Yellow is an invigorating color that is occurs quite often in nature. Sometimes it signals a strong flavor with acute medicinal powers (lemon, tumeric), while at other times it just offers a colorful variety to a fruit or vegetable with other color varieties, such as a banana squash (yellow pepper) or a yellow bell pepper. Feeling a bit under the weather week, I invoked the power of yellow in a coconut curry dish with a lemon sauce. On a cold rainy day, I felt instinctively drawn to it’s warmth.
Let’s take a look at Tumeric. This root, originating in India and Indonesia, has such a bright yellow color when ground it can be used as a dye. The turmeric plant is related to the ginger family, is a common ingredient in curries, and has many healing properties. The key chemical in tumeric is called Curcumin. This compound is shown to reduce joint pain and inflammation related to rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Turmeric is often used as a digestive aid in India.
Lemon, meanwhile, is also a powerhouse health food. It is cleansing, highly microbial, and a balancing agent for the pH levels of the body. Lemon and all citrus fruits are high in Vitamin C, which is excellent for your skin’s health. Lemon juice also gives you some soluble fiber, potassium, folate, calcium, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and a variety of phytochemicals, all of which are important for our health. Researchers also have found that lemon water helps improve mental functioning as we age, as foods with vitamin C and folate, helping humans to perform better on cognitive tests.
This dish was created for inspiration and healing on a cold gray day in February. It incorporates tumeric, coconut oil, and lemon juice with spices and seasonings. This lively concoction was bright yellow at first, but turned a more golden brown hue along the cooking process. We were working around the color wheel a bit on this one, adding some carrots. Still, the dish has a bright warm identity with the yellows and oranges, and a complimentary accent is provided here by some blueberries.
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The Color Diet 