a color palette for the palate

Food for Thought:

Professional cooks have long decorated their customers’ plates with garnishes designed to tempt the palate. Now, an article in the February issue of Food & Wine magazine recommends that home cooks pay more attention to the hues of the food they serve to their family members.

Although all fruits and vegetables are high in disease-fighting antioxidants, those that are brighter in color tend to yield the most health benefits. For example, when buying grapefruit, choose the pink variety over the white; the lycopene that turns the flesh pink helps reduce the risk of stroke. When it comes to potatoes, the yellow-, orange-, red-, purple- or blue-skinned versions contain more phytochemicals than plain old white potatoes. Squashes with orange or yellow flesh provide more vitamins, minerals and fiber than white-fleshed squashes, which are lower in nutrients.

A note of caution: Some experts warn that the more colors we see on our plate, the more likely we are to pig out. For example, when researchers offered more color options for different kinds of candy, study participants ate 43%–69% more than those whose plates were less colorful, according to a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.

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