Food

EAT A RAINBOW

Image: by Mikael F. “Pebres Butxi.”

RAINBOW VEGGIES

Eat a rainbow! That’s some of the healthiest advice you’ll hear. It means that you will be giving your body -- and mind -- an important range of nutrients.

Image: by Hannah Moon. “Rainbow Chard.”

That’s because colors are indications that a fruit or vegetable is high in particular vitamins, minerals or phytochemicals.

Image: by Stephen Ausmus. “Carrots of Many Colors.”

For example, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables (citrus fruits, gourds, for example) tend to be high in vitamins C and A.

Image: by Ian McKellar. “Fractal Cauliflower.”

Green fruits and veggies (kale, spinach, asparagus, cabbage, avocado) are high in vitamins K, B, and E.

Image: by Stefano. “Melanzombra.”

Purple veggies, such as eggplant and red cabbage, are high in vitamins C and K. Many purple beauties also are high in anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant that can protect against cancer and heart disease.

Image: by Liz West. “Peppers.”

Some veggies come in a whole spectrum of colors. Interestingly, the taste of a given vegetable is often no different from one color variety to the next.

Image: by Edward Peters. “Rainbow Carrots.”

Carrots push past orange to give us purple, yellow, red, and white fleshed roots.

Image: by Nick and Dana Blizzard. “Easter Egg Radishes.”

Radishes, in red, white, purple, orange, and fuschia offer a vivid spectrum in their own right.

Image: by Quinn Dombrowski. “Daikon.” Watermelon Radish.

We particularly love the hot pink and acid green colors of watermelon radishes.

Image: by Michelet-密是力. “Colorful Bell Peppers.”

Exotic colored peppers, -- in red, orange, yellow, green, violet, and black -- are now fairly easy to find in most urban markets and farmers’ markets.

Image: by Dustin_J_Williams. “ChardLines.”

Rainbow chard is an all-in-one deal. In one clump, you’ll find stalks in brilliant whites, yellows, oranges, reds, and hot pinks.

Image: by Rachel. “Rainbow chard, viewed from above.”

While many people only eat chard leaves, we love their multicolored stems. They add lovely crunch, and extra nutrients to a veggie sauté.

Image: by caldwellb02. “Farmers Market Vegetables.”

We love to see white, purple, yellow, and green cauliflower all together -- they look like a massive veggie bouquet.

Image: by Shira P. White. “Rainbow Carrots.”

Check out the Wholesome app, which can keep your food rainbow organized on the go.

Image: “Glass Gem Corn.” Courtesy of Native Seeds.

Glass Gem Corn sports a rainbow of kernels. This ancient variety was rediscovered by Carl Barnes, a farmer who sought to reconnect with his Native American heritage. He founded Native Seeds/SEARCH, a non-profit that sells the seeds online. They also protect the seeds in a bank containing around 2,000 rare varieties.

You can purchase a packet of the seeds here. Profits help fund their conservation efforts.

Image: by Marcia O'Connor. “Cauliflower.”

Read more about Rainbows all this week on BeautifulNow. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.

Image: by Kevin D Weeks. “Rainbow Chard.”

Want more stories like this? Sign up for our weekly BN Newsletter, Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest. Join our BeautifulNow Community and connect with the most beautiful things happening in the world right now!

Do you have amazing photos? Enter them in this week’s BN Photo Competition.

Image: by zzi. “Life saver.”