Rainbow Foods come in all the colors of the rainbow. They are good for you. Really, really 
healthy and easy to incorporate into your diet. You want to be nice to yourself this year, and that may include being a bit healthier too, right? It is so easy to get sidetracked in your health efforts though. Society, jobs and stress levels tend to take over from those initial days of the year when we are inspired by New Year’s resolutions. Read on how to get yourself on track to a ‘New You‘. If this is the year you’ve decided to get into shape, and out of energy draining habits – well… Rainbow Foods is a great and easy start.
Do you need tips, tools, and motivation for a healthy lifestyle change? Learn More
Rainbow Foods: What Are They?
The basic idea is that we need to think clean, natural foods. This means trying to avoid processed products that are man-made. If Mother Nature made the food, it is good for you. Your body can deal with natural, whereas processed foods confuse the metabolic system.
The kicker is that natural, clean foods that vibrate with color boost you on every level. Body and mind get into a better place. As a rule of thumb start by looking at food in terms of color. Think: color is good, and white less so. Why is this?
White Foods
White foods are a name that is given to foods that have been processed and is white in color. When you process and refine foods you strip them on natural fibers and add chemicals and bi-products that impact your overall health.
To change your food habits, you can start by cutting down on white processed products like flour, rice, pasta, bread, crackers, cereal, and simple sugars like table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.
Natural, unprocessed white foods, such as beans, potatoes, onions, cauliflower, turnips, 
are made by Mother Nature and hence do not fall into the same category. Use your logic here though, as your health-boosting efforts will go downhill if you deep-fry and add loads of butter, cream, and cheese 🙂
The difference between refined white foods and their healthier counterparts is processing and fiber. The processed, refined white foods are so-called simple carbohydrates, whereas the natural ones are complex. You need to strive to eat complex carbs rather than simple ones, which means getting into the whole grains, wild rice, legumes, seeds, nuts and as many fruit and vegetables as you can of course.
Eating In Colour: Rainbow Foods
Mother Nature is clever and has color coded nutrients in all natural foods. Knowing a bit about why certain colors boost your health, can give you a good indication that we need to eat more than one color a day. If you are looking for how many portions of vegetables and fruit we need – take a look at this post from The GOODista: Portion Contortion: Size Matters For Your Healthy Diet.
Getting to grips with that fact that we need to eat from all food groups is equally as important. Fruit and Vegetables need to take center stage again, rather than being a side dish or an afterthought. If you are unsure about the food groups and why they are so important to check out this post: How to become a Food Groupie and Health Wealthy
Rainbow Foods: Colour Me Happy
We know that blueberries are a superfood, but the blue colour (also called anthocyanins) can also keep your mind sharp, the lycopene that turns watermelon and tomatoes red may also help protect against cancers, and the beta-carotene that makes carrots and sweet potatoes orange can help keep your bones strong, your eyes healthy and boost your immune system. Color me happy!
Rainbow Foods: Colour Code Chart
Your ‘New You‘ will be looking to eat less processed foods and more of what Mother Nature has made. In essence, that means more fruit and vegetables. A rainbow food color code chart to help you out is here:
Red: Good for heart health, healthy blood pressure and are strong cancer combatants and they also give strength and support to our joints.
Orange: A great source of Vitamin C. The orange group helps vision and immune function, as well as skin and bone health.
Yellow: Excellent for our vision and immune function, as well as skin and bone health,
Green: Helps our entire body and strengthens our immune systems. Green is key for all our meals and essential for body and mind.
Purple / Blue: Purple/blue foods are excellent for our brains, and ward off heart disease by preventing clot formation. They are known for the cancer prevention properties and very good for our memory, too.
Rainbow Foods: Boost Your Health and Energy
Colorful, natural, clean foods come in all shapes and sizes. Finding your way through the rainbow food jungle isn’t hard once you know how. Will you become a vegetarian overnight? Of course not. You can, however, try your hardest to get back into the food pyramid way of thinking and add more fruit and vegetables to your diet. 
Thinking in colors makes you want to add more natural foods into your diet, and get started with a healthier diet. Eating this way keeps you looking and feeling young. After all, while age is an attitude, it is also about how we look after ourselves.
Rainbow food helps kids learn about foods and understand where it comes from. If you want inspiration for recipes, check out The GOODista’s recipe section. 
Why not start with this one to warm up your winter-chilled bones? Winter Vegetables Three Ways.
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Let us know how your health efforts proceed – and keep following The GOODista for more. Next, we will be looking at those first steps to exercise. Hard? Not so – Fun more like! You just need to get started – not tomorrow, not yesterday – Just Do It 🙂
Feel, Be and Do Good! See you soon!
Recommended and Related:
- Eating Well in Colour – Eatingwell.com
- Probiotics, Healthy Got and The End of Processed Foods – Aussie Health
- Eat The Rainbow Like Oprah – Oprah.com
- Food Cravings Goodbye Guide – thegoodista.com
- Today I Eat A Rainbow – Kids site for learning more about healthier foods.
- Eat The Rainbow – Whole Living Seasonal Foods by MarthaStewart.com
- Mother Nature’s Network – Inspirational site on all things Natural
Dear Goodista, again such a positive approach! How do you do this? I feel inspired by your healthy, energetic, and everyday living advice!
Thank you for reminding us again at the beginning of a new year about fun and healthy eating habits. I will tell my friends to follow The GOODista.