Eat A Healthy Rainbow Diet With These Super Simple Recipes
Goodbye boring foods - adding colour to your plate is the easy way to help your family eat healthy
You may have heard nutritionists say it’s important to eat a rainbow of foods. That’s because the colours in fruits and vegetables are not just there to make the fruit look pretty. From bright red tomatoes and green beans to purple brinjal and yellow, each vibrant colour in food is also a signal it contains a particular nutrient with health benefits.
So that rojak recipe you love is not just tasty, it’s a healthier snack because it contains a range of colourful fruit and vegetables, from red jambu merah to green slices of cucumbers and yellow pineapple pieces.
Other colourful food that are good for you include tomatoes and red peppers, which get their bright red colour from the lycopene phytochemical or natural plant chemical. It tastes good, but lycopene may also help to protect you from heart disease.
Purple is often a sign of nutrients called anthocyanins. Like other phytonutrients, these help protect your cells from damage that can lead to illness and disease. Dark green leafy vegetables are very high in phytochemicals such as vitamin C and carotenoids, which help protect against cancer, plus lutein to help protect your eyes and skin from sun damage.
Plus, eating such pretty fruit and vegetables makes dining more enjoyable, so you are less likely to mindlessly overeat. You may find you lose a few kilos without struggling and feeling hungry all the time.
So to keep your family healthy, it’s important that you eat a rainbow every week.
If your kids are picky eaters, start small. Try adding a few extra spoonfuls of yellow sweetcorn, green peas, and chopped orange carrots to their favourite stirfried rice to turn it into rainbow rice. Or add extra brinjal or long beans, Jicama or carrots to their chicken curry. If they are more adventurous eaters, here are delicious and very easy rainbow diet dishes (with an Asian twist) that everyone in the family will enjoy.
Berrylicious Smoothie
Blend 1 cup frozen berries with ½ cup yoghurt, Top with milk and blend. A scoop of iceceam or ground almonds is optional.
Tomato, Red Onion and Beetroot Warm Salad
Peel beetroot, cut into chunks and steam or boil until soft. Stirfry with thinly sliced red onions and chopped tomatoes. Serve with a dash of teriyaki sauce.
Superfast Banana Pancakes
Mash a small banana,whisk together with 1 egg and 2 Tbs flour to make a batter. Drop spoonfuls of batter into a hot oiled frying pan to make easy banana pancakes.
Yellow Chickpeas and Rice
Rinse a small can of chickpeas with chopped yellow capsicum, yellow cherry tomatoes and a can of drained sweetcorn or steamed, shelled edamame beans. Add to warm rice to add an extra boost of protein and colour.
Spinach and Bittergourd Omelette
Slice bitter gourd lengthways, scrape out seeds and pat dry inside. Slice very thinly. Slice half an onion thinly. Stirfry together with sliced spinach (you can use frozen spinach for this dish to make it even easier). Over medium fire, fry vegetables till soft, then pour in 2 beaten eggs. Cook for around 2 minutes till the egg has set, then chop the omelette into pieces and serve.
Indonesian Avocado Coffee Milkshake or Jus Alpukat
This Asian-style dessert is great with a shot of coffee, but you can leave out the coffee for a non-caffeinated version — kids also love it drizzled with chocolate syrup. You can also add more or less milk or condensed milk to suit your personal taste.
In a blender, blitz 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, flesh of 2 medium avocados, 10 ice cubes and a small pich of salt
Optional: 1/4 cup strong brewed coffee, chocolate syrup.
Brinjal Crisps
Everyone loves fries… but few people know brinjal makes a delicious crispy snack. These crisps are super easy and they can be stored for two days in an airtight container. See the easy brinjal crisp recipe here
Blueberry Microwave Mug Muffins
Make these in a mug for a sweet snack in seconds (almost). You can even use ready-made boxed cake mix or pancake mix to save even more time.
To half a cup of dry ingredients, add ½ Tbs butter and mix till it looks like sand. Add 2 -3 Tbs of milk and stir to form a thick batter. Fill half a microwave-safe mug with batter.
Sprinkle fresh or frozen blueberries over and push them down into the batter with your fingers. Microwave on high for approximately 90 seconds. Serve with a drizzle of honey or a sprinkle of Gula Melaka
Text: Bauer Syndication /ARE Media