
48 Foods You Need To Add To Your Diet Now
Need vitamins & minerals ideas? Well, here are 48 foods you need to add to your diet now.
Whether it is winter or summer taking care of our health and well-being is important and what we put into our bodies is part of this.
This blog post will tell you the benefits of vitamins and minerals and give you examples.
So if you are unsure what ‘Foods You Need To Add To Your Diet’ this is the blog post for you.
This post has all the Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, Seeds, Pulses and Grains information is here too.
You can also be creative and create your own personalised smoothies and soups or you can try some of the amazing recipe ideas that I found online.
Vitamins & Minerals

Benefits: Vitamin A Can Help To Promote & Support
- Cell Recognition
- Vision
- Immune Function
- Reproduction Function
- Growth of all bodily tissues, skin.
- Improves hair condition.
- Helps with acne.
- May help protect your bones.
- Too little vitamin A can have an negative effect on your health but so can too much. Try to include vitamin A fresh produce into your diet and avoid supplements.
Vitamin A Examples
- Carrots
- Sweet Potatoes
- Butternut Squash
- Lettuce
- Red Bell Peppers
- Papayas
- Mangoes
- Apricots
- Watermelon
- Cantaloupe
- Avocados
- Pumpkin

Benefits: B Vitamins Can Help to promote and support
- good digestion
- healthy appetite
- proper nerve function
- hormones and cholesterol production
- cardiovascular health
- muscle tone
- cell health
- growth of red blood cells
- energy levels
- good eyesight
- healthy brain function
- Breastfeeding
Vitamin B Examples
- Almonds
- Citrus Fruits
- Avocados
- Lentils
- Brown Rice
- Legumes
- Sunflower Seeds
- Garlic
- Bananas
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Kale

Vitamin C: Benefits
helps to protect cells and keeping them healthy.
Prevents Premature Greying Of Hair
Fights Dandruff
maintaining healthy skin, blood vessels, bones and cartilage.
helping with wound healing.
- Improves Your Mood
Vitamin C: Examples
- Green chili peppers
- Yellow peppers
- Blackcurrants
- Blueberries
- Thyme
- Kiwis
- Broccoli
- Lemons
- Strawberries
- Oranges
- Tomatoes
- Dark leafy vegetables


Vitamin D: Benefits
Helps create vitamin E.
Helps iron absorption.
A super antioxidant
Supports gum and teeth health.
Helps maintain psychological function
Supports the immune system
Helps maintain bones and cartilage
Improves skin appearance.
Reduces tiredness and fatigue.
Vitamin D: Examples
- Mushrooms
- Soy milk
- Orange juice
Shiitake Mushrooms
- Oatmeal
- Pumpkin seeds
- Legumes
Spinach
- Legumes
- Sesame seeds
- Dark Chocolate
Low-Fat Yogurt


Folic Acid: Benefits
- shown to reduce inflammatory markers.
- Promotion of brain health.
- Reduction of heart disease risk factors.
- Helps towards healthy pregnancy and baby.
- helps your body produce and maintain new cells.
Folic Acid: Examples
- Brussel Sprouts
- Peas
- Okra
- Asparagus
- Avocado
- Nuts
- Cauliflower
- Papaya
- Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
- Beetroot
- Pinto Beans
- Guava


Iron: Benefits
- helps make your skin glow by activating B vitamins.
- necessary for many important physiological functions.
- key to supporting the immune system.
- promotes hair growth.
- Helps to prevent hair loss.
- Promotes energy.
Iron: Examples
- Dried Fruit
- Broccoli
- Olives
- Kale
- Coconut Milk
- Quinoa


Benefits: Zinc Can Help to promote and support
- learning and memory
- treat the common cold
- wound healing
- Reduce the duration of a cold.
good for fertility
Zinc: Examples
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Dark Chocolate
- Spinach
- Potatoes – even better with their skin
- Cashew Nuts
- Tofu – Firm
- Pulses
- Soy Yoghurt
- Hemp Seed


Anti-Inflammatory & Antioxidant: Examples
- Ginger
- Tomatoes
- Cranberries
- Pomegranate
- Artichoke
- Leeks
- Tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Blueberries
- Lemons
- Prunes
- Pineapple
- Bok Choy
- Turmeric
- Raspberries
- Turmeric
- Rosemary
- Walnuts
- Celery
- Rhubarb
- Chia Seeds
Alkaline Foods.
Extremely eye opening, it will more than likely change your food habits for the better of course.


Juice, Smoothie and Soup Recipes
Low on ideas? Try out these Recipes
Need a Smoothie Maker, Juicer or Soup Maker?
Click here for my recent small home appliances blog post for great reviews & prices.


