Today I have been getting my exercise by preparing garden beds for planting corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant and more. It has been a perfect spring afternoon- sunny, warm and breezy with white puffy clouds decorating the blue sky. I am dreaming of harvesting summer vegetables of all the colors of the rainbow while I push wheelbarrow loads of manure up hill. I know my hard work will pay off in good health. I’m getting in shape and banking on harvesting delicious, nutritious, organic vegetables and fruits all summer. I am already harvesting salad greens, radishes and onions from the garden this spring. It is so easy to eat lots of veggies when they are growing right outside!
Did you know that each different color of fruit and vegetable has its own spectrum of vitamins and nutrients? It’s true. That’s why, for optimal health, I recommend eating fresh produce of every color of the rainbow every day. Another benefit of eating a varying colored diet is all the fun you can have turning healthy meals into works of art. On that note, it’s time for me to make dinner. I like to challenge myself to see how many different colors of veggies I can get in one meal. A beet, carrot, onion, broccoli and chard stir-fry makes a pretty complete rainbow, for example.
On Thursday, I’ll continue the discussion with details on which vitamins are associated with each color and give examples of each. I’ll also explain the reasons why we need the nutrients found in fruits and veggies of all the colors of the rainbow so that you will be motivated to eat more of them. Happy eating!
Margaret Philhower, ND
