Eat the Right Veggies

How Do You Eat Enough of the Right Vegetables for Psoriasis?

Your skin responds to diet. Even some dermatologists are starting to explore diet changes with their patients before prescribing medication.

In the field of natural healing, practitioners have been preaching for years that a healthy diet can make skin look youthful and radiant. For example, nutritionists are constantly sharing recipes with patients to encourage them to eat better so their skin can get stronger, clearer and smoother.

Vegetables and fruits are an important part of eating for healthy skin. Adding healthy salads is one of the easiest ways to add eight servings of vegetables and fruits daily to your diet. One healthy salad at lunch could easily provide 3 to 4 servings of these life-giving and skin-nourishing foods, and dinner could provide another 3 to 4 servings.

Fruits and Vegetables are the Key to Great Skin

Salads are a lot more than lettuce and tomato with a sprinkle of croutons these days. Salads include vegetables and fruits, nuts, cheeses, chicken, turkey, fish, beef, lamb or buffalo. Within this realm, there are literally thousands of potential combinations. And as long as you are getting your four servings of vegetables and fruits in per salad, you are contributing to your skin’s improvement.

Here’s a recipe that makes the usual spinach salad come alive, and contains more nutrients than the traditional spinach salad.

Spinach Salad with Oranges, Pomegranate, and Pistachios

Yield: 3 servings (12 servings of vegetables/fruits)

Ingredients:

• 2 oranges, peeled with seeds removed
• 4 cups spinach
• 2 cups Romaine lettuce
• 1 pomegranate, de-seeded
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
• ½ cup shelled and salted Pistachios
• 3 tablespoons high-quality extra virgin olive oil
• Juice from one lemon
• Pinch of peppercorns

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, add spinach, Romaine lettuce, zucchini, cucumber, and red pepper. Toss.
2. Then add oranges in segments with the seeds removed, as well as the pistachios.
3. Toss again lightly.
4. Next add the olive oil and lemon and optional peppercorns. Toss lightly and serve.

With psoriasis, you need foods that will offer anti-inflammatory as well as antioxidant benefits. Curry is anti-inflammatory because of the curcumin found in it. Here’s a recipe that uses curry for that purpose.

Curried Chicken Salad with Nectarines

Yield: 4 servings  (13 servings vegetables/fruits)

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup nectarines, diced
• 1 pear, diced
• 1 cucumber, cubed
• 1 tablespoon green olives, diced
• ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 bunch watercress, chopped finely
• 1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped thinly
• ½ cup walnuts, chopped

Dressing:

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook chicken, let it cool, debone it and chop it into bite-sized chunks. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, add Romaine lettuce, watercress, parsley, cucumber, celery, olives, and green onions. Toss.
3. In the blender, blend mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, honey and curry until thoroughly mixed. Pour dressing into dressing bowl to offer on the side of the salad.
4. Add to the salad the nectarines, pear and walnuts. Toss lightly and serve.

Make a commitment to yourself to eat two salads such as these daily for 30 days. Take a photo of your skin now and at the end of the 30 days. You’ll be amazed what will happen.

Next page: recipe for curried chicken salad with nectarines.