Sunday, January 31, 2010

Add more color to your diet

When I go to the grocery store or farmer's market, I try to switch up what I normally buy. If I ate spinach last week, I'll buy kale this week. I'll get walnuts instead of almonds or quinoa instead of rice. I try to eat what's in season locally too.

Eating a variety of whole foods is beneficial for your health. Foods contain different types and amounts of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. For example, tomatoes contain lycopene, carrots contain beta-carotene, collards contain calcium, and egg yolks contain Vitamin D.

So this week when you're perusing through the grocery store, fill your cart with foods you don't normally buy. Buy colorful foods like radishes, butternut squash, avocado, purple potatoes, beets, blueberries or salmon. This will break up the monotony of dishes you usually make. It begs for you to be creative in the kitchen. You'll enjoy it and I'm sure those you're feeding will too.















An example of a colorful meal is my lunch from last Friday. It consisted of lentils (good source of non-heme iron), brazilian collards (great source of calcium and magnesium), and roasted sweet potatoes (full of carotenes).

Red lentils cooked with yellow onion, ginger, curry, allspice
Brazilian collards the greens were thinly sliced, so they cooked quickly with oil and garlic
Sweet potatoes roasted with coconut oil and cumin seeds

9 comments:

Sarah M said...

I've been really trying to do this lately! I usually just roast fingerling potatoes or have rice as a side dish -- but last week I decided to mix it up and get sweet potatoes. I love your approach to diversifying your diet, and it has given me the push to try doing the same with my meals!

natural selection said...

Nice one with the coconut oil and sweet potatoes you reminded me of a recipe I need to prepare!
Great nutritional advice we must do everything we can to maintain balance and spirit.

J

Unknown said...

thank you both! i hope to inspire others by writing posts like these. you're right everything in balance. thanks again for commenting.

The Design's Official Blog said...

nom nom nom. I want to go to the grocery store and buy avocados and sweet potatoes. I'm obsessed with swiss chard now. I love your site. You rock. :)

Nicole said...

I just got your blog from Jackie (Kershis) and I love it! We have lots in common...like spending the majority of the day thinking about food!

Nicole said...

I just realized I've been to your blog before - so funny you know Jackie too, what a small world!

Heather said...

I totally agree. I try to buy every color in the rainbow each week and incorporate them into my healthy vegan recipes. There is so much variety out there, especially at good farmer's markets. Thanks!

Simply Life said...

i do love the colors in this!

can I ask - how did you get your header so customized? I really like it and can't seem to find to much variety in the blogspot options. Thanks!

Mike said...

Roasted sweet potatoes are my favorite.