Eat the Rainbow

Paint your plate with vibrant veggies as we look at why eating a variety of fruits and veggies matters.

Getting enough fruits and vegetables of every colour is crucial if you want to get the full range of beneficial vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants needed for optimal health.

Why Eat More Veg?

The different pigments in produce are tied to specific health benefits. For example, orange and red veggies contain carotenoids like beta-carotene for immune function. Green vegetables have antioxidants like lutein for eye health. Blue and purple foods provide anthocyanins to protect the heart and brain.

Aim to fill your plate each day with vibrant reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, and purples. Eating the rainbow ensures your body gets diverse phytonutrients, fights disease, reduces inflammation and functions at its best. Eating the rainbow is a tasty way to energise your body and mind.

Studies Confirm It

Research shows eating a variety of fruits and veggies is linked to better health:

• Eating many types of produce daily is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16822929).

• A high-diversity diet of fruits and vegetables provides optimal antioxidant status (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25073113).

• Variety and quantity of vegetable intake reduces inflammatory markers associated with diseases (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15929689).

How to Eating More Veg

Here are some tips to add more colourful fruits and vegetables into your daily diet:

• Keep frozen produce on hand for quick additions to meals and smoothies.

• Snack on raw veggies and fruits throughout the day.

• Search for new recipes that use veg you don't normally buy.

• Set goals to try a new fruit or vegetable each week.

• Grill or roast a variety of vegetables for easy side dishes and meal prep.

• Make vegetable-based soups, salads, and smoothies.

My Favourite Ways to Get More Fruit & Veg in Your Diet

I have two ways that really helped me to get to a good level of veg intake and add plenty of different varieties and colours to my daily diet.

The first thing I did was to add some plant-based meals to my weekly meal plan. Super easy to do and it also worked out healthier and cheaper, as we were then eating less meat!

Secondly, I started getting veg box deliveries. That automatically meant I had a good range of seasonal fruit and veg arriving each week. Right now I usually have https://www.riverford.co.uk/ once a fortnight for really delicious organic veggies. On the weeks in between I have a delivery from https://www.oddbox.co.uk/ to do my bit to help reduce waste.

There are also a couple of local companies I wan to try out.

Let the rainbow guide you to better health! Consistently eating fruits and veggies of every colour each day provides a wide spectrum of benefits.

If you need extra support to increase your fruit and veg intake, I invite you to join my 3-week Eat the Rainbow Challenge in the Nourish Insiders community. I provide tips, recipes, and a welcoming space to help you eat more vibrant veggies (and fruit)

Wishing you a healthy, colourful diet!

Debbie