Vegan Banana Chai Lactation Smoothie
GREAT FOR NEW MUMS
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup prepared Chai Spice tea*
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1 frozen banana
- 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch cinnamon
Recipe by Izzah Cheema
Immune Booster Sweet Green Smoothie
Tag your Smoothie Images with #foodiecrusheats
Ingredients
- 1 cup of roughly chopped spinach and kale, packed tightly
- 1 1/2cups Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond milk
- 1 1/2 cups frozen mix of mango, pineapple, and kiwi chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
Acai, Pomegranate and Raspberry Smoothie


Full of Antioxidants
Ingredients
- 1 cup Acai Juice
- 1 cup Pomegranate Juice
- 3 cups Frozen Raspberries or 1 12-ounce bag
Vitamin C Thirst Quencher Smoothie


Warning: Flavour Blast
Ingredients
- 1/2 large red bell pepper
- 1 extra-large ruby red grapefruit,
- 2 oranges
- 1/2 cup water (if needed)
- Ice to make it cold (optional)
Sweet Pea Smoothie
A Super Glow & Boost Recipe
Ingredients
Puree 1 cup frozen petite peas, 1 banana, 1 small apple (cored), 2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, and 1 cup plain yoghurt or milk throw them all into a blender.
4 Cups, 2 Servings.
Recipe By Unknown.
I wish I knew whose recipe this is, do you know? I have had this smoothie made for me a few times by a friend who swears by it for hangovers and I can confirm it works. I asked for the recipe but it was word of mouth from an friend, who got the recipe from her mother and they got it from…
Cucumber Cleansing Smoothie
Super Cool Cleansing Smoothie
Ingredients
- Puree 1/2 seedless cucumber
- 2 Apples
- 4-5 Kale leaves, chopped – No stem
- 1 Large lemon – Juice
- 1 Cup water, plus ice to make it cold (optional)
Makes 4 cups or 2 servings.
Click Here for the full Cucumber Cleanser Smoothie Recipe
Green Goddess Immune Boosting Soup


What Doesn't This Soup Do?
Ingredients
- Spinach and other dark leafy greens: they’re high in Vitamin C and antioxidants to fight infections.
- Lemon juice: citrus fruit is high in Vitamin C, which boosts the immune system by helping to produce white blood cells to fight off infections.
- Broccoli: rich in anti-oxidants.
- Garlic: fights infections.
- Ginger: fights inflammations and toxins.
- Turmeric: an anti-inflammatory spice that’s been used medicinally for centuries.
- Cayenne: a powerful anti-inflammatory.
- Black pepper: like cayenne, it calms inflammation and promotes sweating.
- Wasabi: relieves congestion.
- Pumpkin seeds: high in Zinc for strengthening the immune system.
- Coconut milk: provides Vitamin C, anti-oxidants, and energy.
- Yoghurt: has germ-fighting probiotics.
Jamaican Vegetable Soup


Get A Boost, Warm & a Kick With this SOUP.
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 1 Red Onion finely chopped
- 2 Stalks celery finely chopped
- 1 Red pepper deseeded and finely chopped
- 200g Sweet potato cubed
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 tsp Minced ginger
- 1tsp Minced garlic
- 2tsp Paprika
- 5tsp Ground allspice
- Scotch bonnet chili chopped to your taste
- 450ml Hot vegetable stock
- 450ml Very finely chopped tomato
- 4 Sprigs of thyme
- Optional 450g Leftover coconut rice and peas warm before adding
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19 Comments
Basic with Life
I know, I am the same. I am a fan of smoothies and shakes, they would always be my preferred choice.
Basic with Life
I know, I felt a bit smug when I was doing the research as there were quite a few foods that I already love.
Basic with Life
Thanks for finding my blog post bookmark worthy. I love the breakdown it makes it so much easier for me.
Basic with Life
Thank you for taking the time to comment, I am a fan of shakes as well.
Jordanne || Ofaglasgowgirl
This is fabulous! I really need to vary my diet a lot more, especially when it comes to vegetables. I love my smoothies though, I much prefer making them with fresh fruit rather than eating them for some reason lol
Amie • The Curvaceous Vegan🎆 (@acurvyvegan)
Absolutely love this post, I was going through and noticing how many of these foods I already eat!
Sophia Patel
bookmarking this! Thanks for breaking it down by vitamin, makes it so easy to categorise food like this!
sophiapatel.co.uk
Pastor Natalie
Such an excellent post with great details. I also appreciated that you included shakes. Thank you for sharing this post.
Pastor Natalie
Letstakeamoment.com
Basic with Life
Thank you for taking the time to comment, glad you liked it.
Basic with Life
Glad you liked it. Thank you for sharing.
Basic with Life
Yes, I think this weekends shopping will be a bit more interesting than usual for our household. Thanks for commenting.
Basic with Life
I have to admit I do love a large serving of olives. Thanks for commenting
Basic with Life
I know, I was surprised by that one as well along with a few others, to be honest. lol
Dating Bitch
I love how you have this broken down into categories with each vitamin/nutrient and the benefits listed. Such a helpful way to present the info! Thanks for this.
readandreviewit1
Love this! It’s so important to make sure we’re getting the vitamins we need. I love the recipes you’ve included too, the Acai, Pomegranate and Raspberry Smoothie sounds like something I’d really enjoy! Thanks for sharing.
lynnmumbingmejia
Love this! I’m always looking to pack my meals with nutrients and get most out of whole foods. Thanks for sharing! x
Lynn | https://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
Jamieadstories
I am pleased to see olives on the list. This is a useful chart.
akadipakjadhav
These are lots of good benefits and really loved reading these!! Thanks for sharing such a quality information
https://bloggingtogenerations.blogspot.com/2021/09/Find-the-Best-Freelance-Writing-Niches.html
Helen
Awesome! I never knew that vitamin c prevented dandruff ! lol