You’ve got your kitchen set up with the best ceramic cookware set, beautiful crockery, and a stunning Insta-worthy backdrop for photos. So, what are you cooking up to finish the scene? How about some fresh produce from your local market? Beyond making your pretty plates look even more aesthetically pleasing, these yummy natural goodies also bring a whole heap of extra benefits, including the following:
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Get Your Glow on
Adding more plants to your plate can help you to glow from the inside out. Vitamin C, D, Selenium, B3, and so many other nutrients can be found in your favorite fruits and veggies, ready to plump and clear your skin. Vitamin E, in particular, is known to help with photoprotection, reducing free radical UV damage.
It can also have an anti-inflammatory influence on your skin, reducing redness and irritation.
You can find vitamin E in almonds, pumpkin, leafy greens, mangoes, and especially in avocados. In fact, some people get a double dose of vitamin E by feasting on avo toast or a smoothie and then rubbing the inside of the avocado peel onto their skin as a makeshift face mask.
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Seriously Great Slumber
It’s estimated that a massive 50-70 million people in America have chronic sleep disorders. Nearly 50% of those say they fall asleep during the day without meaning to at least once a month.
If that sounds like you, adding more veggies to your plate could be your fast-track ticket to Snoozeville. Consuming more fresh produce is an easy way to ensure your body gets more polyphenols. New research suggests that there’s an association between those antioxidants and better sleep. Salad for supper anyone?
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Climbing the Career Ladder
Science tells us that the more fruit and veggies people consume, the more happy, engaged, and creative they tend to be at work. This is thought to be because fruits and veggies contain nutrients that can help us experience dopamine hits. In turn, this can create an incredible boost of feel-good thoughts, motivation, and curiosity.
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Ditching Disease
Eating more fruits and veggies can reduce your risk of a wide range of issues, including:
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Strokes
- Some types of cancer
- Digestive problems
- Eye problems
- Blood sugar dysregulation
When you ‘eat the rainbow’, you consume hundreds of different compounds that can boost your health and protect you against nasty illnesses. The more variety you consume, the better the mix of nutrients you’ll get.
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Fabulous Flavor and Texture
Thoughtful presentation can make a plate of food more attractive and inviting. Consider adding garnishes, cutting the main protein nicely, adding drizzles of sauce, and throwing in other creative touches.
Plant foods add far more to a meal than just aesthetics. They add acidity, crunch, sweetness, bitterness, jamminess, aromatics, crispness, and more. Mix in herbs, spices, different cooking techniques, seasonal produce, and other elevations in flavor, and you’ve got a whole world of deliciousness within this one food group. Veggies and fruits are so much more than a garnish or a side.
“So, if I’m cooking, I’ll be steaming vegetables, making some nice salad, that kind of stuff.” – Paul McCartney
Adding more plants to your plate means boosting many aspects of your life. As a bonus, you’ll also be treated to extra flavor and aesthetic appeal in your meals. Whether you drizzle some smoky red pepper dressing on your salad or cozy up to a steaming mug of pumpkin soup, plants are the perfect way to enhance your diet with ease.
