8 Food Combos That Are Best Friends

Eating a well balance diet that meets your nutrition needs is a powerful way to optimise your health. The types of foods you eat together can also influence the amounts of nutrients that your body receives.

Here are 8 nutrient combos that give your body more ‘bang for your buck’:

1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Tomato

Extra virgin olive oil has many health benefits including being a heart healthy monounsaturated fat. It also helps your body to absorb lycopene found in tomatoes. Lycopene is a fat-soluble antioxidant linked to benefits such as helping to protect your skin, heart health and may reduce your risk of certain cancers e.g. prostate cancer.

Here is a meal idea to tempt your taste buds, soup with a side of toasted sourdough bread, tomato and cream cheese. Pick your favourite soup but, if you add one with tomato this will add an extra bonus for your body. The lycopene found in tomatoes is better absorbed by your body when it is processed such as in a tomato soup.

Sourdough, Cream Cheese and Tomato Toast

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1-2 slices of traditionally made sourdough bread toasted (or 2 Corn Thins slices)

50g low fat cream cheese

1 medium tomato – sliced

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

1 small garlic clove -crushed

2 basil leaves – sliced thinly

1 teaspoon of oregano

2. Yoghurt and Banana

A delicious combination regardless of the health benefits but there is good news. Banana contains inulin, a prebiotic soluble fibre. Inulin not only promotes the health of your gut but also enhances the amount of calcium that your body absorbs from the yoghurt. Good news for your bones and muscle contractions!

Tip: There are a lot of different yoghurts out there. To make it easy to select one without potentially the same or more sugar than an ice cream opting for a plain yoghurt is always a win. The banana can help add sweetness and if needed adding cinnamon can also help.

3. Avocado and Onion

Onions contain a compound called quercetin; this is a fat-soluble antioxidant flavonoid. This health promoting compound is better absorbed with fat such as avocado.

4. Hummus and Capsicum

Capsicums are a great snack dipped in hummus. Good news for your body is this combination is a win for your body as the vitamin C in the capsicum can enhance the non-haem iron found in the hummus by up to four times!

If it interests you there is now high protein hummus available in the supermarket which can help make this combo meet the recommended 15g of protein for a snack.

5. Egg and Cheese

This combo is a perfect match in a sandwich with salad and also a win for your body. The vitamin D found in egg yolk is needed for your body to better absorb the calcium found in cheese.

Try this delicious recipe from Corn Thins which has the smart combo included: Egg, Cheese, Ham (or Turkey),

6. Nut Butter and Sweet Potato

Sweet potato toast and nut better are a match made in sweet heaven. Sweet potato is jam packed with beta-carotene. This is a precursor to vitamin A and is a fat-soluble antioxidant which helps your eyes to function at their best and also promotes the health of your skin. It is best absorbed with a healthy fat like that found in nut butter.

7. Lemon and Tea

Tea is a great ritual for self-care and finding stillness in your day. Above this benefit, tea has many health benefits for your body, including being a rich source of catechins. Catechins are a type of polyphenol that act as an antioxidant. Catechins can break down during the digestion process. Good news for your body is that the vitamin C found in lemon helps to protect these antioxidants and your body increases the amount of catechins that are absorbed and can benefit from.

8. Pine Nuts and Kale

This combination is great is a salad and also adds more wins than just taste for your body. Kale has a matrix of health benefits including being a rich source of vitamins A and K. These two fat soluble vitamins are better absorbed with fat such as the healthy fats found in pine nuts.

Try this salad recipe:

Serves: 4

• 6 cups fresh kale
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1/2 cup reduced fat feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small avocado
• Herbs and spices as desired

Take home message: Foods are truly amazing in what they give our body for health and function. What is even more impressive is how that can work together to promote even greater health for your body through smart pairing.