If, as you’re cooking, you notice your meal is a range of colours, you’re doing this healthy eating thing right. Typically it means you’ve probably got a good few fruit and veg mixed in, and important, a range of colours means a range of nutrients.
“Only when your meal is colourful, can your meal be healthy, so I think that in itself has benefits,” says Orla Walsh, dietitian with the Dublin Nutrition Centre.
Every portion of fruit and veg you eat a day reduces your risk of dying from anything by 5 per cent, according to a meta-analysis study.
“What frustrates me most about the food pyramid is that the bottom shelf isn’t fruit and vegetables. Aim to get at least 5 a day, not 5 a day, AT LEAST 5 a day,” she says.