They say we eat with our eyes. I’m not exactly sure who ‘they’ is but I think they are right. A plate full of colorful beautiful food is much more appetizing than food that looks blah and boring. Besides being pleasing to the eye, natural occurring colors are usually a sign of a nutrition powerhouse. We’re talking about phytonutrients, antioxidants, and carotenes or in other words cancer-fighting chemicals, immune boosters, and vitamins. Bring on the colors!
Note that I said ‘naturally occurring.’ Food scientists are very talented at making food brightly colored – I’m thinking of you Rainbow Skittles and Cheetos.
If every meal was perfect it would contain fruits or veggies from each color group. However, I know that is much easier said than done. If possible, try to get at least two colors on your plate. For example if you are having a bowl of pasta with red sauce try to add some green by throwing some spinach in with the pasta. (I’m always adding spinach to random meals to get some green on my plate.)
*Side note: That baby bok choy is such a scene stealer! Who knew greens could be so photogenic?
An easy way to get a lot of different colors is a salad. Well, of course I’m a dietitian so I always tell people to eat salads. However, salads are not the bad guys. I think they got a bad rap back in the day when people would go on diets and force themselves to eat horrible looking things like wilted iceberg lettuce and anemic tomatoes. That does sound disgusting. Good news! We now are in 2014, salads can be a beautiful thing. Also, they are one of the best ways to get tons of colors on your plate. I’m talking about crunchy romaine, sweet tomatoes, refreshing cucumbers, brightly colored bell peppers, and the list could go on. Sounds good, right?
At your next meal, challenge yourself to include as many colors as you can. Your body and your tastebuds will thank you!
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