Boost Nutrition with Color

Color is nature’s way of showing us what fruits and vegetables are good for us. These recipes mix and match fresh hues and textures to ensure both nutrients and flavor.

Healthy Food Recipe: Roasted Asparagus Salad

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Roasted Asparagus Salad

Serve a plate full of cancer-fighting goodness with the veggies in Roasted Asparagus Salad: Bibb lettuce, cherry tomatoes, avocado, red onion, and bell pepper. Save time by tossing it with bottled vinaigrette.

Healthy Food Recipe: Three-Fruit Yogurt Shake

Three-Fruit Yogurt Shake

Pack color into your breakfast with Three-Fruit Yogurt Shake. This simple, refreshing smoothie blends the sweet taste and nutrients of blueberries, peaches, and pineapple.

Healthy Food Recipe: Baby Carrot Soup

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Baby Carrot Soup

Bright orange Baby Carrot Soup has a hands-on time of only 10 minutes. For an artful garnish, drizzle a mixture of 1 Tbsp. reduced-fat sour cream and 2 tsp. water over soup, and swirl with a wooden pick. Then top with chives, chopped chile peppers, or veggie chips.

 

Healthy Food Recipe: Grilled Rainbow Peppers

Grilled Rainbow Peppers

Colorful bell peppers will brighten up your dinner plate. A combination of a sweet balsamic dressing, crumbled goat cheese and fresh basil on the grilled veggies provides an unbeatably fresh flavor.

Healthy Food Recipe: Dawn’s World-Famous Greek Salad

Dawn’s World-Famous Greek Salad

Dawn’s World-Famous Greek Salad mixes vibrant ripe tomatoes, pickled beets, cucumber, and green pepper with flavorful vinaigrette, feta, olives, and shrimp. For a greater concentration of color, use all romaine lettuce instead of the romaine-iceberg combination in the recipe.

Healthy Food Recipe: Grilled Eggplant With Sweet Pepper-Tomato Topping

Grilled Eggplant With Sweet Pepper-Tomato Topping

Grill and top eggplant with a pepper-tomato topping that combines fresh basil with salty olives and sweet raisins. Serve with a French bread baguette for a meatless entrée or as a side to grilled chicken.

Healthy Food Recipe: Fresh Pear Salad With Asian Sesame Dressing

Fresh Pear Salad With Asian Sesame Dressing

Shredded red cabbage and carrots add a punch of color and vitamins to this Asian salad. Red pears and a tangy dressing finish off the flavor sweetly.

Healthy Food Recipe: Green Bean, Grape, and Pasta Toss

Green Bean, Grape, and Pasta Toss

If you like broccoli salad, you will love this red-and-green salad. Bacon and pecans add texture and saltiness to the creamy-dressing-coated dish.

Healthy Food Recipe: Citrus Gazpacho

Citrus Gazpacho

Add a fruity twist to fresh, chilled vegetable gazpacho. Grapefruit and orange slices along with a hint of lime complement savory tomato flavors in this soup. There’s no cooking required for the recipe; just chop, pour, and stir.

Healthy Food Recipe: Summer Vegetable Kabobs

Summer Vegetable Kabobs

Deliver a colorful treat from the grill with marinated veggie kabobs. Serve veggies with grilled chicken and wild rice, or toss into pasta with basil and Parmesan cheese.

Healthy Food Recipe: Chilled Zucchini Soup With Fresh Vegetable Salsa

Chilled Zucchini Soup With Fresh Vegetable Salsa

Mix up zucchini in soup form for a refreshing meal. Add texture with a simple fresh salsa, or save time by using a chunky store-bought salsa. Make ahead of time, and serve straight from the fridge.

Healthy Food Recipe: Broccoli-Squash Slaw

Broccoli-Squash Slaw

Broccoli-Squash Slaw is a vibrant mixture of packaged broccoli slaw, sliced yellow squash, and chopped red pepper―all coated in a creamy, sweet dressing with a hint of lemon.

Healthy Food Recipe: Peach-Blackberry-Yogurt Fruit Cups

Peach-Blackberry-Yogurt Fruit Cups

Mix fresh peaches and blackberries with Greek yogurt, honey, and granola for a quick, nutritious breakfast. Sit down and savor the fresh fruit, or pack it in a container to take on the go with you.

Healthy Food Recipe: Asparagus Pesto

Asparagus Pesto

Tired of steamed asparagus? Parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, and lemon in this pesto make the veggie into a tasty coating for pasta or crostini.

Healthy Food Recipe: Heirloom Tomato Salad With Fresh Lady Peas

Heirloom Tomato Salad With Fresh Lady Peas

You can find many hues of heirloom tomatoes from local farmers. Complement the fresh flavor of sliced tomatoes with basil and goat cheese in an herb dressing. Or grill them on skewers and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Healthy Food Recipe: Layered Lebanese Salad

Layered Lebanese Salad

Crisp veggies display their colors in this Middle Eastern salad. The recipe is the ultimate make-ahead choice: It must be refrigerated for 24 hours to allow the bulgur wheat on the bottom layer to absorb the dressing.

Healthy Food Recipe: Roasted Beet-and-Sugared Walnut Salad With Orange Vinaigrette

Roasted Beet-and-Sugared Walnut Salad With Orange Vinaigrette

Roasted beets and sugarcoated walnuts provide a warm complement to the sweet Orange Vinaigrette and orange sections tossed into this colorful salad.

Healthy Food Recipe: Prosciutto-Wrapped Mango Bites

Prosciutto-Wrapped Mango Bites

For a simple, fresh appetizer, wrap mango slices and arugula in paper-thin slices of prosciutto. For a slightly different flavor, substitute another fruit, such as pear or cantaloupe, for mango.

Healthy Food Recipe: Power Salad

Power Salad

Reminiscent of traditional potato salad, Power Salad blends the healthful yet candy-like flavors of sweet potatoes, Granny Smith apples, and raisins in a light dressing. Walnuts and apple slices provide a crunch to each bite. Make this salad several hours in advance to let the flavors blend.

Healthy Food Recipe: New Ambrosia With Buttermilk-Coconut Dressing

New Ambrosia With Buttermilk-Coconut Dressing

The citrus goodness we love in ambrosia meets immune-boosting green veggies in this dish. Garnish with toasted sweetened flaked coconut to complete the flavors.

Healthy Food Recipe: Warm Purple-and-Red Potato Toss

Warm Purple-and-Red Potato Toss

Eating potatoes doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice color and nutrients; buy red and purple-skinned varieties for this warm rendition of zesty potato salad. Test Kitchen Tip: Cook the potatoes whole with their skins to retain shape and color.

Healthy Food Recipe: Tomato-and-Watermelon Salad

Tomato-and-Watermelon Salad

This surprising salad combination will please your palate. The bright hues and refreshing flavors make Tomato-and-Watermelon Salad the perfect summer side dish.

Healthy Food Recipe: Confetti Pasta Salad

Confetti Pasta Salad

Pack veggies into a picnic or luncheon spread with Confetti Pasta Salad. Toss a colorful mix of red tomatoes, green spinach, and yellow bell pepper with shell pasta, fresh lemon vinaigrette, and crumbled feta cheese.

Healthy Food Recipe: Edamame Succotash

Edamame Succotash

These green heart-healthy soy beans complete the warm rainbow of diced bell peppers and corn in this take on a traditional Southern side dish.

Printed from:
http://www.southernliving.com/food/healthy-light/healthy-food-recipes-fruits-vegetables-00400000064826/

Copyright © 2013 Time Inc. Lifestyle Group. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy ( Your California Privacy Rights). Ad Choices