Perfect Together

Peanut butter and jelly, chips and salsa or a burger and fries are classics. These combinations are delicious and we tend to gravitate to them.  Other foods are simply tasty and good for you on their own, but make them part of a pair and they offer special health benefits. Consider incorporating one or more of the following into your next meal or snack:
 
Banana & Yogurt – Yogurt is rich in probiotics (the stuff that improves the levels of good bacteria in your gut).  Banana is chock full of prebiotics, or plant fibers.  Combine them and it is a win-win for your GI tract. Try them in your next smoothie.
 
Avocado & Tomato – The good fat  (monounsaturated) in the avocado promotes the absorption of lycopene (a powerful antioxidant), which helps calm inflammation.  Decreasing inflammation can lower your risk of many ailments from your brain to your heart to your joints. Include both in your next bowl or burrito.
 
Strawberry & Peanut butter – Bursting with vitamins  on their own(C found in the strawberries and E found in peanut and all nut butters), yet combine them and they become a powerhouse as the C helps with the absorption of the E.  Reducing cell damage as we age are the benefits of this pairing.  Update your pbj by swapping the jelly with fresh strawberries.
 
Chickpeas & Garlic – Absorbing iron from plant proteins is harder than from animal proteins, but adding some garlic to the garbanzos can boost the iron you get.  Increase your iron and energy with this combo. Enjoy some garlic hummus today.
 
Turmeric & Black Pepper – Although these two are spices, not food, they are too impactful not to ihighlight.  Turmeric is “the” current spice darling of the anti-inflammatory diet.  Although the bioactivity of turmeric is low, but when it is combined with black pepper it manifests into a nutritional powerhouse.  Include black pepper in your next batch of curry.
 
So many things in our lives are better when done together.  Bon Appetite!