Eating the Rainbow | Food Over 50

Season 1 - Episode 7

Did You Know?

The colors in food have many health promoting properties.

We begin eating with our eyes before we ever taste the food. Beautiful colors on our plate prepare us for a tasty meal.

Try to eat a rainbow of colorful foods every day.

Episode #7 of Food Over 50 is all about the color of what we eat, because a rainbow on our plate equals a bounty of good nutrition in our tummy. Chef/host David Jackson creates an impressive Poulet Jardin, which translates to Chicken In The Garden. It's eight tasty and well-presented recipes in one, most of them plant-based, vibrantly colorful and artfully arranged on a huge silver platter. A Downton Abbey dinner party should be so lucky!

David begins the show on location, shopping for a rainbow of vegetables at the Joshua Tree Certified Farmer's Market near his desert home. Then it's into the kitchen to prepare Herb-Roasted Whole Chicken, Grilled Zucchini & Asparagus (Green), Roast Cauliflower (Winter White), Sautéed Red Cabbage (Blue/Purple), Roast Butternut Squash (Orange/Yellow), Crumb Crusted Tomatoes (Red) and Glazed Carrots (Orange).

Then David joins Elizabeth Kelsey, FO5O's resident dietician, for a colorful "Second Helpings" segment to discuss why naturally occurring blue/purple foods help prevent heart disease, why green/yellow veggies combat macular degeneration, why the Lycopene in red foods, like ripe tomatoes, is such a powerful anti-oxidant and why orange fruits and vegetables help moderate blood sugar and improve our immune function.

And once the apron is off, David wraps up the episode with another outdoor "Earn What You Eat" message. This time it's some careful, age-appropriate rock climbing at Joshua Tree National Park, reminding viewers that we're never too old to explore and have fun while we keep fit and nimble-ish.