Healthy for You - Women's Health - Fresh Dish Post from Price Chopper

Price Chopper is celebrating National Women’s Health Week! We care about women’s health and want to empower women to make their health a priority. We’re calling all mothers, daughters, sisters, girlfriends, wives, and aunts – it’s time to make some healthy changes. Price Chopper is here to help!

National Women’s Health Week is an observance led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health. It encourages women to take steps to improve their physical and mental health and lower their risk of certain diseases through healthy lifestyle practices. For additional resources, visit our healthy for you resources on our website.

Eating Healthy Matters!

Studies have shown we make around 200 decisions about food every day. That’s a lot of opportunities to make healthy choices! Even after all the medical advances we’ve made in recent decades, nearly two out of three women in the U.S. still dies from chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease. You can reduce your risk by 80% just by adopting these habits.

1. Consuming a Whole Food, Mostly Plant Based Diet
2. Effectively Managing Stress
3. Getting Adequate Sleep
4. Avoiding Toxins
5. Exercising Regularly

Getting Started With the Diet

A great starting place is by adopting the number one practice on our list: Consuming a Whole Food, Mostly Plant Based Diet. Following this eating plan includes eating lots of plant foods in their whole, unprocessed form (such as vegetables, fruits, beans, lentils, seeds, whole grains, small amounts of plant fats) and minimal animal products such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs. At the same time, you should avoid heavily processed foods such as cakes, cookies and packaged snacks  that contain few nutrients and lots of salt, sugar and fat.

Health Benefits of Following A Whole Food, Mostly Plant Based Diet

• Decreased risk of developing a chronic disease (cancer, dementia, heart disease, etc.)
• Lower cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar
• Reversal or prevention of heart disease and diabetes
• Healthier weight
• Decrease inflammation and improve symptoms of arthritis
• Fewer medications

Find these plant-based items at your local Price Chopper

• Healthy cooking oils – olive, coconut, avocado
• Beans – kidney, black, garbanzo, pinto, great northern
• Seeds – almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pistachios, flaxseeds, chia seeds
• Lentils
• Green and black-eyed peas
• Organic edamame
• Barley
• Oats
• Brown or wild rice
• Quinoa – rich protein source; one cup of the gluten-free grain has 8 grams of protein
• Almond milk (or other fortified milks such as hemp milk)- these are fortified with B and D vitamins
• Hummus
• Leafy greens
• Sprouted grain bread or whole wheat bread products (whole wheat pita, whole wheat tortilla, whole wheat bread)
• Starchy vegetables – potatoes, yams, green peas, winter squash
• Non-starchy vegetables- broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, Brussels sprouts, celery, eggplant, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, summer squash, peppers, artichoke hearts, cabbage, Cucumbers
• Fruits – all fruits

Try Super Simple Homemade “Socca” Pizza

This mostly plant-based pizza is made from chickpea flour (also known as garbanzo beans). Socca is basically chickpea flatbread and serves as a perfect pizza crust! As a bonus, it is naturally gluten-free and the chickpea flour helps keep a great texture and flavor. Plus, chickpeas are cost effective and have been shown to lower bad cholesterol levels, decrease risk of heart disease and contribute to weight loss. Find the complete recipe here. 

Nutrition Facts:
(This recipe was calculated using pasta sauce and 1 oz. of mozzarella.)
2 Servings
Amount Per Serving (half of 10 inch pizza) Calories 485.2
Total Fat 33.8 g
Saturated Fat 5.9 g
Cholesterol 8.2 mg
Sodium 923.4 mg
Potassium 65.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate 33.2 g
Dietary Fiber 6.2 g
Sugars 8.1 g
Protein 15.3 g
Vitamin A 23.7%
Vitamin B-12 1.9 %
Vitamin B-6 3.1 %
Vitamin C 7.1 %
Vitamin D 0.0 %
Vitamin E 1.0 %
Calcium 14.5 %
Copper 1.1 %
Folate 4.0 %
Iron 17.1 %
Magnesium 2.5 %
Manganese 6.0 %
Niacin 0.5 %
Pantothenic Acid 0.3 %
Phosphorus 7.4 %
Riboflavin 3.6 %
Selenium 3.6 %
Thiamin 1.0 %
Zinc 3.1 %

*To decrease sodium- omit the salt and use a salt free pasta sauce.

More quick meal ideas for eating a mostly plant-based diet. 

Choose soup and salad as an appetizer, then fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables and the other half with a combination of starchy vegetables, whole grains and/or legumes (peas, lentils, beans. Top it off with fruit for dessert! Below are more ideas for easy plant-based meals. 

• Bean, rice and veggie tacos with avocado in a corn tortilla
• Whole wheat pita with hummus, tomatoes, red onions and cucumber
• Meatless chili with beans (or cut meat amount in half and add more beans)
• Have a grilled portabella mushroom burger or whole grain veggie burger with a quinoa and bean salad
• Make a lentil or split pea soup
• Have a fresh veggie salad with herb vinaigrette