The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating

Maybe you should be eating more beets, left, or chopped cabbage.

Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but aren’t. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, aren’t always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,” to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but don’t always find their way into our shopping carts. Here’s his advice.

How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.

How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.

How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.

How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.

How to eat: Just drink it.

How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.

How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.

How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread.

How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.

How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.

How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.

You can find more details and recipes on the Men’s Health Web site, which published the original version of the list last year.

In my own house, I only have two of these items — pumpkin seeds, which I often roast and put on salads, and frozen blueberries, which I mix with milk, yogurt and other fruits for morning smoothies. How about you? Have any of these foods found their way into your shopping cart?