My daughter recently asked me if my favorite colors were green and orange. My first thought was that I look awful in those colors, but when I asked her why she picked those colors, she said that orange and green are colors of lots of fruits and vegetables and I remind her to have different colors of food on her plate and in her lunch.
Wow! Has she really been listening?
This conversation reminded me of a very simple way to make sure one is getting a nice variety of nutrients in a meal. Make your plate look like a rainbow!
While this technique won't give your the statistics like % daily value of nutrients or calories, you can feel comfortable knowing that a rainbow plate has several food groups represented and you probably have a good balance of nutrients.
For example: Lycopene can be found in red foods like tomatoes or watermelon.
Beta-carotene can be found in orange foods like carrots and oranges.
Antioxidants are in many colors of berries (blueberries, strawberries..)
Green? Broccoli, bok choy, kiwi.... contain vitamin C and fiber.
These are just a few examples, and by no means a complete list.
Do you get the idea? If the plates on your dinner table(or in lunch boxes) look like a rainbow, maybe the pot of gold at the end will be your good health!
So, I guess I do like orange and green -- just as long as these colors are on my plate!
In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, when "we are all a little bit Irish", I challenge you to make a rainbow as part of your next meal and may your find a healthy pot of gold for you and your family!
Lauri (aka Leprechaun!)
P.S. http://www.mypyramid.gov/ is a great resource for finding colorful food ideas!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Rainbows and St. Patrick's Day
My daughter recently asked me if my favorite colors were green and orange. My first thought was that I look awful in those colors, but when I asked her why she picked those colors, she said that orange and green are colors of lots of fruits and vegetables and I remind her to have different colors of food on her plate and in her lunch.
Wow! Has she really been listening?
This conversation reminded me of a very simple way to make sure one is getting a nice variety of nutrients in a meal. Make your plate look like a rainbow!
While this technique won't give your the statistics like % daily value of nutrients or calories, you can feel comfortable knowing that a rainbow plate has several food groups represented and you probably have a good balance of nutrients.
For example: Lycopene can be found in red foods like tomatoes or watermelon.
Beta-carotene can be found in orange foods like carrots and oranges.
Antioxidants are in many colors of berries (blueberries, strawberries..)
Green? Broccoli, bok choy, kiwi.... contain vitamin C and fiber.
These are just a few examples, and by no means a complete list.
Do you get the idea? If the plates on your dinner table(or in lunch boxes) look like a rainbow, maybe the pot of gold at the end will be your good health!
So, I guess I do like orange and green -- just as long as these colors are on my plate!
In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, when "we are all a little bit Irish", I challenge you to make a rainbow as part of your next meal and may your find a healthy pot of gold for you and your family!
Lauri (aka Leprechaun!)
P.S. http://www.mypyramid.gov/ is a great resource for finding colorful food ideas!
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