. Orange and red vegetables (particularly carrots!) are excellent sources of vitamin A (as carotenoids) and vitamin C.
Vitamin A is critical for vision while also playing a role in properly maintaining the heart, lungs, and other organs.
Tomatoes are another vegetable that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee calls out as being a specific color vegetable that should be enjoyed frequently.
Tomatoes, although sometimes regarded as a fruit because it bears edible seeds, contain the phytonutrient lycopene which is associated with prostate and colorectal cancer protection.
This vegetable contains a potent compound called allicin, which supports the integrity of our blood vessels and may help reduce blood sugars along with other dietary habits.
Ideally, keep a few garlic cloves on hand in the refrigerator for chopping or mincing for your favorite recipes. However, jarred canned garlic and garlic powder also provide health benefits
Kale is a dark leafy green that, along with its friends like spinach, bok choy, arugula, or collards, provides fiber, protein, folate, potassium, and vitamin K.
Chickpeas contain seven grams of protein and four grams of fiber per half-cup cooked serving.
Lentils cook in a fraction of the time that beans do and can be spotted on some grocery store shelves already canned.
Be sure to drain and rinse to eliminate around half of the sodium if they are packed in salt. Lentils offer a whopping seven grams of protein per half-cup cooked serving & are a good source of fiber.