Color Matters
I am looking at our March 11, 2010 Wholly Macro Delivery Menu, and visualizing how beautiful all of the containers are going to look this week, when all of the food is packaged and ready to go out the door. You just can't imagine the visual, or maybe you can actually, because you receive the same food that we package, the visual that we see on our end when we open the refrigerator door and all of the vivid colors pop and explode in a virtual rainbow before our eyes! The bright orange color of the marinara sauce over the tempeh, the sunshine yellow color of the polenta in contrast to the deep purple - black of the black beans, the gorgeous purple magenta color of the red cabbage against the bright green of the kale along side the shiny and iron and mineral rich black of the hijiki sea vegetable, and the pure creamy white of the coconut crème pie. A virtual rainbow.
And why does color matter you may ask?? Well, aside from the pleasing visual experience of dishes that taste and look good, (in oriental medicine colors enhance organ health, green is good for the liver, black is good for the kidneys, etc.), colorful and aromatic fresh natural foods also give you a lot of bang for your buck. Vegetables, grains, beans, and fruits are rich sources of protective plant compounds referred to as phyto (from the Greek word for plants) nutrients. These colorful plant compounds protect plants (and us), from predators, as well as help them to attract light for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is how the plants take energy from the sun, the air, the soil, and the water, and transmute it into usable energy for us, that we can receive by eating these plant foods. We want to eat plant foods with a lot of color so that we can benefit from their anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic properties, and from their abundant life giving living energy.
Anti-oxidants are found in foods that provide nutrients to protect our DNA from oxidative damage that occurs from stress related aging, (okay, okay, just plain aging as well), exposure to un-natural toxins and chemicals, and free radicals. Fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A such as the butternut squash and carrots in the sweet vegetable soup and the marinara sauce, vitamin E rich nuts and seeds-sunflower seeds are famous for their vitamin E content, chlorophyll rich greens - parsley being famous for chlorophyll content, and the natural nutrient rich "germ" of the whole grains (think wheat germ), offer powerful anti-oxidant protection,
Anti-inflammatories are properties found in foods that prevent excessive cell turnover. All foods high in omega fatty acids such as most nuts, seeds, and natural vegetable oils, (and fish), and many roots as well offer anti-inflammatory protection. Using healthy foods to calm your mind and body is always preferable to medicating your body against an inflammatory reaction. Anything that we can do with food, to strengthen our organs, bones, and glands so that they don't become inflamed due to a disease process is most definitely the way to go!
And last, but certainly not least: anti-carcinogens. Anti-carcinogens are found in foods that provide nutrients that enhance the removal of mutation inducing carcinogens from the body. First and foremost on this list are the sea vegetables, all of which have the unique ability to bind heavy metals and harmful radioactive toxins to them in a process similar to chelation, and remove them from the body. Kombu is particularly well know for this function, and is used in every bean and grain dish that we prepare. Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts to name just a few are also powerful anti-carcinogens. And vegetables such as onions, leek, chives, and scallions are right behind them!
Food is appealing for many different reasons, but fresh, well prepared, attractively presented, and colorful food that is packed full of a variety of different grains, vegetables, and fresh produce is always your best choice. Try eating foods from our abundant menus, and see and feel for yourself what a difference healthful and mindful eating can make.
In the best of health to you as always,
Gayle and Jaime
And why does color matter you may ask?? Well, aside from the pleasing visual experience of dishes that taste and look good, (in oriental medicine colors enhance organ health, green is good for the liver, black is good for the kidneys, etc.), colorful and aromatic fresh natural foods also give you a lot of bang for your buck. Vegetables, grains, beans, and fruits are rich sources of protective plant compounds referred to as phyto (from the Greek word for plants) nutrients. These colorful plant compounds protect plants (and us), from predators, as well as help them to attract light for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is how the plants take energy from the sun, the air, the soil, and the water, and transmute it into usable energy for us, that we can receive by eating these plant foods. We want to eat plant foods with a lot of color so that we can benefit from their anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic properties, and from their abundant life giving living energy.
Anti-oxidants are found in foods that provide nutrients to protect our DNA from oxidative damage that occurs from stress related aging, (okay, okay, just plain aging as well), exposure to un-natural toxins and chemicals, and free radicals. Fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A such as the butternut squash and carrots in the sweet vegetable soup and the marinara sauce, vitamin E rich nuts and seeds-sunflower seeds are famous for their vitamin E content, chlorophyll rich greens - parsley being famous for chlorophyll content, and the natural nutrient rich "germ" of the whole grains (think wheat germ), offer powerful anti-oxidant protection,
Anti-inflammatories are properties found in foods that prevent excessive cell turnover. All foods high in omega fatty acids such as most nuts, seeds, and natural vegetable oils, (and fish), and many roots as well offer anti-inflammatory protection. Using healthy foods to calm your mind and body is always preferable to medicating your body against an inflammatory reaction. Anything that we can do with food, to strengthen our organs, bones, and glands so that they don't become inflamed due to a disease process is most definitely the way to go!
And last, but certainly not least: anti-carcinogens. Anti-carcinogens are found in foods that provide nutrients that enhance the removal of mutation inducing carcinogens from the body. First and foremost on this list are the sea vegetables, all of which have the unique ability to bind heavy metals and harmful radioactive toxins to them in a process similar to chelation, and remove them from the body. Kombu is particularly well know for this function, and is used in every bean and grain dish that we prepare. Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts to name just a few are also powerful anti-carcinogens. And vegetables such as onions, leek, chives, and scallions are right behind them!
Food is appealing for many different reasons, but fresh, well prepared, attractively presented, and colorful food that is packed full of a variety of different grains, vegetables, and fresh produce is always your best choice. Try eating foods from our abundant menus, and see and feel for yourself what a difference healthful and mindful eating can make.
In the best of health to you as always,
Gayle and Jaime