I was able to dig up a little tasty dish dirt on what some of the competitors will be doing with the color purple for the WAA Dish It Up Event this Thursday! (See the post below for more info on the WAA event or click here)
I just chatted with Katie Cavuto of Healthy Bites. Healthy Bites is a nutrition and personal chef service that focuses on local, sustainable and organic fare in the Philadelphia area. Food allergies? No problem! Katie can work with that. Weight loss? Yup, she can design a special program to fit your needs. Need a lesson on how to cook healthier? Katie will come to your home and help you learn her “Green Cuisine” approach with a one on one cooking class. She’ll even cook a whole meal for you and deliver it right to your doorstep if you’re pressed for time- read: help for the holiday season. Now that sounds really good to me! For tips and ideas from Katie, check out Healthy Eats Blog here.
For the Thursday’s competition Katie will be using a variety of local, seasonal and purple (of course) ingredients that will incorporate her “Green Cuisine” approach tied in with the WAA theme. I couldn’t coax out of her the exact dish, but she gave me a hint as to what it will entail: “Think seasonal veggies topped with healthy decadence.” Sounds delicious!
I also asked Katie a few other questions about eating colorful foods, and the challenges in creating a healthy, color specific dish. Here’s the scoop:
MV: Was it challenging to create a dish based on a color?
KC: It was fun to create a dish based on the color purple because it makes you think outside the box. We all have ingredients we tend to use regularly and the fun was in taking a traditional dish and putting a purple spin on it.
MV: Do you find that foods with the color purple tend to have higher levels of Vitamins and/or minerals or Antioxidants?
KC: I always tell my clients to eat a colorful diet because the more colorful, the more variety of nutrients. Dark, purple vegetables are great sources of phytochemicals and antioxidants but the amounts really depend on the specific ingredient.
MV: Any recommendations on purple foods that should be regularly included in the daily diet for a healthier lifestyle?
KC: Eat the colors of the rainbow on a daily basis…and that, of course includes something purple.
I agree with that. I loved the purple yams I picked up at Di Bruno Brothers on Chestnut Street and knowing that they’re good for me makes them that much better 
Filed under: Bites Tagged: | Food events Philly, Healthy Bites, Healthy Eats Blog, Katie Cavuto, Purple foods, WAA Dish It Up Event
