Shirlington, Va. (WUSA) -- Chef Scott Jenkins of Extra Virgin restaurant in Shirlington knows a lot about eating healthy. At one point, Jenkins himself weighed close to 600 pounds. He lost 350 pounds and has maintained his new diet for the past 2 years.

Chef Jenkins says, "The struggle to lose weight is a very personal issue, but basically you just have to keep it as simple as possible. People have a tendency to over complicate it and try and follow lots of weird diets."

The Chef's simple suggestion, add color to your diet. Vibrantly hued foods have nutrients that are missing in many processed products.

"People love white foods like bread, rice, potatoes, but there's not a lot of nutrients in those."

Below are a few recipes by Chef Jenkins packed with colorful foods.

Green Vegetable Pizza
Recipe Yield 1 Plate
Portion Size 1 Plate
Portion Per Recipe 1
pizza dough  1 each  0.00 10 oz ball
extra virgin olive oil 2 tbs 0.00
spinach 2 cup 0.00 fresh, loosely packed
broccoli 1 cup 0.00 fresh cut and blanched
asparagus tips 1/2 cup 0.00 cut and blanched
zucchini 1/2 cup 0.00 fresh cut
fresh basil 8 each leaves 0.00 fresh leaves whole
fresh oregano 1 tbs 0.00 fresh leaves whole
shredded mozzarella cheese 6 oz 0.00

Preparation:
toss pizza dough or use 12" pizza crust. Brush on exvoo and then add vegetables evenly over top of dough, 1" from edge. Top with cheese and bake until golden brown. 425 for 20 minutes

Watermelon Salad
Recipe Yield 1 Plate
Portion Size 1 Plate
Portion Per Recipe 1
Menu Price 1.00$
Watermelon 4 cup 0.00 chunked red seedless
heirloom tomatoes 4 cups 0.00 fresh ripe
mint 2 tbs 0.00 fresh chiffonade
chives 2 tbs 0.00 fresh chopped
green apple white balsamic 4 tbs 0.00
salt  pinch 0.00
 
Preparation:
Chunk watermelon into 1" cubes and place in mixing bowl, dice tomatoes into 1" add to bowl. Chop mint and chives and add to bowl. Pinch of salt and balsamic. Toss and serve chilled

Prosciutto Cantaloupe
Recipe Yield 1 Plate
Portion Size 1 Plate
Portion Per Recipe 1
Menu Price 1.00$
cantaloupe 0.00 sliced
prosciutto 0.00 thinly sliced

Preparation:
Cut shell off fresh ripe cantaloupe, cut in half and scoop out seeds. Place half on cutting board and slice into 1/2" slices, half moon shaped. Wrap with thinly sliced prosciutto. Serve over bed of baby mixed greens

Onion & Goat Cheese Tart
Recipe Yield 1 Plate
Portion Size 1 Plate
Portion Per Recipe 1
tart shell 4 each 0.00 4" round prepared
sweet yellow onion 1 cup 0.00 caramelized
cauliflower 1 cup 0.00 oven roasted
mushrooms 1 cup 0.00 sautéed
roasted garlic 24 each 0.00 oven roasted
pine nuts 2 tbs 0.00 oven roasted
salt  pinch 0.00
pepper pinch 0.00
goat cheese 8 oz 0.00 fresh

Preparation:
cut and caramelized onions and sauté mushrooms in exvoo. Roasted cauliflower, pine nuts in oven as well. When all items are prepared add to mixing bowl. Mix well and add goat cheese and mix until all in blended. Place equally into tart shells and place in oven for 10 minutes at 375 until golden; serve over fresh field greens with infused exvoo drizzle

Grilled Corn & Pineapple Pizza
Recipe Yield 1 Plate
Portion Size 1 Plate
Portion Per Recipe 1
corn whole fresh 2 each 0.00 fresh yellow golden
pineapple 1 each 0.00 fresh sweet
yellow tomatoes 3 each medium 0.00 fresh heirloom
cilantro 2 tbs 0.00 fresh
salt pinch 0.00
pepper pinch 0.00
extra virgin olive oil 0.00

Preparation:
husk corn and place on hot grill; shell and core pineapple and cut into 4 wedges, place on grill. Grill corn and pineapple for 3-4 minutes and turn until well grilled; this will bring out the sweetness of both. When grilled completely cut pineapple into 1/2 chunks and place in bowl. cut corn from core and add to pineapple. add chopped fresh cilantro salt and pepper and drizzle of olive oil. mix well and store for 2-3 hours so flavors have time to blend. serve over grilled fish or chicken

Blueberry Soup
Recipe Yield 1 Plate
Portion Size 1 Plate
Portion Per Recipe 1
blueberries 2 pint 0.00 fresh, washed
lemon 1 each 0.00 fresh squeezed
honey 1/2 cup 0.00 wildflower
ginger 1 tsp 0.00 fresh puree
green apple balsamic 2 tbs 0.00
brown sugar 1 tbs 0.00
soda water 2 qt 0.00

Preparation:
wash blueberries; use blender to puree fresh ginger, leave the ginger in blender and add blueberries, honey, lemon juice, sugar and balsamic and soda water. Blend all together and chill. Serve garnished