Susie Nanney is acting director of the Obesity Prevention Center at Saint Louis University and she is concerned that people are taking the message of "an apple a day" to literally. Susie recons

While people understand they should eat a variety of fruits and vegetables each day, they are not translating 'variety' in a way to capture health benefits, such as reducing their risk of developing chronic diseases. I'm just asking them to expand their interpretation of diets.

Of course this is a serious issue and The Green Man should take it seriously (there are some other serious posts on this if you look for them). Today, however, The Green Man is in a flippant mood and, as such, the first thought that sprung into The Green Man's mind was.

The last thing an obese person needs is more nutrients. Wouldn't the dietary equivalent of cardboard, bran, be more in line.

Anyway, to drift into the sensible for a moment she suggests that colour is the way to go with selecting your food.

White: Eat cauliflower more often than potatoes, onions and mushrooms.

Green: Add more dark lettuces, such as romaine and red leaf lettuce, spinach, broccoli and Brussels sprouts to replace iceberg lettuce and green beans.

Yellow/orange: Substitute more carrots, winter squashes, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, oranges and grapefruit for corn or bananas.

Red: Select tomatoes, red peppers and strawberries in favor of apples.

Read more here.