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Why eat orange fruits and veggies is second up on our Eat the Rainbow series. You may remember the acronym ROY G BIV, well that is how I remember the rainbow colors (yes I still say it to myself, lol).
In this post, we will learn why it is important to eat orange foods, what healthy nuggets they provide us, and some yummy recipes to help us eat them. It’s a lot easier to eat things that are good for us if that taste good.
What do Orange Fruits and Veggies help with?
First up is the WHY. Why is it important to eat orange fruits and vegetables? When we choose to eat orange fruits and veggies, these fruits and veggies promote eye health, help to protect our skin, and promote healthy joints ~ just to name a few.
What do Orange Fruits and Veggies contain?
When we eat orange fruits and veggies, they provide us many different vitamins and antioxidants. Some of these are beta-carotene, Vitamins A, C, and B6; lutein, potassium, and folate.
Did you know that our bodies convert beta-carotene into Vitamin A which is important for us to maintain heallthy vision, but also plays a key role in cell growth and maintaining healthy organis like the heart, lungs, and kidneys! Go grab a carrot!!
What are some Orange Fruits and Veggies?
Orange fruits and veggies are fairly easy to find at any grocery store or farmers market. Some examples are:
- peppers
- carrots
- apricots
- sweet potatoes
- oranges (duh, right?)
- pumpkin
- cantaloupe
- peaches
- apricots
There are so many to choose from and you can easily eat them raw (most of them anyway) or cooked. I know many people think the easiest way to eat some of the orange vegetables is by tossing them in a fruit salad, and that may be true, however, it isn’t the only way.
I know I have mentioned my uber picky son, but I will say he would voluntarily eat carrots each and every day as his chosen vegetable if I allowed it. Kids are weird, lol.
I personally love all the orange fruits and veggies listed, and even Habanero Peppers (which aren’t), lol. I use dried apricots in some of my fruit salsas too. Don’t let what you assume about each fruit and veggie limit how you can use them. Always feel free to experiment!
Eat Orange Fruits and Veggies Recipes
Now if you are going to eat orange fruits and veggies, it might be helpful to have some yummy recipes to make it a bit easier if these fruits and veggies aren’t your favorite.
Easy Breakfast Option
For breakfast, why not eat something that resembles a dessert but could do dual duty as a breakfast? I mean I like to feel like I am cheating but not actually cheat if you know what I mean, lol. You should definitely try Epicure’s Peach & Raspberry Compote. You can make this a breakfast by increasing the amount of greek yogurt (your protein) so it makes more of a complete meal and then may top with some granola.
You could easily swap out the raspberries for apricots if you wanted to as well (or really any other fruit).
Easy Lunch Option
It’s currently cold outside and I love a hot bowl of soup for lunch. I love that you can meal prep the soup ahead of time, portion it out and then just grab and re-heat as needed! You could even freeze it if you wanted to.
I can’t wait to make this Creamy Carrot Soup! I can see serving this with some really good artisan bread, gluten-free of course, and a salad. Yep, who says you need to go out to get a soup and salad special – just make your own! For the potato that this recipe calls for, I would sub sweet potato (all the orange!!).
Easy Dinner Option
I have two sides (I couldn’t choose between them, lol) with protein recommendations for the main. First up is Spice Roasted Root Vegetables. For this recipe, you can easily add some chicken breasts or thighs on top of the root veggies and use the same seasonings, and have a complete meal! Who doesn’t love a good sheet pan recipe!
For the second one, I chose Orange Sweet Potato Gratin. I think this dish would have been an awesome side for Thanksgiving, but since we just had Thanksgiving I think pairing it with some roast pork loin or grilled pork chops would be amazing.
Bonus – Easy Dessert Recipe
I know not everyone can grill all year long as we can here in Las Vegas, but if you can, I encourage you to try this simple and easy dessert – Grilled Stone Fruit. It is such a simple dessert and you could truly use any stone fruit, but grilled peaches are seriously yummy!
Eat Orange Fruits and Veggies – Wrap Up
I hope you have found the importance of eating orange fruits and veggies and how they can help keep your eyes, joints, and skin healthy.
I only mentioned a few recipes, but Epicure seriously has tons of yummy recipes that will make eating the rainbow so much easier! If you need help navigating the site and finding what you want, I’m here for you! Just fill out my Contact Form and I will get you all settled.
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