Eat a Rainbow

Now that cooler temperatures are here, I can't help thinking of the coming winter. I dread the frigid temperatures, but I no longer have to worry about the depressions I used to get because I discovered a way to minimize the effects. I steep myself in color by using bright comforters and afghans, setting out large bouquets of silk flowers, and spending time outside to get the benefit of the natural full spectrum light.

But mostly I minimize the effects by eating a rainbow every day.

Eat a rainbow? "Impossible", you're thinking. But what is a rainbow? Refracted light. Color. Energy. Color is energy, so by eating color we eat the color's energy. And the best way to eat a rainbow to eat a salad. Not a few wimpy iceberg lettuce leaves with a few croutons sprinkled on top, but a robust salad full of color and life and energy.

Red: tomatoes, radishes, red bell pepper
Orange: carrots, orange bell pepper
Yellow: yellow squash, yellow bell pepper
Green: leaf lettuce, zucchini, broccoli, green bell pepper, olives, celery, avocado
Purple: red cabbage

Blue is missing, but if you serve your rainbow on a sky blue plate, you will have your rainbow, a rainbow that nourishes the body, nourishes the mind, nourishes the soul.