Guest Author - Alegra Bartzat

I have been a vegetarian, or some variation on that theme, for well over a decade. A meat-loving friend once asked me, “How do you know if you’re eating a balanced meal? Because I choose my meal based on what kind of meat I’m eating, and then I base the rest around that.” I didn’t have an answer right away, muttering something about, “I don’t know; I just know.” A pretty stupid answer, really, but the conversation moved on.

Later in the evening, however, I was still secretly contemplating the question. How did I know if my meals were balanced? How did I choose what I put together in a meal? And when I made my dinner that night, I discovered the answer. I rang my friend: “I base my meals on the colors involved. Tonight I’m having a Rodin inspired meal.”

My membership at the local CSA farm made sure the produce in my fridge provided me with a full palette to choose from.

Red foods often contain lycopene. Now known to especially benefit the prostate, lycopene is one of the many antioxidants that are found in prolific numbers in the rainbow palette of foods. Tomatoes are most famous, but even watermelon and guava provide lycopene.

Carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and even the tropical mango and papaya provide beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A. Beta-carotene is necessary for eye and membrane health, as well as being an antioxidant that particularly supports the immune system.

Oranges, peaches, apricots, and grapefruits continue the orange spectrum with vitamin C, an essential nutrient for general health and again supportive of the immune system. These fruits also contain flavonoids, which are another antioxidant and detoxifier. Bananas, yellow potatoes, some peppers, and lemons follow suit with vitamins C in the peppers and citrus, and minerals like potassium in the bananas and potatoes.

Greens abound in the palette, with spinach, lettuce, green chard, kale, and a nearly infinitely longer list of leafy greens. Greens provide natural sources of iron, calcium, and folate, which are easy to assimilate, especially when the greens are cooked. And of course they are high in fiber, creating a healthy diet. Cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower fit into this palette, and this family of plants are high indoles, lutien, and sulfur compounds that reduce your chances of cancer and support healthy immune systems. Greens are also a great source of beta-carotene; though you don’t see it, the orange is hiding behind the green façade. Also limes, grapes, sapotes, plums, and apples are part of this green spectrum.

Blueberries are a bit lonely in the color palette, making a “Blue Period” a la Picasso a difficulty, although some dark grapes would fall into this category, and even some sea vegetables. Purple shares the pallet between red and blue with some purple kales and chards, many grapes, plums, and berries. Resveratrol is found in the blue and purple fruits, which may help balance hormones, as well as a plethora of antioxidants.

Beyond the rainbow, you can add in a brown palette with brown rice, barley, quinoa, and other whole grains. The grains are high in protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Need the basic black and white in your color wheel as well? Turn to the beans for black beans, navy beans, garbanzo beans as the basics, and widen out with more browns, reds, and beiges as you please. These again add a source of protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, and more vitamins and minerals.

The best news of all this is that if you base your diet around the beautiful color palette available to you, you will be eating a diet that is rich in antioxidants, high in fiber, fill of protein and complex carbohydrates, and naturally low in fat. So paint your kitchen with the palette of your food, and find delight and healthy in the rainbow on your plate!