1. Carrots
Like nearly all orange veggies, carrots are an A+ source of vitamin A. “[They’re] loaded with beta-carotene and antioxidants,” says Amy Shapiro M.S., R.D., C.D.N.
How to eat them: “Carrots are incredibly delicious when roasted and caramelized, and you can put them on a bed of spinach for a double dose of vitamin A,” says Autumn Ehsaei, M.S., R.D.N., L.D.N. Or, nosh on them raw. “I recommend baby carrots with two tablespoons of hummus as a power snack for clients,” says Sydney Greene, R.D. at Middleberg Nutrition.
2. Sweet potatoes
The sweet potato is another orange vitamin A bomb. These spuds also have vitamins C and B6, potassium, fiber, and niacin, a nutrient used to turn food into energy, says Shapiro. A single large baked sweet potato provides 1730 mcg of vitamin A, nearly double the RDA, says Jackie Newgent, R.D.N., culinary nutritionist, private cooking coach, and author of The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook. To get the biggest nutritional bang for your buck, Newgent recommends eating the peel, which is packed with fiber.
How to eat them: You can eat sweet potatoes baked with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Or, blend them into muffin or pancake batter, suggests Ehsaei. You can have them for breakfast, too, says Greene: “Try a roasted sweet potato with one tablespoon of nut butter, coconut yogurt, and hemp hearts—the perfect blend of protein, fat, and complex carbs.”