish cancer cells. However, these effects have not yet been proven in human tests. Cumin, rich in iron and antioxidants, is no slouch either, and coriander has well known antibacterial properties. Each has the ability to help lower “bad cholesterol.” Also being studied is cumin’s possible ability to protect against stomach ulcers and even Alzheimers.

Aside from turmeric, coriander, and cumin, most curry powders also contain fenugreek, celery seed, and cayenne pepper. These round out curry’s robust taste and increase its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. Curry powder can be found in various grades of heat, from mild to very hot, with the hottest varieties containing the most cayenne. Madras curry powders are always at the hot end of the scale.

Chef Tips

Store-bought curry powder has a shelf life of six months, after that, it loses both nutrients and flavor. The cancer fighting properties of the spices in curry powder are best released by cooking, so use curry powder in your marinades, soups, and stews. In stews and curries, add the powder to sautéed onions and vegetables when they are just soft, then cook together for a minute before adding stock, water or other liquids.

Recipe Tips

You can use curry powder to flavor literally anything: meat, fish, vegetables, stews, soup, sauces, marinades, and, of course, curries. All curry powders vary slightly in flavor, but they can vary a lot in spiciness. Some patients crave spicy food during chemo, so the spiciest curry powders really suit them. Not everyone is the same, however, so we suggest testing a few brands to find out which you like the best. When you’ve found a favorite, use it for Cook for Your Life’s Quick Cauliflower Curry. For a quick and easy cabbage dish, try our Thai Style Tempeh Curry. To learn more about traditional Indian cuisine and to see how individual spices are used, check out our Healing Foods article, Spice of Life. It may inspire you to make your own curry blend at home.

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The whole-wheat label denotes foods made with the entire wheat grain, including the bran, germ, and endosperm. These three elements combined bring many nutrients such as iron, zinc, manganese, folate, magnesium, copper, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, vitamin E, selenium, lignans and phenolic compounds (think phytonutrients), plus vitamin E, and many B vitamins. Whole grains are also a good source of protein, and most importantly, fiber.

When we process grains, we are typically removing the bran and germ which contain many of the nutrients and fiber that make whole grains so desirable and beneficial in our diets. In the processing of grains, the endosperm is typically the only part remaining which is intended to provide the energy source for the plant to grow. This energy source is called starch which is a simple carbohydrate or more commonly known as a simple sugar.

Refined grains are missing one or more of their three key parts (bran, germ, or endosperm). We also think of refined grains as being classically labeled “white” grains such as white bread, white pasta, etc.

On the other hand, enriched grains will add back fewer than a half dozen of the many missing nutrients and does so in proportions different than they originally existed.

Researchers have linked low consumption of whole grains as a risk factor that could lead to chronic disease globally.  Above refined wheat, perhaps the most important quality that whole-wheat offers is the fiber — plus the totality of nutrients that whole grains contain verses their enriched or refined counterparts. Fiber, also a carbohydrate, cannot be digested or absorbed but still offers many health benefits. Fiber slows down our digestion so that we don’t get a blood sugar spike after a meal, it helps to lower LDL cholesterol, it feeds our gut bacteria and aids in getting rid of toxic waste. Studies have shown that diets rich in whole grains may decrease the risk of colorectal cancer.

There are many ways to shift to consuming more whole grains rather than refined grains in your diet. Our recommendation is to do it slowly over time and start with a mixture of whole grains and refined grains. For example, preparing half white rice and half brown rice and mixing them together.

When baking, try half whole wheat flour and half white flour, and slowly over time, you will find that your tastes shift, and you begin to enjoy the rich nutty flavors of whole wheat flours. Another way to increase whole grains is to try new grains, such as quinoa, farro, and wheat berry. There is still room for refined grains in your life. Sometimes we want white rice with a stir fry. When consuming refined grains, aim for reducing your portion of them so you don’t have to totally eliminate them. An example is to eat 1/3 of a cup of white rice in lieu of ¾ cup white rice and double your veggie portion.

Our goal is to inspire you to explore new whole grain options and consume them more often.

Chef Tips

When buying whole-wheat products, it is important to read the ingredients. Whole-wheat should be high on the list. Some breads marketed as whole-wheat are actually made from refined flour mixed with a small amount of whole grain, plus molasses or high-fructose corn syrup to make them brown.  The Whole-Grain Council will place its stamp of approval on a product that contains at least 51% whole grains or 8g of whole grains per serving. Although some vitamins and minerals are typically added back to the refined-wheat product, the fiber cannot be added back.

