Meals Matter
Meals Matter
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The Meals Matter Blog offers advice and tips on using a positive and realistic approach for meal planning, healthy eating, feeding families and fitness. Posts are written by registered dietitians, staff and guest bloggers of the Dairy Council of California.
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Earlier this month, this column focused on how vibrantly-colored fruits and vegetables tend to also be rich in nutrients. Indeed, this link is the basic idea behind Eat Right with Color, American Dietetic Associations’ theme for March, National Nutrition Month. However, we did not want the month to end without highlighting some foods that may pale visually, but are white hot nutritionally!
White foods- whether cauliflower and cheese, mushrooms and milk or parsnips and pears- also offer a wide range of essential nutrients and should be part of a balanced diet. For instance, mushrooms contain several key nutrients, including copper, potassium, folate and niacin, while cheese offers nutrients from vitamin A to zinc. According to color theory, white is the presences of all colors so the diverse range of nutrients in white foods may not be so surprising after all.
Finish National Nutrition Month with a nutrient-rich family meal of Roasted Parsnip Soup, Mushroom-Garlic Quesadillas and Gingered Lemonade. Enjoy white foods all week long with other recipes like Gnocchi with Chard and White Beans, Cauliflower au Gratin, Baked Vegetables with Feta and Curried Vegetable Couscous.
Register free at MealsMatter.org to add these and other recipes to your meal plan and shopping list. Be sure to follow @MealsMatter on Twitter for more healthy eating ideas, recipes and meal planning tips.
“Family Meals Matter” features recipes selected by registered dietitians from the thousands of user-contributed recipes available at our free online nutrition and meal-planning website, Meals Matter, sponsored by Dairy Council of California. Healthy Eating Made Easier™
Photo Caption: Roasted Parsnip Soup, EatingWell