March is the time when nature finally wakes up, gets warmer and the sun comes out. In spring, you want hot, spicy dishes less and less often, and lighter and vegetable dishes more often. We tell you about the best foods to eat and cook in March.
foods to eat in March
Radish
Radishes are an excellent source of vitamin C. Just 100 grams of the vegetable contains up to 40% of its daily value. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps fight free radicals in the body and prevent cell damage caused by aging, unhealthy lifestyles and toxins from the environment. Vitamin C also plays a key role in the production of collagen, which keeps skin and blood vessels healthy.
In addition, eating vegetables from the cabbage family, which includes radishes, may help prevent cancer. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, cabbage family vegetables contain compounds that break down into isothiocyanates when they interact with water. Isothiocyanates help cleanse the body of cancer-causing substances and prevent tumors from developing.
A surprising fact is that radishes contain the anti-fungal protein RsAFP2. One study showed that RsAFP2 causes cell death of Candida albicans, a fungus that is common in humans and causes thrush and candidiasis.
Radishes are best eaten raw – the vitamin C in its composition is very unstable and is destroyed by heat treatment. Prepare salads with it, add it to side dishes or eat it as a snack. You can also put radishes in sandwiches or burgers or pickle them.
Avocado
Avocado is a favorite ingredient in breakfast dishes. And for good reason: it combines both healthy fats and fiber, which is not often found among fruits.
Many people think of avocados as a fruit, although botanically they are actually a berry. Avocados are rich in nutrients that many people lack in their diet: magnesium, vitamins B6, C, E and folic acid. Just half an avocado contains 10% of the daily value of potassium.
A number of studies (such as this one and this one) link avocado consumption to weight loss, prolonged feelings of satiety, and reduced belly fat percentage.
Avocados are especially beneficial for pregnant and breastfeeding women, as during this period there is an increased need for exactly the nutrients it contains. One avocado provides 27% of the recommended intake of folic acid during pregnancy.
Here are some ideas on how to add avocados to your diet, beyond the sandwich ingredient:
- Prepare guacamole with avocado, onion, cilantro and lime (by the way, in March their season starts too)
- Blend mashed avocados with Greek yogurt, salt and add to salads instead of mayonnaise.
- Add avocados to smoothies for healthy fats
- Mix mashed avocado with cereal for an even more flavorful side dish.
- It’s also good in desserts – mashed avocado can be mixed with cocoa and sweetener for a delicate, dairy-free dessert.
- Slice and salt an avocado – and eat with a spoon straight from the peel.
- To test the freshness of an avocado, at the store, remove the remaining branch from the top of the avocado. If everything underneath is green, take the fruit. If it is already blackened – then the avocado is likely to be blackened inside. To make hard avocados ripen faster, put them in a bag together with bananas and leave them at room temperature.
Pomegranate
Pomegranates are rich in potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C and folic acid. It is preferable to eat pomegranate grains rather than drinking the juice, as the juice no longer has as much fiber and vitamin C as the whole fruit.
Eating pomegranates may help prevent chronic inflammation, which is associated with an increased risk of many diseases. Pomegranates have this effect due to compounds called punicalagins. As shown in test tube and animal studies, they have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Pomegranate extract may help reduce kidney stone formation, which is directly related to its antioxidant activity. And in animal studies, pomegranate extract helped regulate the concentration of oxalate, calcium and phosphate in the blood, which make up kidney stones.
Pomegranates are best eaten without heat treatment. Use its grains as a light snack. Whether you have pomegranate seeds or not is up to you to decide – but it’s even better with them, as they contain a lot of healthy fiber.
Asparagus
Asparagus is already appearing in stores, which is useful to diversify your diet.
Apparently, regular consumption of asparagus helps to lower blood pressure. This was shown by a study on rats with high blood pressure. In it, the rats were fed either a meal with 5% asparagus or a standard meal without asparagus. After 10 weeks, the rats on the asparagus diet had 17% lower blood pressure than the rats on the standard diet. The researchers hypothesized that this effect was due to an active compound in the vegetable that dilates blood vessels.
Asparagus is an excellent source of potassium. Studies show that increasing potassium intake while reducing salt intake is an effective way to reduce high blood pressure.
Asparagus is low in calories and high in nutrients, including fiber, folic acid, potassium and vitamins A, C and K
Asparagus can be bought fresh or quick-frozen – it does not lose any of its benefits when processed in this way. Eat asparagus baked with garlic and butter, boiled or braised in a pan.
Moyva
Capelin is a fish of the smelt family that lives in Arctic waters, as well as in the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
This fish is a good source of easily digestible proteins. Therefore, it is useful for athletes and those engaged in hard physical labor.
B vitamins and other nutrients that enter the gastrointestinal tract when consuming capelin, positively affect the nervous system, prevent the development of nervous disorders, improve mood, reduce the risk of depression. In addition, they accelerate lipid, protein and carbohydrate metabolism, contributing to weight loss. Selenium in this fish is about 10 times more than in meat.
Saturated fatty acids contained in capelin, contribute to the removal of “bad” cholesterol from the body, prevent the formation of plaques on the walls of blood vessels, reduce the likelihood of atherosclerosis.
Spring capelin is about half as fatty as fall capelin, so it makes an excellent dietary dish
There is a lot of iron in capelin, which is especially important for women. Those who have anemia, it is important to include capelin in the diet at least a couple of times a week.
It is convenient to eat capelin, as it can be eaten whole and not gutted. It is most delicious to boil it a little, and then fry it in a pan with spices and herbs. You can also bake this fish in a marinade. It is especially good with yogurt and sour cream sauces and garlic.