conscious eating Hues of Health
BENEFITS OF A COLORFUL DIET by Veronica Hinke
From a culinary perspective, colorful,
plant-based foods add pops of color and flavor to a dish, and simple techniques can transform uber-nutritious fruits and veggies into crave-worthy delights. From tasty spreads and luscious dressings to pungent pickling recipes and rich soups, eating the rainbow can be a scrumptious and sustainable everyday lifestyle. Keeping a medley of wholesome
choices in the house is a good tactic to help a family adopt a rainbow-based diet. According to Registered Dietitian Olga Kras, “Not any single fruit or vegetable provides all of the nutrients we need. Making a variety of colors of fruits and vegetables visible increases the likelihood that they will be part of a daily routine.” When her children were younger,
instead of giving them sugary treats, she would cut fruits and vegetables into shapes with cookie cutters. “Tey loved opening their lunch boxes to find the fun shapes,” she recalls, noting the allure of visually pleasing treats. As the first- century Roman Apicius said, “We eat first with our eyes.” According to Sarah Stegner, co-
owner and chef of Prairie Grass Cafe, in Northbrook, Illinois, “Food is medicine. It is what liſts us up. When we allow ourselves to get run-down or we are tired, that is when we are the most vulnerable, and we reach for that highly processed, packaged thing. Tat’s when we compromise, and compromise leads to long-term illness.” Stegner compares food shopping to
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ating plant-based foods from every hue in the rainbow provides an exceptional array of health benefits. Rich in essential vitamins, minerals and fiber, vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables also contain phytonutrients
such as antioxidants, flavonoids, carotenoids and polyphenols that contribute to the color, flavor and aroma of such foods. There are thousands of phytonutrients and, according to a 2022 review of clinical studies published in Nutrients, these natural chemical compounds “play an important role in the prevention of serious chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension, along with different types of cancer or degenerative diseases.”
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a trip to an art store for the artist that is about to paint a rainbow. “Center yourself,” she counsels. “Don’t put anything into the cart that shouldn’t be eaten. Te key word is choice. If people don’t understand and realize what the choices they have are—for example, what herbs are and how to use them—then that is not a choice for them when they go home to cook a meal.” “It’s just fun to have foods that are
colorful,” says Erin Hoogendyk, a cooking instructor at Grebe’s Chef Center, in Wausau, Wisconsin, whose
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