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Eating multi-coloured meals every day can contribute to your health and wellbeing – and colourful autumn recipes can also brighten your mood. Fruit, veggies and herbs come in all shades from common colours such as yellow, orange, red, and green, all the way to purple, blue and even black. “Eat a rainbow every week”, nutrition experts recommend. The different colours aren’t only a treat for the eyes, but the secondary plant substances that add colour to vegetables also each stimulate different healthy processes within our body. Some of them have anti-inflammatory effects, others boost the immune system or have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system.
This means that eating a rainbow every week doesn’t only make for aesthetically pleasing dishes, it also contributes to your health and vitality. How about some inspiration on how to colour up your weekly nutrition plan?
What Veggie Colours can Do for You.
Red.
What could be more mouth-watering than the view of brightly red, fresh strawberries or tomatoes? We owe this appetising view to the plant pigment lycopene. It’s what gives strawberries, tomatoes, watermelons, chilis, and the like their distinctive red colour. Among other things, lycophene can strengthen the body's immune system and is said to have protective influences against various illnesses like rheumatism, arthritis, heart attacks and strokes. Finally, the little red helpers can prevent cell changes and thus can inhibit tumor development. So, every time you are snacking some tomato salad or fresh strawberries, you are actually actively helping your body fight off bad influences. Isn’t that cool?
Ready for a yummy all-red dish? How about a hearty bright red Borscht or a fruity, glowing red smoothie?
Recipe: Borscht.
Borscht
Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 8
Ingredients
• 500 g beef (e.g., sirloin, tenderloin)
• 200 g pork belly
• 400 g beets (pre-cooked)
• ½ cabbage
• 400 g tomatoes
• 20 g parsley
• 1 chili
• 3 onions (red)
• 200 g carrots
• 100 g celery root
• 1 l water
• 3 bay leaves
• 500 ml beet juice
• 1 tsp allspice
• 5 tbsp red wine vinegar
• salt
• pepper
• sour cream for serving (optional)
• vegetable oil for frying
Step 1/8
Roughly chop parsley. Finely dice chili. Cut cabbage and onions into fine strips. Cut beets, carrots, tomatoes, and celery root into bite-sized pieces.
Step 2/8
Cut pork and beef into large cubes.
Step 3/8
In a large saucepan, bring water, beef, and pork to a boil. Then, reduce heat to low and skim foam from the surface. Next, add bay leaves, salt, and pepper and simmer for approx. 25 - 30 min.
Step 4/8
In another large saucepan, sauté carrots, beets, cabbage, onion, chili, and celery root in some vegetable oil over medium heat for approx. 5 - 7 min. until tender.
Step 5/8
Deglaze pan with beet juice and allow to reduce for approx. 15 - 20 min.
Step 6/8
Strain the pork and beef stock and set the meat aside. Add stock to the pan and allow to reduce for approx. 10 - 15 min.
Step 7/8
Add meat, allspice, and tomatoes to the borscht. Stir well to incorporate.
Step 8/8
Add parsley and red wine vinegar. Stir well to incorporate. Enjoy with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.
Recipe: Glowing red smoothie.
Glowing red smoothie
Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 2
Ingredients
• 90 g cucumber
• 2 red beets (medium-sized, cooked)
• 120 g raspberries (frozen)
• 1 tbsp agave syrup
• 250 ml water (cold)
• 1 sprig mint
Step 1/3
Peel and slice cucumber. Dice red beet.
Step 2/3
Place cucumber, red beets, frozen raspberries, agave syrup, and water into blender. Pick mint leaves and add to blender.
Step 3/3
Blend on high speed for approx. 2 – 3 min. until smooth. Enjoy as an energizing snack or breakfast.
Yellow and Orange.
Obviously, the first orange fruits that come to mind are oranges. They have established their reputation as boosters of our immune system thanks to their high levels of vitamin C. However, vitamins are not all that oranges have to offer. Yellow and orange colours in fruits and veggies come from the natural colourant cartenoid. Researchers have found that the pigment can boost your immune system, digestion and metabolism. Additionally, it’s supposed to slow down the skins aging.
