Grow Tasty and Nutritional Purple Vegetables

Brighten your dinner plate and vegetable garden while improving your health with purple beets, carrots, blueberries and more.

Purple foods contain the anthocyanins that promote eye and heart health, fight cancer cells and more. The purple pigment contains flavonoids that can help decrease blood pressure, reduce inflammation and improve circulation.

Not only are they tasty and nutritious, but uniquely colored vegetables might be a fun way to get everyone to eat their vegetables. Purple potatoes may be new to you, but they have been around for centuries. Plus, the purple varieties have four times the antioxidant power of their less colorful counterparts.

Purple carrots are a fun way to dress up the relish tray and salads. Plus, they are high in both anthocyanins and vitamin A carotenoids, two powerful antioxidants. And they may also help manage weight, control glucose and reduce the risk of diabetes.

A bit more information: Purple Haze is one of several purple carrot varieties. It is similar in color to carrots cultivated 5,000 years ago in Afghanistan. Harvest them 65 to 70 days after planting when the shoulders are dark purple. Serve these carrots raw to maintain the purple color.