Fill your plates with COLOR!

I am passionate about good food. I love to make delicious, beautiful meals and share the love of food with others.  I wasn't always this way.  I used to eat simply out of hunger without taking a few extra minutes to think about how foods work together.  Now I give a lot of thought to texture, color and flavors when I am planning a meal.  After all we do eat with our eyes also and I have some examples of these types of dishes for you.  My daughter taught me the importance of making the plate look good about 20 years ago, and I have taken this lesson to heart!
Notice in the photos below how colors and textures play off each other and appeal to our appetites. 

Adding some red tomatoes and green herbs to artichokes, white beans and olives really makes an impact.

Putting some cheese, herbs and balsamic glaze on top of tomatoes zips up the color.

Green and red again but in different textures.

Potatoes and beans are pretty but using some purple potatoes is even prettier.

Add some fruit to your cheese plate to get some more color.

Salads are an easy way to use color.  Even using red can be done differently by including tomatoes, red cabbage, salami and red onion.

A celebration of color on a platter!

Even plain old Butternut squash can look more interesting and colorful when made into a salad.

Try varying the colors in your foods and see what you notice.