For your daily dose of carotenoids you can therefore start the day with a delicious orange smoothie made of pineapple, bananas, mangos, and fresh orange juice. For more delicious smoothie recipes, check our VitaBar App . By the way: In the app, you can even filter recipes according to their colour.
Green.
Natural green foods owe their appearance to the probably best known natural colourant: chlorophyll. It’s responsible for the plants’ green colour and is an essential part of photosynthesis – the transformation of carbon dioxide into oxygen. It also gives colour to our fruits and vegetables – for example apples, pears and kiwis as well as green peppers, spinach and green cabbage. The small, green pigments can also help the human body build new blood cells and muscles. Moreover, chlorophyll is said to have a cleasing and detoxifying effect and helps prevent dementia and diabetes. Finally, it can be a useful measure against iron or magnesium deficiency. Small pigments – with big impact!
Feeling green? Try our green bean and lemon grass noodle soup. The Bosch Cookit, our kitchen machine with cooking function, easily guides you through the cooking process – yumminess guaranteed. Don’t feel like cooking? No problem. Try our healthy green salad bowl with avocado dressing. If you want to add some extra greens to your dish, our Bosch SmartGrow Life indoor gardening system provides you with fresh and tasty herbs all-year round.
Recipe: Green bean and lemongrass noodle soup.
Green bean and lemongrass noodle soup
Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 2
Ingredients
• 100 g green beans
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 150 g rice noodles
• 1 eggplant
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 chili
• 2 shallots
• 15 g ginger
• 2 cloves garlic
• 10 g turmeric
• 50 g cilantro
• 4 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 lime
• 250 ml coconut milk
• 250 ml vegetable broth
• 200 ml water
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• salt
• mint (for serving)
Step 1/4
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Slice eggplant into large matchsticks, add to sieve, toss with salt, and let rest 5 min. Rinse under cold running water and pat dry. Place on a baking sheet, toss with a little vegetable oil, and transfer to the oven. Bake approx. 30 min.
Step 2/4
Meanwhile, to make the paste, deseed chili. Roughly chop the shallots, ginger, garlic, turmeric, lemongrass, and cilantro. Add all of these ingredients to a food processor along with the coconut oil and blend into a paste. Zest half the lime, then juice it, and set aside. Leave remaining lime for serving.
Step 3/4
Heat remaining coconut oil in a pot over medium heat. Add green curry paste and fry until very fragrant, approx. 5 min. Add eggplant and fry approx. 1 min. Add coconut milk, vegetable broth, water, brown sugar, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer gently over medium-low, approx. 10 min. Just before serving, season with salt to taste, add lime zest and juice, and stir well.
Step 4/4
Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain under cold water and set aside until serving. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and blanch green beans for approx. 2 min. Divide noodles among bowl, ladle in soup, and top with green beans. Garnish with mint if desired and serve with the remaining lime. Enjoy!
Recipe: Green salad bowl with avocado dressing.
Recipe: Green salad bowl with avocado dressing.
Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 2
Ingredients
• 2 avocadoes
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 10 g cilantro
• 1 tsp agave nectar
• 50 ml water
• 50 g baby spinach
• ½ cucumber
• 200 g broccoli
• 100 g peas
• salt
• pepper
• basil (for serving)
• chopped pistachio (for serving)
Step 1/3
For the dressing, peel and pit some of the avocado. Add avocado, lime juice, cilantro, agave syrup and water to a liquid measuring cup. Season with salt and pepper to taste and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Step 2/3
Wash and clean spinach. Slice cucumber. Halve, pit and slice remaining avocado. Cut broccoli into florets. Add salted water to a pot and bring to a boil. Add broccoli florets and cook for approx. 7 min. or until tender. Remove broccoli from water and set aside. Add peas to the still simmering water and cook for approx. 3 min., then drain.
