Choose a Rainbow of Colors
In addition to eating enough vegetables it is important to eat a vari-
ety of these foods as well. The reason is that different vegetables con-
tain varying amounts of specific nutrients. For instance a serving of
leaf lettuce supplies a high amount of beta carotene but only a small
amount of vitamin C, while a serving of Brussels sprouts contains
high levels of vitamin C with a small amount of beta carotene.
One of the easiest ways to ensure that you eat enough variety in
vegetables is to use the “rainbow” technique. Choosing vegetables in
a rainbow of colors will help ensure a variety of nutrients. For exam-
ple, carrots and winter squash, which are orange, are high in beta
carotene, which is converted by the body to vitamin A. Many green
vegetables are high in vitamin C — a serving of broccoli, for example,
is very high in vitamin C. In addition to orange and green vegetables,
consider purple eggplant and cabbage, red peppers, white, green and
red onions, white cauliflower, yellow summer squash, brown mush-
rooms and many others. Each of these colorful vegetables contains its
own unique set of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.
A Salad a Day
In reaching your goal of 10 servings of vegetables and fruits per day,
it’s important to make sure much of this is raw. In fact, each meal
should contain some raw food. Salads, large and small, can easily pro-
vide this raw food. Your salad can be a snack, a side dish or, with
some added protein, it can be a meal in itself. Salad is a low-stress
food, with no cooking involved and minimal cleanup. The base for a
great salad, of course, is something green — fresh lettuce, spinach or
even young kale. Buy organic and buy often, but avoid iceberg lettuce
as it has one of the lowest overall nutritional values of all vegetables.
The little bags of baby greens are fine so long as you eat them quick-
ly. You can also buy whole heads of green- or red-leaf, Romaine, Bibb
and endive lettuces. Then, for a few days of really quick salads, clean
a whole head of lettuce, dry the leaves well (spinning works great)
and refrigerate them in an airtight container with a piece of paper
towel. Your lettuce will be ready to go when you need it.
Use a variety of raw vegetables such as carrots, chopped red and
yellow peppers, purple cabbage, tomatoes and avocados. Separately,
100 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH