Healthy Orange Foods

Brightly colored orange foods are good for your eyes, skin, immune system and heart. Orange foods contain high amounts of carotenoids. These compounds help provide Vitamin A, or retinol, to the body. Vitamin A helps us see at night, keeps our immune system strong and keep our skin cells healthy. Orange foods are also loaded with Vitamin C. The color orange can also improve your mood and re-energize you. Be sure to brighten up your meals by eating at least one orange food a day.

Healthy orange fruit & vegetable choices include:

1. Pumpkins: Don't wait until Thanksgiving to include this excellent food in your family's meals. Add vitamin and antioxidant packed pumpkin puree to pancakes, burritos and bread or muffin recipes. Pumpkin also makes great soup.

2. Peaches & Nectarines: Now is the time to eat fresh peaches and nectarines. In addition to Vitamins A and C and carotenoids, peaches and nectarines are a good source of dietary fiber. Slice a peach in half and grill for a juicy and delicious side dish.

3. Cantaloupe: This orange delight is chock full of vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. Dice cantaloupe in fruit salads and vegetable salads. This gem also makes a very nice edible garnish.

4. Oranges: Some say you can taste the sunshine in a glass of orange juice. Eating oranges and drinking orange juice supplies your body with a great dose of Vitamin C for healthy skin and a strong immune system. Oranges also contain folic acid for healthy development.

5. Carrots: This sweet and crunchy super food helps to keep your eyes healthy, your skin radiant and your body cancer-free. Carrots make a great raw snack. Steamed carrots make a delicious, sweet side dish.

6. Orange Peppers: Like their red and yellow cousins, orange peppers add great flavor and good nutrition to meals and snacks. Serve orange peppers raw as a snack and in salads, sautéed in pasta, stir fried or roasted in soups and stews.

7. Papaya: Nutritious and delicious papaya is loaded with Vitamin C, potassium, and beta-carotene. Add papaya to salads, smoothies and salsas. Or, use papaya as an edible garnish for chicken and seafood dishes.

8. Sweet Potatoes: Eat sweet potatoes on a regular basis, not just at Thanksgiving. Fiber and Vitamin A rich sweet potatoes taste great grilled, baked, mashed, roasted or boiled. For added nutrition, add mashed sweet potato to bread and muffin recipes.

-- www.FreshBaby.com