Eat the Rainbow: Red Edition

Eating well should feel joyful, not like a chore. So we're celebrating real food one colour at a time, and we're starting with the boldest of them all. Red is the colour of summer markets, Sunday sauces and the first strawberry of the season. It's also a sign of some pretty clever nutrition at work.

Let's dig in.

Why eat the rainbow?

The colours in fruit and veg aren't just pretty. They come from natural plant compounds, and each colour tends to bring its own mix. Eating a wide range of colours is one of the simplest ways to get more variety into your day, without counting, weighing or overthinking it.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines suggest adults aim for five serves of vegetables and two serves of fruit each day. Thinking in colours makes that feel less like a target and more like a game. How many colours can you get on one plate?

Red foods get most of their colour from two main pigment families: lycopene (in tomatoes and watermelon) and anthocyanins or betalains (in berries and beetroot). Different pigments, same gorgeous result.

Strawberries 🍓

A cup of strawberries gives you about as much vitamin C as an orange, sometimes more. Vitamin C helps support a healthy immune system and helps your body absorb iron from plant foods. Strawberries are also a source of fibre, and their deep red comes from anthocyanins, a group of antioxidant pigments.

The fun part: botanically, strawberries aren't berries at all. They belong to the rose family, and those little seeds on the outside (around 200 per strawberry) are each technically a tiny fruit.

Get the most from them:

  • Wash them just before eating, not before storing. Moisture makes them go soft faster.
  • Keep the green tops on until you're ready to eat. They help the fruit hold its juice.
  • Pair them with iron-rich foods like spinach or oats to make the most of that vitamin C.

Enjoy them: sliced over porridge, tossed through a spinach salad with balsamic, blended into smoothies, or simply straight from the punnet on the drive home.

Beetroot

No Aussie burger is complete without it, and for good reason. Beetroot is naturally rich in folate and dietary nitrates, which is why it's become a quiet favourite with runners and cyclists. Its intense colour comes from betalains, a pigment that's quite rare in the plant world.

The fun part: eating beetroot can turn your pee pink. It's totally harmless, just a bit of a surprise the first time. And don't throw out the leaves. Beetroot greens are edible and cook up just like silverbeet.

Get the most from them:

  • Roast or steam them whole with the skin on, then slip the skins off once cooled. Less mess, more flavour.
  • Wear gloves (or embrace pink fingers) when peeling.
  • Trim the leaves off before storing, leaving a few centimetres of stem, so the root stays firm for longer.

Enjoy it: roasted with olive oil and thyme, grated raw into slaws, whizzed into a vibrant dip, or stirred warm into a cosy latte.

Tomatoes 🍅

Here's another twist: tomatoes are technically berries, while strawberries aren't. Their red colour comes from lycopene, an antioxidant, and they're also a source of vitamin C and potassium.

The fun part: tomatoes are one of the few foods that can be even better for you cooked. Heating them, especially with a splash of olive oil, helps your body absorb more lycopene. Pasta sauce, you've been good all along.

Get the most from them:

  • Store them on the bench, not in the fridge. Cold dulls their flavour and texture.
  • Cook them with a little olive oil to boost lycopene absorption.
  • Mix it up: raw tomatoes bring more vitamin C, cooked ones bring more available lycopene. Both count.

Enjoy them: slow-roasted with garlic, simmered into a big batch of sauce, sliced thick on sourdough with salt and pepper, or tossed into a simple summer salad.

Bringing red to your plate

You don't need a complicated meal plan. A few easy ideas to get all three into your week:

  • Red roast salad: roast beetroot and cherry tomatoes with olive oil, toss through rocket, and finish with sliced strawberries and a crumble of feta. Sounds odd, tastes brilliant.
  • Red breakfast bowl: yoghurt or porridge topped with strawberries and a swirl of beetroot dip. Trust us on this one.
  • Sunday sauce: a big pot of tomato sauce with grated beetroot stirred through for extra depth and colour.

The Very Red Smoothie

Our favourite way to drink your reds. Blend together:

Thick, pink and naturally sweet, with a hint of cacao and cinnamon from the latte blend.

Next up: orange

Red is just the beginning. Next, we're turning to orange: think sunshine, warmth and a few surprises along the way. Until then, see how much red you can bring to your table this week, and share it with someone you love. 🧡

 

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Sources

This article is for general information only and isn't a substitute for personalised advice from a health professional.

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