Eat 5 a Day !!!

When I first came to the U.S, I was amazed by the wide variety of fruits available here. These new variety of fruits were my saviors in the first few months when most of my initial cooking experiments had to go down the drain.

Eat 5 a day ?

One day, when we got a small pack of blueberries, I was quite eager to try them. I had never seen nor eaten these tiny little berries. I washed and tried a few and did not stop until I finished the whole pack. As I was about to throw away the packet that had once held those oh-so-delicious berries, my eyes popped out. I could not believe I had missed reading the bright label that said: "Eat 5 a Day". And here I had eaten the whole pack! I anxiously called up my husband. His calm reaction, asking me to drink some water and cool down, got me even more frustrated. I rushed to the computer to start my search for any terrible side-effects and remedies. As the results from the then-so-slow network started filling the screen, I let out a sigh of relief. "Eat 5 a Day" was just a recommendation to eat at least 5 colors of fruits or vegetables each day. Each color had its health benefits and trying to get a mix ensured moderation and balance. Having eaten blue, an excellent color that provides anti-oxidants, I could calm down and go back to get that recommended glass of water.


Now, fast forward a decade to a busier life with no time to think of such food recommendations. One day, my five-year-old son came back from his school field trip with a message. They had been to a large organic grocery store where they were asked to "Eat a Rainbow" every day. On hearing this, his sister was thrilled. Both rushed to the pantry and came back with brightly colored candies. They even had an item to add to the grocery list - a rainbow lollipop to get all those colors at one easy go.

I tried my best to explain the difference between artificial and natural colors. We found that some candies actually used natural colors. And then went about looking for more natural ones. Guess what? This new "Eat a Rainbow" message has added an interesting aspect to our dinner times. We now try to check the colors each of us ate that day. And it reminds me of the long-forgotten recommendation to "Eat 5 a Day"!