Kids are bombarded with food choices everyday at school. From the vending machines and the cafeteria line to all the goodies at the lunch table, they are surrounded by junk food during the day. When they are home, kick their health into high gear by giving them the rainbow!
Throughout the week, most kids are consuming pizza and French fries at school, followed by birthday cupcakes and potato chips at their friends’ houses, leading them to feel tired and making it easier to catch the cold and stomach virus that always seem to be going around.
When we feed them all the colors of the rainbow, not only are they more excited to try a new fruit or vegetable because of the color appeal, but they will also gain tremendous health benefits.
Researchers are constantly finding that the more colorful the fruit and veggies we consume, the more easily our bodies can protect themselves against diabetes, obesity and the common cold.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2010. This is an alarming number and one that we need to take seriously by providing healthier options to our kids.
Eating fruits and vegetables everyday helps children and teenagers grow and develop, boosts their vitality and can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases – such as heart disease, high blood pressure and being overweight or obese.
In order to get the most health benefits possible, think color. Try to have your kids eat five or more servings of plant-based foods per day.
It can be as simple as adding blueberries to their cereal, putting fresh fruit on peanut butter sandwiches, blending a veggie-infused smoothie for an after-school snack and crunching on homemade baked kale and sweet potato chips at night.
Eating red fruit and vegetables like tomatoes, beets, radishes, strawberries and raspberries can help heart health, while carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and butternut squash improves eyesight.
Leafy greens like spinach, kale and Swiss chard, plus broccoli, green beans, cucumbers, asparagus and Brussels sprouts contain chlorophyll, Vitamins C and E and calcium for healthy skin, hair and bones.
Here are some tips to get the kids to eat more color:
Starvation Central – Put out a plate of cut up veggies with a dip or cheese before dinner, during the time they are usually starving. They won’t say no if it’s all you offer.
Name Calling – Make up silly names of certain veggies and fruit that you think your child will react to. For example, the ‘Curious Carrot’ or the ‘Powerful Pepper’.
Positive Associations – Tell your kids stories of why eating specific foods is good for them, like how when you were younger and you ran a fast race, you are broccoli right before or how the basketball players on TV are so tall because they ate salad with every dinner.
Ask for a Helper – Invite your kids into the kitchen with you. Even if they rip up lettuce or throw tomatoes into a bowl, they are now part of the process and will most often want to try what they made.
Make It Fun – Make shapes – a smiley face or a pet they love – out of cut up fruit and veggies. After you do it once, you can ask them to help you make their new friend, ‘Cucumberina’ or ‘Pet Zucchini’.
Don’t Say No to Dessert – Always include fruit in dessert – bake apples in the oven with cinnamon, freeze a banana and top with frozen yogurt, throw chocolate chips on top of mixed berries. Desserts don’t have to put your child into a sugar frenzy.
Liquefy It – An easy way to add color is to toss fruit and veggies into a blender. Kids love smoothies made with strawberries and blueberries, water and plain greek yogurt. For an extra dose of vitamins, don’t be afraid to include spinach and kale into the mix – most of the time, they can’t taste the veggies.
Puree Away – Puree butternut squash, sweet potatoes and cauliflower and use in place of half the cream or cheese when making macaroni and cheese or casseroles. Also add purees into spaghetti sauces for a thicker and more nutritious sauce.
Color on a Skewer– Ask your kids to help you put as many colorful veggies and pieces of fruit on a skewer to make a shish kebab and throw them on the grill. This is a fun project for the whole family!
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Robin DeCicco is a holistic nutritionist who runs the Tenafly and Ramsey based The Power of Food Education. She counsels people on making healthier choices and specializes in changing behaviors to achieve life-long success. To learn more, visit http://www.poweroffoodeducation.com and https://www.facebook.com/poweroffoodeducation.
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