Fruits and vegetables provide our bodies with a host of nutrients required for optimal health and wellbeing. A varied intake is the best way to go because each type of food gives us certain nutrients that others might not.

Here’s a look at how the colour of a food can give a little insight into its nutritional benefits.

Red, orange and yellow foods

Foods of these colours, such as carrots, nectarines and citrus, are usually a very good source of the antioxidant called beta-carotene. Antioxidants help to minimise the damage to our cells which contribute to aging and illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. Beta-carotene is also what our bodies convert into vitamin A, a very necessary nutrient for good immune function and vision.

Try grating carrots and mixing them with a little lemon juice and ginger or slice them in half lengthways and roast them in the oven with a little honey and sesame seeds. If you find that you avoid oranges simply because they’re difficult to peel, opt for naartjies or other easy-to-peel citrus so that you still get the health benefits.

Dark green foods

No doubt you have heard that you need to eat dark green leafy vegetables such a broccoli and spinach. That’s because these foods are a good source of iron, vitamin A and vitamin E amongst others.
Pan-fry broccoli in some soy sauce to give it a little flavour, and blend baby spinach into smoothies, pasta sauces or add it to salads instead of crisp lettuce.

Blue, purple and deep red foods

These foods are also jam-packed with nutrients. Strawberries and blueberries are a wonderful source of vitamin C; berries usually contain the flavonoid anthocyanin; grapes have an antioxidant called resveratrol; and aubergines are a source of copper and B vitamins.

Instead of peeling and salting aubergines, keep the peel on and chop the aubergines into chunks. Roast them with other vegetables, mix them into chickpea or beef stews, or simmer until soft and then blend into a paste or dip.

 

Sources
www.livestrong.com
www.whfoods.com