Whole grains such as wheat berries, also called Pharaoh’s Wheat, are rich in antioxidants and can be turned into wonderful summer salads with diced vegetables or spinach. Mix whole-wheat couscous and bulgur with vegetables and fresh herbs for a quick side dish. For pasta dishes, enjoy whole-wheat penne or spaghetti with our Basic Quick Tomato Sauce and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

When baking, try substituting all-purpose white flour with whole-wheat pastry flour, or use a 50/50 mix of white and whole-wheat flour if you can’t find whole-wheat pastry flour. Try our Oatmeal & Date Cookies – ready to eat in 30 minutes and dairy-free as well!

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Like all plants in the brassica family, cabbage contains indole-3-carbinol, and sulfur compounds, which have been shown to help protect against some types of cancers.

Depending on the type of diet you’re on during treatment, raw cabbage is not recommended for some as it can be more difficult to digest.

Chef Tips

Buy cabbage that is firm and heavy. Avoid cabbage with cracks or wilting leaves. The length of time you can keep a cabbage in the refrigerator depends on its type. Generally, green and red cabbage will keep for two weeks. Make sure to store the whole head in a plastic bag in the fridge. If you’ve already cut the cabbage, use it within a few days.

Raw and shredded cabbage can be added to salads as a nutrition-packed replacement for iceberg lettuce. Leaving shredded cabbage in a salad dressing for a bit will help tenderize it and add taste.

Raw cabbage is a mainstay for many delicious coleslaw recipes. It’s also a fantastic vegetable for flavor-packed stir fries, or a crunchy addition to any juicy burger.

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The Italians initiated farro’s comeback by using it as a substitute for pasta. Farro flour can be used to make a more nutritious pasta compared to those made from the typical durum and semolina flours.

Like quinoa, farro is a complete protein, meaning it contains all of the essential amino acids. Its fiber and protein content exceed those of brown rice and barley, yet it is still low in fat.

The ancient grain also has plenty of necessary vitamins and minerals, most notably magnesium, niacin, and zinc. Zinc is a very important nutrient for organizing growth and development in the body. Niacin, or vitamin B6, is necessary for energy production throughout the body. Magnesium is also important for energy production throughout the body, bone health, and managing constipation. The grain is also high in complex carbohydrates.

Chef Tips

Because farro is a strain of wheat, it contains gluten. Those with celiac disease should not eat farro. Most farro is sold semi-pearled (with some of its bran removed) because completely whole-grain farro has to be soaked in water overnight and takes longer to cook. Unlike other pearled grains, pearled farro doesn’t lose as many nutrients in the process of removing its outer hull.

Try this Roasted Radish & Farro Salad to see how the ancient grain’s chewy texture goes with vegetables. Another popular use of farro is in soups and stews, like this Black-Eyed Pea, Chard & Farro Soup.

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Basic Black

By Fiona Breslin

The terms “healthy” and “comfort food” often don’t describe a simple food, but black beans merit both monikers. This member of the legume family boasts hefty helpings of protein, fiber, and cancer-preventing antioxidants. One cup of cooked beans provides 60% of all the fiber recommended for the day. Their dense, meaty texture and sweet taste make them especially well suited to vegetarian dishes and a host of comforting soups, chilies, and stews.

Black beans also contain phytochemicals (natural plant compounds) such as saponins, which the American Institute for Cancer Research reports may help protect cells from cancer. The beans are low fat and a good source of additional nutrients such as thiamin, folate, magnesium, and iron.

A staple of South and Central American cooking, black beans are inexpensive and easy to store. They can be served hot or cold and are available year-round in canned and dried varieties. The canned ones have a shelf life of one year, while dried beans last indefinitely — either way, they’re easy to keep on hand for a hearty, delicious dish.

Chef Tips

Always buy dried beans from stores with a lot of foot traffic, as old ones can take longer to cook. Look for beans that are whole and not too broken. Prior to cooking, soak dried beans at least four hours. One cup will make 2 to 2 ½ cups of cooked black beans for half the price of the canned version. When cooking with canned beans, always rinse with running water before serving to remove excess sodium.

