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Olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruit, vegetables, and red wine … not only do these ingredients sound like a recipe for a delicious meal, but as it turns out, they can also save your life.

According to new findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine, about 30% of heart attacks, strokes, and deaths from heart disease can be prevented in high-risk individuals if they switch to the Mediterranean diet. Although people in Mediterranean countries always seemed to have lower rates of heart disease, it had never been conclusively proven that it was because of their famed diet of olive oil, plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit, very little red meat, and lots of red wine.

It’s no secret that eating nutrient-poor processed snack foods won’t keep you healthy. Laden with sugar, salt, and fat, indulging in them fill us up and take the place of foods that have the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that give us energy and keep our systems running.

Though serving sizes and nutritional information are clearly labeled on packages, most people have trouble putting down snacks after eating one serving. Why is this?

The truth is that food manufacturers carefully study what makes a snack crave-worthy to make them more addictive. Researching which colors, textures, flavors and levels of sweetness or saltiness maximize the bliss point, scientists design foods to create constant cravings and boost profits for food manufacturers.

A recent New York Times article reveals that the food industry has used science for years to create addictive junk food. The results of their science experiments have altered the way we eat – fewer set meal times and more frequent grazing or all-day snacking. The consequences have yielded a growing health crisis with increasing numbers of people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension.

We’re all looking for balance in our lives, but just as important is balance on our plates. By eating foods that work together as a team, instead of against one another, we can regain energy, create healthy cravings, and leave behind the bloated feeling. To avoid “ping-pong” dieting, eating one type of extreme food to alleviate the effects of the other, you can learn about what we call contracting and expanding foods to find balance in your meals and quickly increase your energy, concentration, and positive mood.

Contracting foods include salty foods and animal protein. When we eat too much, we create an imbalance and start to feel bloated, heavy, sluggish, and mentally slow. The more contracting foods we eat, the tighter our bodies become. As a result, we begin to crave expanding foods to find balance.

Expanding foods include refined white sugar and flour, such as breads, pastas, and cookies. These foods give us a brief feeling of elevated mood, but in the long run can give us feelings of depression, low energy, anxiety, and loss of concentration.

We all look for inspiration from time-to-time to mix up our regular meals and try something new. Nicole Smith, a recent Integrative Nutrition graduate from More Beets Please, shares a unique recipe for eggplant tacos. The quinoa offers a nutritious source of vegetarian protein, and the spices add a delicious kick of flavor. Not a fan of eggplant? Try mushrooms, lentils, or tofu instead.

These tacos are not only customizable; you can easily make the quinoa and vegetables ahead of time. Reheat the ingredients for a quick and nourishing dinner, or turn the leftovers into a taco salad for lunch the following day!

Eggplant Tacos with Quinoa

Vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients:

• 1 c cooked quinoa
• 2 c vegetable broth
• 1 medium eggplant, diced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Olive oil
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 t paprika
• 1 t cumin
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• Cilantro
• 1 avocado, diced
• Corn tortillas

Directions: