Cooking with the Color Red -- Recipes for Red Foods

Red & Pink Food Sources:

tomatoes, watermelon, beets, cranberries, apples, cherries, red beans, radishes, red carrots, red-skinned potatoes, red peppers, pink grapefruit, guava, red oranges, red onions, pomegranates, raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, red pears.

For more information on these foods check the Food Encyclopedia to the right.

Health Benefits

Contain the phytochemical lycopene, which may help prevent certain diseases such as prostate cancer. The phytochemical anthocyanin gives these foods their rich color and promotes a healthy heart.

Red Foods Tomatoes are rich in cancer-preventing lycopene, which becomes more bioavailable when the tomatoes have been cooked - making tomato ketchup a better source that a raw salad tomato. Red kidney beans are an excellent source of iron. Combined with rice beans provide a complete protein meal. In Chinese medicine, kidney beans are used to nurture the kidneys. Strawberries are rich in vitamin C and fibre, and are also an excellent source of ellagic acid - a powerful phytochemical that can block the action of cancer-causing agents in the food and environment.