Hi Everyone,
Green is the number one colour when it comes to food.
Have you ever stopped to consider how many of the items you pick up at the market or grocery store that is the colour green? The colour itself connotes so many things when it comes to food in particular. Freshness, life, renewal, good, healthy, young, new, cheerful, and nature are just some of the adjectives that come to mind. Psychologists claim that the colour green is reminiscent of new life. Here in the Caribbean, all we have to do is look out of a window or step outside of our doors that are so full of green beauty; a constant reminder of life and the renewal of the earth. That’s a comforting thought as we ponder and celebrate how many of our foods are the colour green.
Green is said to also denote balance, harmony, and stability and to relieve stress. Of course the colour green is also associated with the undesirable trait of envy, but since this is a food column, we’ll stick to all the amazing things that green give to us.
Whenever we are tired of eating a lot of meat, one of the first things we think of is “eating some greens.” Greens refer to a variety of green leafy vegetables. Or, people perceiving that we are not eating healthily admonish us to “eat some greens.” Weekly shopping jaunts usually entail buying “greens” to cook during the week.
Greens are good for us; they are rich sources of vitamins A, C, K and folate (folic acid). Iron (non-heme) and calcium are the two main minerals that can be found in greens. Iron comes in two forms – heme and non-heme. Heme iron is derived from meat, poultry and fish. Non-heme iron is the type found in fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts.
Here’s a breakdown of how many of our foods are green – herbs, vegetables, fruits. These lists are by no mean exhaustive, I am only pointing to the items we can find readily in our part of the world. The next 
time you go shopping, see how many of the foods you pick up are green.
Enjoy a green weekend!
