Eat the Rainbow

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. While these are the colors in the rainbow, they also represent the different colored fruits and vegetables that are an essential part of a healthy eating plan. Fruits and vegetables are high in vitamins, minerals, low in fat and calories, help control your weight and blood pressure, and are likely to reduce the risk of some chronic diseases, like cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Incorporating fruits and vegetables can be as easy as 1,2,3……at your next meal, choose a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables and fill half of your plate with produce!

Add color to your meal with fruits and vegetables in June to celebrate National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month. Throughout the month of June, challenge yourself and your family to try new fruits and vegetables or incorporate them more into your meals and snacks. Here is a list of suggestions from fruitsandveggies.org to add more variety, color, and how to create a rainbow on your plate:

1. Make a tropical rainbow fruit salad with fruits from these colors: orange, pink, and purple.
2. Sauté your own medley of mixed vegetables.
3. Make a fruit-sicles: puree your favorite fruit such as melon, peaches, banana and/or berries with 100% fruit juice. Freeze in ice cube trays, paper cups, or popsicle molds for a refreshing treat.
4. Make a dried fruit and nut mix for snacks: dried apples, apricots, cranberries, peaches, pears, cherries, and mixed nuts.
5. On a busy night, check out the unique combination of veggies in your freezer to build a meal – a quick stir-fry, vegetable soup or stew, or a frittata.

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