I Can Eat A Rainbow

September 30, 2024 Carin Clegg, Paediatric Dietitian

We all know eating a range of foods gives us the essential vitamins and minerals our bodies need. But, did you know that the colour pigments in foods provide additional disease fighting capabilities and beneficial functional effects when we eat them.  Let’s look at the rainbow of colours.

Red, orange and yellow coloured foods give us carotenoids such as betacarotene, beta cryptothanxin and lutein.

Betacarotene converts to vitamin A, helping to maintain healthy mucous membranes and healthy eyes.  Lutein prevents cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.  These pigments also support intracellular communication, growth, development, immune response and have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties.

Lycopene, the red pigment, is a powerful antioxidant, reducing our risk of cancer and keeping our heart healthy.

Green sulforaphane, isothiocyanates, indoles and carotenoids, providing anti-cancer properties.  Chlorophyl has been shown to reduce allergic rhinitis. We all know our green leafy’s are a great source of folate important for DNA.

Blue and purple are anthocynans, powerful antioxidants, delays cellular aging, protect cells from damage and can help reduce the risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease. 

White and brown provide the antioxidants quercetin, kaempferol and allicin, the latter in the onion family providing antiviral and antibacterial in addition to anti-cancer properties. 
 

Most of us fall short of the recommended 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit daily for optimal health. There are many reasons for this:

• Learning to eat fruit and vegetables as a child is not easy.
  • Fruit and veggies come in lots of different varieties with varying colours. They can be made into a huge variety of shapes and sizes with varying textures and tastes which also change depending on the season, when it was picked and how ripe it is. 
  • As children with a small eating experience, we tend to prefer a limited range of foods, very much in contrast to our ‘foodie culture’ today and how our grandparents grew up eating.  
  • It can take over 14 exposures to learn to like a new food when it is presented in exactly, the same way. If prepared in different ways ie cooked vs raw and cut up or grated, they can appear to be a totally different food with a different taste, texture and eating experience.
  • Vegetables are physically difficult to eat.  The tough fibres need good jaw strength to grind them down during the eating process.  From 3 years old we develop this good jaw strength, to help us eat vegetables better.

• Vegetables are often thought of a dinner time food.
  • At the end of a hard day of play or school having the concentration, let alone energy to eat something a bit unfamiliar and not as easy to eat can be difficult.
• Frut and vegetables are not advertised as much as other non-nutritious foods
  • I think, if the amount of product research and money went into promoting fresh wholesome fruit and vegetables, we might not even know what diabetes or eating disorders are.
  • Our relationship with fruit and vegetables and even just wanting to choose nutritious, healthy foods over those discretionary or sometimes foods, needs to change.
• Cost
  • We all know eating seasonally is cheaper.
  • There are many fruit and veggie boxes available at reasonable prices and some of them even help to reduce food waste : Box Divy, Good and Fuggly,
  • Grow your own: Get inspired from your local community garden, Permaculture Central Coast meet ups and even the Edible Garden Trail, next one on in May.
• Time consuming
  • Yes, cooking vegetables can be time consuming but it is about prioritising your time in the kitchen and sharing the work in the household.  However, developing a good relationship with vegetables, such as growing your own buying from the side of the road or farmer’s market, the experience is totally different and the effort is worth the reward.

Here is how you can eat a rainbow over your whole day

• Breakfast
  • Top toast with tomato (raw or grilled), avocado, baked beans, hommus or a veggie dip
  • Add a side to eggs such as mushrooms, spinach, leek, capsicum, zucchini, asparagus
  • Try a Spanish omelette with peas, corn, mushrooms, tomato and onion.
  • Top your cereal with fruit or cook fruit into your porridge
• Snacks
  • Sticks and Dips. There are so many tasty vegetable dips out there but home made can be best. Try smashed avocado with cucumber and tomato mixed in, leftover smashed roast pumpkin, or home made hommus to adjust the flavours the way your family likes it.
  • Dippers can include carrot, celery, cucumber, green beans, snow peas, sugar snap peas, broccoli and cauliflower florets or stalks, different coloured capsicum or small leaves of cos lettuce or wombok cabbage.
  • Corn on the cob or popcorn
  • Roasted chickpeas or other roasted legumes.
• Lunch and dinner
  • Offer at least 3 different types of vegetables. The more the better will increase exposure and help the whole family learn to eat a bigger range of vegetables.
  • Place food in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves.
  • Try build your own meals: tacos, wraps, sandwiches, baked potatoes, 
  • Cook extra for the next day or 2 to reduce work in the kitchen
  • Offer soft cooked vegetables or soup if it has been a big day and energy levels are low at dinner time
  • Offer fruit in addition to vegetables at meal times

 Add more colour to your day with a rainbow of foods and feel happy, healthy and vibrant!