You don't have to hit a health food store to find foods that help you lose weight, boost your energy and stay healthy. They're right in your grocery aisle!
Here are the top 12 superfoods you can easily find, plus 12 simple, inexpensive recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Photo: Alison Gootee/Studio D; prop styling by Matthew Gleason
Nonfat Ricotta Cheese
Ricotta boasts three times the calcium of cottage cheese and is made from whey protein, a nutrient that may help you lose weight by preserving muscle (which you lose with age, causing your metabolism to slow).
Photo: Alison Gootee/Studio D; prop styling by Matthew Gleason
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Peanut Butter
This spread has more than 30 essential vitamins and minerals, including niacin, a B vitamin that helps you burn calories. PB's combo of healthy fats, fiber and a compound called resveratrol also make it good for your heart.
Photo: Thinkstock
(See also: Taste Test: Healthy Sugar Alternatives)
Wild Canned Salmon
One 3.5-oz can has 1,100 mg of brain- and heart-healthy omega-3 fats. Salmon is also a great source of bone-building vitamin D (78% of your daily needs per can).
Photo: Alison Gootee/Studio D; prop styling by Matthew Gleason
Oatmeal
A heart health must-have, oats are filled with a cholesterol-lowering fiber called beta-glucan as well as iron, a mineral that your body needs to carry oxygen to your muscles and other tissue. And with 4 g total fiber per half-cup, oatmeal helps you stay full longer—and keeps you regular too!
Photo: iStock
Cabbage
All colors of this vegetable are loaded with compounds that may help fight breast cancer. Cabbage is also a top source of bone-strengthening vitamin K.
Photo: Alison Gootee/Studio D; prop styling by Matthew Gleason
Canned Tomatoes
Tomatoes are packed with vitamin C, which helps produce collagen, a protein that keeps skin firm, and lycopene, an antioxidant that protects your skin from the sun. Your body absorbs lycopene better from cooked tomatoes, making the canned option a great source.
Photo: iStock
Whole-Wheat Pasta
Eating three or more servings of whole grains (such as whole-wheat pasta) each day can help reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
Whole grains are diet-friendly too: One study found that women who ate more whole grains weighed less and had smaller waists than women who rarely ate them.
Photo: Alison Gootee/Studio D; prop styling by Matthew Gleason
