An Easy Healthy Diet Plan

An easy way to get the full spectrum of antioxidants and nutrients from our food is to just follow the rainbow plan – be sure to eat a fruit or vegetable from every color of the rainbow every day. For example, here are some fruits and vegetables you can try from each of the colors of the rainbow:

• A red beet, red onion or tomato
• Carrots or an orange butternut squash
• Yellow summer squash
• Dark leafy greens or zucchini squash
• Blueberries or blackberries
• Violet or pale purple eggplant or turnips
• White icicle or daikon radishes

You want your shopping cart, and then your plate to display a wide range of colors. This ensures you’ll get the variety your body needs. A simple menu plan incorporating each of the colors from the fruits and vegetables above would look as follows:

Start with a roasted beet and goat cheese salad: roast whole unpeeled beets with a little salt and pepper at 350 degrees until easily pierced with a knife – 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the beets. Cool and peel the beets and slice 1/8 of an inch thick. Break up some montrachet (plain goat cheese) and sprinkle over the beets and/or add a splash of healthy salty-tasting vinegar (umeboshi vinegar is made with pickled umeboshi plums that provide the salty taste). Garnish with some chopped fresh parsley or chervil, or even dill.

For a main course, chop the rest of the vegetables (red onion, carrots, yellow squash, greens, turnips and daikon) into quarter inch dice, and sauté in a tablespoon of olive oil. (You can add a little protein – ground turkey, chicken, beef or chopped tofu – at this point and cook until done, but you don’t have to. Likewise you can add grains such as cooked brown rice or quinoa at this point.) Add enough chicken broth (homemade or low sodium store bought – look for one with no MSG) to cover and simmer for a few minutes, until the vegetables are all tender. Add salt and pepper to taste and some herbs if you like (dill would be excellent here). Serve with a dollop of sour cream, cream fraiche or even whipped cream, if desired.

For a healthy dessert, serve the blueberries plain. Or you can sauté them with a little sugar for 4-5 minutes to caramelize them and top with whipped cream. You could also add a simple cookie like a ginger snap or biscotti. And voila! You’ve followed the rainbow for a very nutritious dinner.