Kids tend to automatically choose unhealthy foods when they are given the option of what to eat. They choose sugary, starchy or cheesy foods. Easy-to-remember rules and concepts (like “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”) can help everyone eat healthier.

The idea of “eating the rainbow” (including as many different colors as possible on your plate over the course of a day or a week, or meal by meal) is one that even small children can master.

It’s a good idea to remember these simple memory tricks:
● Red foods keep our red hearts healthy.
● Orange foods like carrots help us “C” (see) better.
● Yellow foods make you “glow” like the sun, inside and out, by boosting your mood and
giving your skin a healthy sheen.
● Leafy green foods help us build our own “stems” and “leaves”–that is, our own strong
bones, nails and hair.
● While real animals rarely come in colors of blue and purple, imaginary animals often
do–and foods in these rare colors can help to build our brains, help our memories, and
make us more creative. (Purple cabbages also look a little like brains.)

Below​ ​are​ ​a​ ​few​​ ​activities​ ​to​ ​encourage​ ​kids​ ​to make​ ​more​ ​creative​ ​and​ ​colorful​ ​plates:
● Rainbow​ ​parfaits​ ​(or​ ​skewers)​ ​for​ ​breakfast:​ ​we scoop red strawberries, orange
mango, yellow banana or pineapple, green kiwi, and blueberries onto the surface of a
bowl of yogurt. (This also works without yogurt–layer the fruits directly onto a bamboo
skewer.) Bonus points for creating beautiful patterns with all of the colors!
● Rainbow​ ​kimchi​ ​for​ ​lunches:​ we combine an dab of red gochujang (a mildly-spiced
Korean pepper paste) with orange and yellow grated carrot, green scallions and purple
cabbage, tossing with salt and apple cider vinegar, and serving alongside fried rice or
glass noodles.
● Rainbow​ ​guacamole​ ​for​ ​snacks:​ ​we stir together red cherry tomatoes, orange and
yellow bell peppers, green guacamole and purple-blue onion.
● Rainbow​ ​snow​ ​cones​ ​for​ ​special​ ​celebrations:​ w​ e create simple syrups using a
variety of colorful produce, boiled and strained through a fine-mesh sieve (dragonfruit
makes a beautiful hot pink!). Then we encourage kids to experiment with combining
colors and designs. Order up some pipettes and an ice maker from Amazon, and you’re
in business for under $50.

-By: Ryan Cherecwich