Step 3/3
Arrange spinach, broccoli, cucumber, peas, and avocado in bowls. Garnish with basil and chopped pistachios and drizzle avocado dressing on top. Enjoy!
Blue and Violet.
Blue and violet might not be the first colours that come to mind when we think of fresh food. Nevertheless, there is a variety of delicious and healthy fruit and veggies naturally coloured in these hues. They owe their unusual shades to the natural colourant anthocyane. A particle that gets under your skin, as the violet pigments are said to have a preventive effect on skin aging and positively impact blood vessels. They are small anti-aging miracles. In addition, they can contribute to improving vision and memory, and also have anti-inflammatory effects.
So, next time you find yourself in front of the fruit and veggies section at the supermarket and wonder what to buy – why not go for blueberries, blue grapes, figs, beetroot, black olives or eggplants? You might want to get some red cabbage (which is actually a kind of purple), too, to try our roasted red cabbage with goat cheese and bacon. A blueberry smoothie is a great option to get you daily dose of blue and violet, too. Our Bosch blenders and juicers ensure optimal creamy consistencies.
Recipe: Roasted red cabbage with goat cheese and bacon.
Recipe: Roasted red cabbage with goat cheese and bacon.
Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 5
Ingredients
• 350 g red cabbages
• 150 g goat cheese
• 2 tbsp bacon
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon juice
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• salt
• pepper
• cilantro (for serving)
Step 1/5
Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F. Cut red cabbage into thumb-thick slices.
Step 2/5
Peel and mince garlic. Add oil to a small bowl. Add lemon juice and minced garlic and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 3/5
Transfer red cabbage slices onto a parchement-lined baking sheet and brush with garlic-oil mixture.
Step 4/5
Bake at 160°C/320°F for approx. 40 min. Afterwards, remove from the oven and spread goat cheese onto red cabbage slices. Drizzle maple syrup on top and keep baking for approx. 5 min.. or until the goat cheese turn lightly brown.
Step 5/5
Meanwhile, fry diced bacon over medium-high heat until crispy. Roughly chop cilantro. Serve roasted red cabbage slices with fried bacon and cilantro on top. Enjoy!
Recipe: Red beet soup.
Recipe: Red beet soup.
Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 4
Ingredients
• 600 g beets
• 400 ml beet juice
• 300 ml orange juice
• 80 ml white wine
• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ orange (zest)
• 50 g butter
• salt
• pepper
• croutons to serve
• crème fraîche to serve
Step 1/4
Dice onion and finely chop garlic. Peel beets and cut into large cubes.
Step 2/4
Add butter to a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add beet and sauté for approx. 5 – 7 min. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 3/4
Deglaze pan with white wine. Add red beet juice, orange juice, and orange zest to the pan. Bring everything to a boil and simmer for approx. 20 – 30 min. until the beet is soft and cooked through.
Step 4/4
Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Be careful not to overfill the blender to avoid splattering. Season again with salt and pepper. Serve with some croutons and a dollop of crème fraîche.
White.
White fruits and veggies lack any kind of colour pigment. However, they’re key to a balanced diet as they contain many valuable vitamins and minerals. Especially onions and garlic hold the healthy substance allicin that gives them their typical smell. It’s said to prevent cancer, infections and cardio-vascular diseases.
In order to complete your rainbow diet with some white fruits and veggies you can include apples, bananas, asparagus, celery, cauliflower, onions or garlic to your meal plan.
The different colours not only affect your health – they also have an impact on our eating behaviour and taste expectations. Red, orange and yellow is what we instinctively prefer right from birth. These colours have an appetising effect since they signal ripeness and taste to our brain. In contrast, green and blue rather represent bitterness making them our less preferred colours in food. We’ve learned and internalised these signals over decades of human development. Knowing that we need all the shades, we better start introducing our tastebuds to the rainbow.
