Raisins provide you with several essential nutrients, and eating them daily may provide you with some health benefits. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 suggest consuming 2 cups of fruit daily when eating 2,000 calories a day.

Potatoes have a bad reputation for being high in carbohydrates and low in nutrition. While versions fried in trans-fat-laden oil or doused with cheese and butter might not be the healthiest options, a baked potato can be part of a healthy diet.

Chopping broccoli into bite-sized broccoli florets is aesthetically appealing, but if you throw away the broccoli stalks, your family is missing out on essential vitamins and nutrients. Broccoli stalks are edible and nutritious by themselves, or served along with the rest of the broccoli crown.

Pomegranates are known for their deep red hue and distinctive shape, round with a crown at the top. This fruit looks like royalty, and in terms of health benefits, it is. It helps you reach your recommended daily fruit intake recommendations, set by the USDA -- 1.5 cups for women and 2 cups for men.

Raw and cooked vegetables add flavor, texture and many nutrients to your diet. While eating vegetables raw gives you an abundance of vitamins and minerals, cooking certain vegetables enhances some nutrients. The average adult needs at least four to five servings of vegetables each day.

Corn on the cob is one of the best eating pleasures of summer. Cooking up good quality sweet corn is simple and quick. Steaming fresh, even frozen ears of corn is the quickest way to cook them and also preserves more nutrients than boiling.

Spinach has a place on the table for every meal. You can enjoy breakfast omelets stuffed with spinach, sandwiches topped with fresh spinach instead of lettuce and creamed spinach as an accompaniment to a steak dinner.

Pumpkins have been cultivated in North America for more than 5,000 years and are consumed the world over. But for some people, eating pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or carving Jack-o-Lanterns at Halloween can trigger allergic responses that, in rare case, could be life-threatening.

The process of pickling vegetables involves fermentation, often facilitated with the addition of vinegar. The high acid content of pickled vegetables discourages spoilage, which is one reason pickling was popular before the advent of refrigeration.

A sweet, slippery liquid, glycerin forms the backbone of fat and oil molecules. You can get food-grade glycerin, a byproduct of soap making, in bottles at drugstores, health-oriented grocery stores or the baking sections of supermarkets.

Bananas are portable, low-calorie and easy to digest, making them a good food choice for almost everyone. These delicious fruits are packed with vitamins and minerals and contain no cholesterol or sodium. Whatever size of banana you choose, you're getting a healthy snack.

Cranberry juice contains a number of nutrients such as vitamins C, E and K that your body needs. Along with being a rich source of antioxidants, cranberry juice contains calcium, phosphorus and potassium, and it is low in cholesterol and saturated fat.