Recipe Tips

Black beans make wonderful soups and chilies. We recommend our delicious Black Bean Chili that’s quick and easy to prepare. Use home-cooked or canned beans, serve it with brown rice and a squeeze of fresh lime juice, and garnish with cilantro. If you want to make your beans from scratch, check out our Basic Black Beans recipe to create a flavorful base that you can use right away or freeze for later.

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By Alyssa Adler

Chia seeds can be considered a super food because they are extremely versatile and nutritious! Originally from Central America, and derived from a plant in the mint family, chia seeds were an important part of the Aztec diet. Chia seeds are small black and brown seeds that look like a mix between a poppy seed and a flax seed. Interestingly, abundant amounts of fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants can be found in just a tablespoon of chia seeds.

These seeds are unique because they absorb water to form a gel consistency. These gel-forming seeds contain tons of insoluble fiber, which help keep you regular and increase fullness. According to NIH, a tablespoon serving of chia seeds provides 19% of the daily-recommended fiber and up to 9% of daily calcium, iron and magnesium. Calcium and iron are important for bone health while magnesium is a contributor to many bodily reactions such as protein synthesis and muscle and nerve functions.

Chia seeds are also rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. These essential fatty acids are beneficial for heart health, inflammation, blood pressure and blood sugar (NIH). Conversely, chia seeds can thin the blood if eaten on a regular basis, so it may have effects on certain medicines such as aspirin and Coumadin. In addition, chia seeds should be avoided prior to surgery to avoid any blood thinning complications.

Ann’s Tips

Chia seeds can be found all year round at some grocery stores in the natural or organic sections. When in doubt, they can always be found online in small or large packages. Available milled or whole, chia seeds can be kept at room temperature for about 2 years. In order to increase the shelf life, put these seeds in a mason jar and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 years.

Recipe Tips

Chia seeds are used in many foods such as salads, soups, yogurt, beverages and baked goods. The absorbent properties of chia seeds create a smooth, desirable consistency while adding the beneficial nutrients to certain foods. A trending use of chia seeds is to make chia pudding. The chia seeds absorb the liquid and allow for a pudding-like consistency. Check out Cook for Your Life’s Chia pudding recipes! Chia seeds are an all-in-one super food, providing the ultimate texture with fullness, satisfaction, and nutrients!

Alyssa Adler is a Boston University Graduate from Long Island, New York. She was CFYL’s 2016 summer web intern after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition Sciences with a concentration in Dietetics. She has since gone on to earn her Masters degree, and is now a Clinical Nutritionist at Mt. Sinai’s St. Luke’s hospital here in New York City.  Alyssa has a food blog called Red Delicious and Nutritious which focuses on healthy eating and living and how decadent foods can be made wholesome and delicious. A woman after our own heart!

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By Chelsea Fisher

Eating an apple a day won’t keep the doctor away, but it’s not a bad place to start. The combination of antioxidants and phytochemicals within apples—including quercetin, epicatechin, and procyanidin—may help prevent or inhibit cancer cell growth.

Apples, like many other fruits and vegetables, are recommended for improving overall health status because they provide fiber and have high nutrient density. Apples have both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber helps reduce a blood sugar spike after a meal and reduces LDL cholesterol, it also aids in reducing diarrhea. Insoluble fiber can help symptoms of constipation and makes eliminating waste and toxins easier.

Apples are an excellent source of vitamin C, an antioxidant that not only reduces free radicals but helps other antioxidants do their job and supports a healthy immune system. Apples also contain a small amount of vitamin B-6, a required nutrient for making neurotransmitters like serotonin that help regulate our moods. Vitamin B-6 is also required for making heme, the protein that holds iron to carry oxygen throughout the body. Both of these are important for maintaining energy.

Chef’s Tips

Look for apples that are firm with no bruises. The most common varieties include Granny Smith, Fuji, Gala, Braeburn, Honey Crisp, and Pink Lady. Each variety provides a surprisingly different taste, from tart to sweet, so when following a recipe, it’s usually best to choose the type listed.

Apples make a tangy addition to any sweet tart, pie, or pastry like an Apple Pie, but they can also be an interesting complement to savory fare, such as a sauerkraut dish. If you are craving a sweet treat, try our Baked Apples.

Apple Recipes

Craving an autumnal treat? Try one of flavorful apple-based recipes. With some savory and some sweet, there’s a recipe to suit every taste.

View Recipes

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