How Colorful is Your Plate?

I read somewhere that the majority of people eat an average of 11 different foods in a week. Eleven! Do you know how many different foods you eat in a week? Do you find that you eat the same old thing everyday? This week, I challenge you to toss something new into your shopping cart. Choose an item that you haven't had in a while or possibly ever. Be open to the idea of trying an atypical vegetable like a Jerusalem artichoke or fennel. Munch on pecans this week instead of almonds. Try some cashew butter on your apple with a glass of goat's milk instead of cow's.

One way of getting variety in your diet is to fill your cart with foods that represent each color in the rainbow. You could even have your kids help you pick them out. We all know that fruits and vegetables are Nature's body armor! By eating these foods we become better equipped to ward off cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and inflammatory diseases. Did you know that a major source of these protective phytochemicals and antioxidants are contained within the pigments of fruits and veggies? But different foods have different health properties. For example, the blue and purple pigments found in grapes, blueberries and other foods, have anthocyanidins that help to prevent smaller blood vessels in the body from breaking and protect against free-radical damage (Murray 2005;143). Get your daily dose of carotenoids, another powerful antioxidant, by eating yellow and green vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots. The key is to eat a wide variety of foods of all colors. A diet limited to only 11 foods deprives your body of some the wonderful health benefits.

Red
Fruit: apple, raspberry, strawberry, watermelon, blood orange, cherry, pomegranate,guava, papaya
Vegetables: red bell pepper, potato, radish, red onion, red chard, beets, kohlrabi, rhubarb, tomatoe, chili peppers

Orange
Fruit: orange, mandarin, tangerine, satsuma, mango, apricot, peach, nectarine, kumqut, persimmon, cantaloupe
Vegetables: winter squash, sweet potato, carrot, rutabaga, pumpkin

Yellow
Fruit: pineapple, banana, quince, apple, grapefruit, star fruit, lemon
Vegetables: corn, yellow bell pepper, squash, yellow beet, potatoes

Purple/Blue
Fruit: grape, blueberry, blackberry, boysenberry, black currant, huckleberry, fig, plum, prune, raisin
Vegetable: eggplant, radicchio, turnip, purple cabbage

White/Beige/Brown
Fruit: pear, cherimoya
Vegetables: jicama (very sweet & tasty), onion, cauliflower, parsnip, burdock, daikon radish, ginger, mushroom, mung bean sprouts, taro, cassava, potato

Green
Fruit: kiwi, honeydew melon, apples, grapes, avocado
Vegetables: bok choy, brocolli, kale, spinach, chard, cabbage, cucumber, celery, artichoke, brussel sprout, collard greens, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, okra, bell pepper, zucchini, asparagus and many more!

As Bay Area residents, we are fortunate to have weekly farmer's markets and natural foods stores that supply us with an array of these fresh, colorful foods year round. Take advantage this awesome luxury!

Thanks for being open to trying new foods. Post a must-try-item to comments.