The Vampire Diet

When it came to fad diets, I thought I had seen them all - from the Atkins Diet, to the Cabbage Soup Diet, to the Apple Cider Vinegar Diet.  But, lo and behold, in my quest to find the truly new and unique in culinary trends, I ran across The Vampire Diet (from a site called  "Keeping Fit", 9/1/10). 

Obsessed with The Twilight Series and all things "vampire", there is a group out there whose followers eat only red foods.  The author of the article I read on this eclectic cuisine complained that it was an unbalanced diet.  He listed the red foods he could think of, and looking at his list, I had to agree.  But ,the more I thought about it, the more I realized that one could do pretty well on a "red" diet.  They would be getting more than their share of lycopene - that's for sure! (Don't know what lycopene is?  You must check out my next Blog on everyone's favorite foods - vegetables!).   Back to the Vampire Diet, the proponents of it would certainly be eating healthier foods than many school districts see fit to feed our kids (sorry - it's a pet peeve...).    So, in faithfulness to the rules of "redness", here's my stab at the Vampire Diet:

Fruits:  Strawberries, raspberries, cherries, watermelon, pomegranate, rhubarb, and cranberries (or their delicious and nutritious dried version "Craisins").
Vegetables:  Tomatoes, from beefsteak to cherry; red peppers, including my favorite, roasted red peppers; beets; red cabbage; and red kidney beans.
Beverages:  Cranberry juice and all its different variations, grenadine, rooibos tea, red wine, Bloody Mary's, tomatoe juice, V-8, and, maybe, Nestles strawberry milk.
Grains: Red quinoa
Meat and other proteins:  steak tartar, tuna sushi, tandoori chicken, and chicken paprikash
Other:  Borscht, Gazpacho soup and cherry sorbet

That's all I could think of.  I almost added red apples and red potatoes, but they aren't red when you peel them, so I wasn't sure they counted.  I think this diet is hilarious and I plan to make a meal in honor of it someday since I, too, am somewhat of a Vampire fan.  Since I was introduced to Bram Stoker's classic (Dracula) years ago, I have been intrigued by the likes of Interview With the Vampire, by Anne Rice, and Kostova's The Historian.   Of course, another requirement of the Vampire Diet is to avoid the sun, something I do not recommend, since sunshine is a good source of Vitamin D.    : )

I thought (and hoped) you would enjoy this.  If you can think of any more red foods, please share them with me.   I know I am leaving some out!   In the meantime, happy and healthy eating!