We are constantly bombarded with information about what we should and shouldn’t be eating which can become confusing.

Caymanrestaurants.com has decided to go for a simple approach and provide an alphabetical guide to some of the healthiest foods you can add to your diet.

We’ll be going from A-Z and listing up to five fruits and vegetables that are packed with minerals and vitamins while also providing nutritional facts on their health benefits.

We’ve already covered A, B, C , D and E so now let’s get on to F.

Fennel

Fennel is a flowering plant that is part of the carrot family. Florence fennel is a tasty vegetable which has a bulb with thick, crunchy layers of flesh that overlap each other, and can be sautéed, stewed, braised, grilled, or eaten raw.

Fennel has several nutritional benefits and is a good source of dietary fibre, vitamin C, folate, potassium, and manganese. It’s also rich in calcium, iron, magnesium and copper.

Nutrition facts (1 bulb):

– 72.5 calories

– 7.3 grams of fibre (29% of daily value (DV))

– 969 micrograms (mcg) of potassium (27% DV)

– 28.1 mg of vitamin C (47% DV)

– 63.2 mcg of folate (16% DV)

– 0.4 mg of manganese (22% DV)

– 39.8 of magnesium (10% DV)

– 2.9 grams of protein (6% DV)

Figs

Figs are from the fiscus tree which is part of the mulberry family. They have a sweet taste with a soft and chewy texture and are full of slightly crunchy, edible seeds.

Fresh figs are delicate with only about a two-day window to buy and eat them, but figs that are dried soon after ripening, are just as nutritious and tasty.

They are rich in minerals including calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium and copper and are a good source of antioxidant vitamins A, K and E.

Figs are native to the Middle East and Mediterranean and were once held in such high regard by the ancient Greeks that it was against the law to export them.

Nutrition facts (1 large fig):

– 47 calories

– 1.9 grams of dietary fibre (7% DV)

– 3.0 mcg of vitamin K (4% DV)

– 0.1 mg of vitamin B6 (4% DV)

– 149 mg of potassium (4% DV)

– 0.1 mg of manganese (4% DV)

– 90.9 IU of vitamin A (2% DV)

– 10.9 mg of magnesium (3% DV)

Flaxseed

Flaxseed has been grabbing headlines recently after being touted as a potential superfood.

Cultivated in Babylon as early as 3000 BC, the medicinal benefits of flaxseed have been known for centuries, but some recent research has shown that flax may even have a protective effect against some cancers, including breast and colon, as well as heart and lung disease.

The seeds are also a rich source of fibre and protein as well as vitamins and minerals including thiamin, manganese, phosphorous, magnesium and copper.

Nutrition facts (1 cup):

– 897 calories

– 30.7 grams of protein (61% DV)

– 45.9 grams of dietary fibre (183% DV)

– 4.2 mg of manganese (208% DV)

– 2.0 mg of copper (102% DV)

– 2.8 mg of thiamin (184% DV)

– 9.6 mg of iron (53% DV)

– 42.7 mcg of selenium (61% DV)

French green beans (also known as Haricot)

French green beans are the type of vegetable that can accompany any main meal.

In fact, there are approximately 150 varieties of green beans throughout the world that come in all shapes and colours, but despite their varied appearance (and names) their nutritional content and health benefits are similar.

French green beans are high in fibre and are a rich source of vitamins including A, C, K, B6, thiamin and folic acid. In terms of minerals, they’re also a good source of calcium, silicon, iron, manganese, potassium, and copper.

Nutrition facts (1 cup):

– 228 calories

– 12.5 grams of protein (25% DV)

– 16.6 grams of dietary fibre (67% DV)

– 43.5 mg of carbohydrate (14% DV)

– 99.1 mg of magnesium (25% DV)

– 655 mg of potassium (19% DV)

– 0.2 mg of thiamin (15% DV)

– 0.7 mg of manganese (34% DV)

Watch out for the rest of the healthy food alphabet in this series to be published on caymanrestaurants.com.

Sources: The Food Coach / BBC Good Food / Organic Facts / Nutrition Data / WebMD

By Karen Rollins

Karen is the senior writer for Yello Media Group of which Caymanrestaurants.com is a subsidiary, and this article originally published on Findyello.com in 2020.