Paint Your Plate

Posted on February 3, 2009

Last night my wife made an awesome fruit salad.  It had bananas, oranges, apples, and strawberries.  She just cut the fruit up into pieces and put it in a bowl –just pure fruit, no need to add anything else.

We were out of grapes, or she would’ve added those as well.  The fruit tasted so good after my swim and bike workouts.

We all know fruits and vegetables are good for us and that we should be eating them, but are we?

Here’s a thought from Walter Willett’s Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy:

“While any one fruit or vegetable contains dozens, maybe hundreds, of different compounds that your body uses for something besides energy, no single fruit or vegetable contains all of the substances you need.”

He continues:

“Painting your diet with the bold colors of ripe red tomatoes, crisp orange carrots, creamy yellow squash, emerald-green spinach, juicy blueberries, violet eggplants, and all shades in between not only makes meals more appealing but also ensures that you get a variety of beneficial phytonutrients.”

Consider this a friendly reminder to fill up your plate with colors from fruits and vegetables.  Mom was right, they are good for us!

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» Filed Under Fruit, Nutrition, Vegetables

Comments

  • Pingback: Blake Hagen

  • http://alifelesssweet.blogspot.com/ cathy

    Paint your plate – I like that! We try to have a variety of colors too. It makes a meal more interesting, and you’re likely to get a more complete range of the things your body needs if you keep your meals colorful. I must admit that we sometimes forget to go for color. I think that I’ll make paint your plate a mantra around here!

    cathy´s last blog post..So you’re ready to give up high fructose corn syrup…

  • http://CommonSenseLiving.com Carole

    We do things like that too. My daughter likes to ‘design’ the fruit salads. I like making colorful and crammed full of stuff veggie salads. I love all of the different flavors and textures in a meal.

    I think that’s why people get bored with healthy eating. They think of a salad as iceberg lettuce and a couple tomato slices. How boring is that?

    Mix it up and have more fun with your eating!

    Carole´s last blog post..Another Manic Monday

  • http://www.dietriffic.com Melanie Thomassian

    I love this quote, what a lovely image it creates in my mind…painting my diet with healthy food!

    Very inspiring, thank you!!

    Melanie Thomassian´s last blog post..10 Ways to Live Longer and Feel Better

  • Emily Hagen

    Wow, that colorful picture of fruits and veggies looks so appetizing! I love to paint my plate with colorful foods that are good for me.

  • http://insidejeffbergman.com Jeff Bergman

    My kids love painting and this woulf be a good way to get them to participate in dinner time. I will get them to “paint their plate”. Thanks for the great idea!

    Jeff