What Is a Serving?

Last week our food focus was on “eat the rainbow”. This week we will explore just how much fruit and vegetables we should be consuming. Most research states 5-9 servings. Wow! Sounds like a lot. But it’s manageable. We can do this!

Eat Blue and Purple

Blue/purple fruits and vegetables should get their own space on your plate. Among other things, they contain powerful antioxidants called anthocyanins that can help boost brain function, improve heart health, and lower your risk of high blood pressure and certain cancers.

Anthocyanins are a type of phytonutrient called flavonoid. Besides their impressive heart and brain benefits, they also fight oxidative stress on the body and slow the effects of aging. There are more than 635 known anthocyanins in existence, and many are found in blue foods.

-Juli

Eat Green

Curly kale is a powerhouse of nutrition. But how do you cook it or prepare it? It does have a very chewy texture, but massaging it with a tiny bit of oil makes it tender. So relax that veggie with a good massage (each leaf) before using it in a salad. Don’t forget to remove the tough stem in the middle!

Another fun way to eat kale is to make kale chips! Lightly spray torn pieces of kale(stems removed) with non-stick spray and bake in 400 oven until crisp. Watch carefully or they will char and taste bitter. 5 minutes usually does it. Enjoy your day and eat green foods!

A single cup of raw kale (about 67 grams or 2.4 ounces) contains (1):

Vitamin A: 206% of the DV (from beta-carotene)

Vitamin K: 684% of the DV

Vitamin C: 134% of the DV

Vitamin B6: 9% of the DV

Manganese: 26% of the DV

Calcium: 9% of the DV

Copper: 10% of the DV

Potassium: 9% of the DV

Magnesium: 6% of the DV

It also contains 3% or more of the DV for vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), iron and phosphorus

-Juli

Eat Yellow

Sunny colored foods have an abundance of vitamin C. Studies suggest that these bountiful nutrients will help your heart, vision, digestion and immune system.

Other benefits of naturally yellow foods include maintenance of healthy skin, wound healing, and stronger bones and teeth.

That sunny lemon can be used every morning for a wake up drink!

Drinking lemon water helps digestion. Drinking warm water first thing in the morning with ½ a lemon, can help flush out the digestion system and rehydrate the body.

Eat Orange

Orange vegetables contain beta-carotene, a form of Vitamin A. It is great for eyesight and eliminating free radicals. The beta-carotene gives the vegetable its orange color.

Some of the healthiest orange colored fruits and vegetables are sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, carrots, mangos, oranges and papaya.

Try fresh carrot juice! Carrot juice benefits include:

• Promotes eye health

• Lowers bad cholesterol

• Boosts the immune system

• Combats constipation

What’s your favorite orange veggie or fruit?

-Juli

Eat Red

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. Genesis 1:29

Today we will look at the benefits of eating foods that are red in color. I believe God made so many different colors and shapes of food to make things interesting!

The same brilliant colors of the rainbow placed in the sky as a promise are the same colors that can wind up on your breakfast or dinner plate everyday.

So......... Red fruit, what do you offer?

Vitamin C, Lycopene and quercetin to name a few

Lycopene? Quercetin? What are they?

Glad you asked!

Lycopene gives red fruits and veggies their color. It is a powerful antioxidant. Did you know cooked tomatoes and sauces such as spaghetti sauce contain more Lycopene than raw tomatoes?

Quercetin is found in apples, cherries, red onions and other red F&V (fruits and veggies) and may help guard against colds, flu and allergies.

-Juli

Eat the Rainbow

Hello, friends! I’m starting on a new journey and wanted to invite you to come along!

Lately I’ve been feeling tired and blah. There’s so much pain and suffering bombarding us from all directions, and I am convicted that I must take steps towards a healthier body and mind. Would you like to join me?

Starting tomorrow I will offer a small challenge for the day. Nothing huge or unmanageable! This week we’ll focus on EATING THE RAINBOW! God provides so many fruits and vegetables in an array of beautiful colors and textures. (It won’t be hard at all to find something RED to eat tomorrow!)

I’ll also offer tips on what benefits different colored fruits and veggies offer us. Your tips will be welcome!

Who wants to join me?

-Juli