How to Add More Diversity into Your Diet
Nowadays, it is a commonly known fact that a diet with lots of diversity & variety can be good for your gut microbiome, for your overall health and even for the environment. While there are well over 20 000 edible plants found in the world, only about 20 of these make up the foods we eat every single day.
For most Canadians, daily meals are based upon on a weekly or a bi-weekly rotation. Moreover, eating a diet that is both balanced and varied can help to improve the nutritional quality of our meals all the while keeping it delicious! With this in mind, adding diversity to our diets doesn’t have to necessarily mean eating something different every single day, but rather making the most of your meals by increasing your meal rotation options, by creating different types of dishes using similar ingredients, or by simply adding variety to the dishes you would normally eat.
Let’s get into it!
Taste the rainbow
Adding more colour can be an easy way to create more variety in your plate. The bright colours in food usually represent the different antioxidants & polyphenols naturally found within them and that pack loads of benefits for your overall health & immune system. Try thinking of produce not only for their taste, but also for their colour:
Red: Tomatoes, beets, radishes, raspberries, radicchio…
Orange: Carrots, squash, oranges, persimmons, mangoes, turmeric, …
Yellow: Lemons, bananas, yellow beetroot, yellow zucchini, …
Green: Kiwi, asparagus, avocado, peas, cucumber, …
Dark green: Swiss chard, spinach, kale, watercress, …
Blue/purple: Eggplants, plums, cabbage, purple carrots, grapes, red onions…
White/brown: Parsnips, cauliflowers, mushrooms, ginger, onions, potatoes, …
The next time you’re at the grocery store, shop for produce with colours you rarely use, or add diversity to the colours you already use. As always, try making a habit out of colouring your palate!
2. Visit your local market
Farmer’s markets normally offer a wide selection of food items, such as a variety of fruits and vegetables, local fish, meat and artisanal products. It can be a great way to introduce yourself to foods you wouldn’t normally be inclined to try.
Look for produce you’ve never cooked with before and ask the clerks for advice on how to properly cook with them. The people behind the outlets are usually very knowledgeable about their products and will be happy to help you explore new foods!
3. Get inspired
A key rule to adding new foods to your diet is knowing how to make them equally delicious. Find inspiration in cookbooks, on the Internet or on social media— you’ll discover the fact that there are many talented people out there who have already done all the dirty work for you.
Want to go the step further? Try learning traditional recipes from countries you want to visit. Food is a central element of nearly every culture in the world. Look for recipes you find interesting and have a go at it!
Find your perfect mix!
Adopting a diet with loads of diversity doesn’t have to be hard, it is simply a matter of taking it one step at a time. To help you get started, try including at least one new recipe to change up your rotation every week. Eventually, you might end up with tons of new great recipes to choose from!
What’s your favorite way to add diversity to your diet?
Pour la version française, cliquez ici.
Source(s):