Superfoods 365

At this time last year, my daughter Christine had just introduced me to Project 365. I was excited but also apprehensive about taking on the project, unsure that I'd be able to commit to take a picture every single day for an entire year - but 364 days later, I'm exhilarated to realize that I can, and did, do it! Technically, I have one more photo to take before I can actually say that I did do it but there's no way I'll forget to take that 365th photo!

Lately, I've begun to wonder what else I could commit to for an entire year and since getting healthier is one goal that I wish to achieve, I've created a new 365-day project for myself that I've titled "Superfoods 365". On January 1st, I will begin to add nutrient dense foods to my diet each day. Dr. Steven Pratt and Dr. Oz have lists of superfoods and I compiled a list to use based mainly on their recommendations; however, some of the items on my list come from other sources. Without making any other changes to my diet, I'm planning to add 5 superfoods per day. I can have more on any given day - but not less.

A few family members and coworkers are going to join me in this project but I've suggested to each that the number of superfoods a person chooses to add should be a personal thing. The number should be high enough to be a bit of a challenge but low enough to be realistic to stick to for an entire year. If you already eat 3 or 4 superfoods each day, 5 won't be much of a challenge, but if you're like me and eat little or no superfoods on most days, I'm thinking 5 will be enough of a challenge. If I follow this through, I'm thinking that I may choose to do 7 next year, but now, in my excitement, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I will choose any 5 each day from the following list of superfoods I've come up with:

Superfoods:

green tea, water, red wine

artichokes, asparagus, avocado, beans (string), beets, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cabbage (red), cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chives, corn, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, okra, onions, peas, peppers, peppers (hot), radishes, radishes (daikon), rhubarb, sauerkraut, scallions, soy, spinach, squash, sweet potato, tomatoes, turnips

acai, apples, apricots, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, figs, grapefruit, grapes, honeydew, kiwi, lemons, limes, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, papaya, peaches, pears, pomegranates, prunes, pineapple, pumpkin, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, watermelon

cod, crabs, eggs, flounder, lobster, salmon (wild), turkey

barley, beans, buckwheat, lentils, nuts, oats, seeds, walnuts

cinnamon, garlic, honey, olives, olive oil (extra virgin, "cold pressed"), kefir, parsley, sea salt, yogurt

sea vegetables, irish moss, miso, umeboshi plums, wheat grass

dark chocolates