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6 Best Foods You're Not Eating

From watermelon to red cabbage, find out why these foods should be part of a healthy diet.

By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD
WebMD Expert Column

Some foods are so healthy they star on every nutrition expert’s super food list. But often missing on those lists are some nutritional gems or underrated foods that don’t get the attention they deserve.

Sorting out the best foods to eat is not always easy because the choices can be daunting. Adding to the confusion are overrated foods like salads that are perceived to be good for you but can be health horrors.

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Here are six foods not typically thought of as nutritional powerhouses that can definitely upgrade your diet. Getting to know them -- and understanding more about the nutritional goodness of foods in general -- will help you to make more informed choices that can impact your health, weight, and wallet.

Criteria for the Best Foods

In order to make our best list, foods had to be whole foods that are familiar, widely available, affordable, nutrient-rich -- and most importantly, taste great. After all, what good is a super food if it isn’t a culinary delight?

Beyond the obvious ‘health halo’ super foods like blueberries, nuts, and salmon, WebMD asked nutrition experts for their opinion of the best underrated foods that belong on your menus. Here are their top six picks:

1. Beans and Lentils

Make no beans about it, beans and lentils are among the most overlooked items in the grocery store. Beans really are nutrition superstars rich in protein, fiber, complex carbs, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc.

New York-based nutrition consultant and author of Read It Before You Eat It, Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD says healthy foods like beans and lentils defy the recommendation to only shop the perimeter of the grocery store. “There are hundreds of essential foods like beans and lentils lining the shelves in the center aisles that should not be overlooked.”

Versatile and easy on your wallet, Taub-Dix suggests lowering the sodium in canned beans by approximately 40% by thoroughly rinsing the beans in water.

Elisa Zied, MS, RD, author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips, says we don’t come close to eating the three cups a week recommended by the U.S. government's 2005 Dietary Guidelines. “Eating a diet rich in legumes can help promote weight loss and has been shown to lower LDL [low-density "bad" cholesterol] and raise HDL [high-density "good" cholesterol],” she says.

Toss these nuggets into soups, stews, salads, grain medleys, or greens or create a veggie dip by pureeing beans and adding your favorite seasoning, like hummus made from chickpeas.

2. Watermelon

Watermelon is everyone’s favorite summertime fruit. But because it is so naturally sweet, some people avoid it because they think it is high in sugar.

Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD and author of Expect the Best, says watermelon should be a staple in everyone’s diet. “It is fun to eat, sweet, juicy, low in calories, and chock full of vitamins C, A, potassium, and lycopene. Because it is so high in water, it helps meet fluid needs.”

A bonus is that the thick peel keeps pesticides far from the flesh, earning it a spot on the Environmental Working Groups ‘clean 15’ produce with least pesticide residue.

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