Can you reduce your risk of developing cancer? The answer is yes.
“Maintaining a healthy weight, moving more, eating plant-based foods and minimizing alcohol intake can lower your risk of cancer,” says Terri Taylor, board-certified oncology dietitian with HonorHealth Cancer Care. “Whole food, plant-based eating emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and culinary herbs and spices. Animal-based foods should be viewed as a small addition to the meal, not the focus.”
One of the best things you can do to prevent cancer is to eat a variety of colorful plant foods which provide fiber and natural compounds called phytochemicals to reduce your risk. Eating vegetables from the cabbage family, and orange and yellow fruits and vegetables, as well as dark green ones, are linked to a lower risk of cervical, colon, breast, prostate and lung cancers.
Are you ready to add more veggies to your diet?
Here's a recipe you can try. It’s easy to make and filled with cancer-preventing ingredients.
Superfood bowl
Meals in a bowl like this one are a quick and healthy way to use up your leftover vegetables and grains. Cooked bulgar or wheatberries can replace the quinoa. You can customize your bowl to suit your food preferences.
Ingredients
- One large sweet potato, chopped into ¾-inch cubes
- Two large beets, chopped into ¾-inch cubes
- 1 cup fresh Brussels sprouts, cut into halves
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- One (15-ounce) BPA-free can organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1 ¾ cups cooked from dry)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 tablespoon pure organic maple syrup
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 to 4 tablespoons hot water to thin
- 4 cups shredded kale
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 2 tablespoons roasted pecans
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Toss cubed sweet potatoes and beets and halved Brussels sprouts with 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper.
- Drain and rinse chickpeas. Place on large tea towel and pat completely dry. Discard any loose skins.
- Toss chickpeas with 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and cinnamon.
- Spread vegetables on one baking sheet.
- Spread chickpeas on other baking sheet.
- Place both baking sheets into preheated oven.
- Roast for 15 minutes. Toss sweet potatoes and chickpeas and return to oven for additional 15 minutes, or until chickpeas are golden and sweet potatoes are lightly browned on the bottom and fork tender.
- Allow vegetables and chickpeas to cool about five minutes.
- Whisk tahini, maple syrup and lemon juice in small mixing bowl to make dressing.
- Add hot water if needed to thin to pourable consistency.
- Place kale in bottom of four individual bowls.
- Divide roasted vegetables and chickpeas between the bowls.
- Add ½ cup cooked quinoa to each bowl.
- Sprinkle each bowl with pecans.
- Drizzle with tahini dressing.
Yield: Four bowls
Approximate nutritional breakdown per bowl: 396 calories, 14 grams protein, 12 grams fat, 58 grams carbohydrate, 10 grams fiber, 396 milligrams sodium