• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Recipe Hippie

Recipe Hippie

A free spirited approach towards Mediterranean diet recipes

  • Recipes
  • About
  • Must Have’s
  • Contact
  • Recipes
  • Must Have’s
  • About
  • Contact
  • Mediterranean Recipes
  • Chicken Recipes
  • Dinner Recipes
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Vegan Recipes

20% off your first order!

  • Mediterranean Diet Recipes
  • Chicken Recipes
  • Dinner Recipes
  • Vegan Recipes
  • Dessert Recipes

Foods To Always Eat Together

May 29, 2020 by Recipe Hippie | Affiliate Disclaimer
FacebookTweetPin

It’s not just what you eat, it’s what you eat it with. There are a variety of different foods who’s nutritional benefits explode off of the charts when they are paired with other specific foods (No, I’m not talking about PB&J!). Knowing which foods to always eat together will increase your absorption of certain nutrients and will help you reap the benefits of your food intake.

“Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates

class=”wp-block-image size-large is-resized”>

Spinach And Lemon Juice:

Spinach is a good source of iron, which fights fatigue, improves focus and helps to regulate body temperature. Vitamin C is known to boost the absorption of iron when consumed together. You can get 25% of your daily dose of vitamin C from the juice of 1 lemon! Not sure what to do with those cans of spinach? Squeeze a lemon over it and serve it in a casserole! Or eat a fresh spinach salad salad with lemon and vinegar!

Chick Peas And Onions:

Ahh chick peas! Such a versatile legume! Zinc seems to be the ‘buzz mineral’ of the media in response to the fight against covid-19. You might notice that most of the pharmacy’s and grocery stores are not only out of toilet paper, but they were also stripped of their zinc supplements. I have good news…you can get 20% of your daily value of zinc from chick peas! Okay, I also have bad news…the caveat is that there are certain compounds in garbanzo beans (aka chick peas) that actually inhibit the absorption of zinc. Okay, good news again!…If you eat chick peas with onions, these compounds are counteracted, helping you to absorb more zinc! So go check out my ‘Butternut Squash Boats with Sausage, Eggplant and Toasted Chick Peas’ recipe, and add onions!

Fitbit Charge 4 Fitness and Activity Tracker with Built-in GPS, Heart Rate, Sleep & Swim Tracking, Rosewood/Rosewood

Tomatoes and Pesto:

How many of you have a cherry tomato plant that is just about ready to bloom? Well, when you pluck those bright red vegetables, consider serving them in a pasta dish with pesto. The reason being, tomatoes are rich in lycopene, which fights free radicals. Fat helps you to absorb lycopene, and what better high in natural fat condiment than pesto?! Cooking the tomatoes in olive oil (or pesto which contains a lot of oil) will immediately increase the amount of lycopene circulating in your blood, which will help to fight those free radical bullies. (3)

Carrots and Fat:

Another food that loves fat are carrots! When beta carotene is ingested with a dietary fat, it facilitates the utilization of carotenoids which in turn aids in the absorption of vitamin A. So bust out that extra virgin olive oil next time you roast those carrots!  (1)

Black Pepper and Tumeric:

Curcumin, the main compound in tumeric, is difficult for our bodies to absorb, due to difficulties in the process of absorption in our intestinal wall.  The science behind why piperine, the main compound in black pepper, helps aid in the absorption of curcumin is not fully understood. But we DO know that it works.  The research does support that adding peperine to curcumin enhances curcumin absorption by 2000%! (2) Go check out my ‘How To Make Golden Milk At Home‘ recipe for how to incorporate the two!

Check out this Golden Milk with both tumeric and black pepper!

crispy tofu bites with tangy sauce, and a side of broccoli

Tofu & Broccoli:

Not your typical ‘Batman and Robin’ duo, however when you think of tofu, you should probably immediately think of broccoli. The reason for this is that tofu contains isoflavone, a glycoside that, when paired with calcium, significantly increases the bodys absorption of calcium. 1/2 of a cup of broccoli has just as much calcium as a glass of milk. A study done by purdue university found that when rats were given isoflavone and calcium, their blood calcium and bone calcium levels were significantly higher, concluding that isoflavones enhance calcium absorption (4). Go check out my ‘Crispy Tofu Bites‘ recipe to try them together!

Tranquil Yogi Natural Yoga Mat

Organifi: Sunrise to Sunset Power Box (9.5 Oz. Each) – Superfood Powder – Green Juice, Red Juice, Golden Milk- 30-Day Supply – Organic – Vegan – Immunity Support – Boosts Metabolism, Energy, and Sleep

Citations:

(1) Ribaya-Mercado JD. Influence of dietary fat on beta-carotene absorption and bioconversion into vitamin A. Nutr Rev. 2002;60(4):104‐110. doi:10.1301/00296640260085831

(2) Hewlings SJ, Kalman DS. Curcumin: A Review of Its’ Effects on Human Health. Foods. 2017;6(10):92. Published 2017 Oct 22. doi:10.3390/foods6100092

(3) Rinaldi de Alvarenga JF, Quifer-Rada P, Francetto Juliano F, et al. Using Extra Virgin Olive Oil to Cook Vegetables Enhances Polyphenol and Carotenoid Extractability: A Study Applying the sofrito Technique. Molecules. 2019;24(8):1555. Published 2019 Apr 19. doi:10.3390/molecules24081555

(4) Zafar, Tasleem A., et al. “Inulin Effects on Bioavailability of Soy Isoflavones and Their Calcium Absorption Enhancing Ability.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 52, no. 10, 2004, pp. 2827–2831., doi:10.1021/jf035080f.

Did you like my ‘Foods To Always Eat Together’ article? If so, go check out my ‘6 Ways To Stay Balanced During The Time Of Social Distancing‘ article!

Category: Healthy Recipes
FacebookTweetPin

Affiliate Disclaimer

My posts may contain affiliate links. Every one of the affiliate companies is a company that I stand by and believe in. If you choose to purchase something through their link on my website, you won’t pay a penny more, but I will receive a small commission. It helps me to continue to create great content for you! Thanks!

Previous Post:crispy tofu bites with tangy sauce, and a side of broccoliCrispy Tofu Bites
Next Post:Crispy Instant Pot Wannamango Chicken

Sidebar

Hey, I’m Liz!

I am SO thrilled to meet you!

I’m a Physical Therapy Assistant turned food blogger, and love merging my intrigue for the human body with my passion for all things food! I’m here to show you that enjoying a Mediterranean diet doesn’t mean that you can only eat Mediterranean food! I can’t wait to show you how rewarding the MedDiet lifestyle can be!

Recipe Collections

close up shot of a cast iron skilled with cooked orzo, shrimp, shiitake mushrooms and baked olives recipe

Mediterranean Diet Recipes

Chicken Recipes

Dessert Recipes

lemon butter pasta

Dinner Recipes

white rice porridge

Healthy Recipes

Vegetarian Chili

Vegan Recipes

About Me

Hello! I am the recipe hippie, and I am here to give you a free spirited approach towards home cooking. When it comes to the ingredients you have available, I challenge you to reject your conventional notions around recipes and think outside of the box. Substitutions are encouraged! So open up your pantry, get creative and have fun. Some of the greatest things in life originated through improvisation!

Recipe Hippie Newsletter

* indicates required

Hello! I am the recipe hippie, and I am here to give you a free spirited approach towards home cooking!

  • Recipes
  • About
  • Must Have’s
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2020 · Recipe Hippie · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding