A diet full of color is the healthiest and can be one of the best tasting diets also. Americans do not eat enough brightly hued fruits and vegetables.
Phytonutrients are plant based compounds that help prevent obesity, cancer and heart disease. The “green” color group that we should eat more of includes spinach, broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, green beans and soybeans. For example, try putting some spinach in your eggs for a wonderful spinach frittata. These green veggies will fight Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration and lung cancer.
The “red” color fruits and veggies we should eat more of are strawberries, tomatoes, apples, cranberries, pomegranate and watermelon. They help our bodies fight cell damage, breast and prostate cancer. It is not so hard to add these to our diet in the summer, when everything is in season and is so plentiful. Make sure you do things like add tomatoes to your soups in the winter and still eat your apples for lunch.
The “orange” color fruits and veggies that would be healthy for us to eat are squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, apricots, cantaloupe, oranges, corn and pineapples. Visit me at eatdinner4two.com for some great ways to fix sweet potatoes. This group will help us prevent heart disease, stroke, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.
The “white” color foods that we should include in our diet are garlic, onions, pears and cauliflower. They will help reduce high blood pressure, high cholesterol and bone loss.
The “purple” colored grapes, figs, blueberries, red cabbage, eggplant, black beans and plums will help prevent memory loss, premature aging, cancer and heart disease.
So, next time you sit down for a meal, make your plate look like a kaleidoscope of color and your body will thank you for caring. Cover half of your plate with fruits and vegetables as they will make you feel full and you will eat fewer calories. The end product will be a great tasting meal and a healthy weight for you.
Brussels Sprouts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
