Eating a Rainbow
Over the past two and a half years of blogging, I’ve written several times about children’s nutrition. The sad fact is, however, that I am much better at keeping my kids from eating what they should not eat than I am at encouraging them to eat enough of what they should eat. For all the times that I smile at the dentist and say proudly, “My kids don’t eat candy,” I just as often turn to friends and say, “My son just refuses to eat anything green.”
After my most recent nutrition post, a friend on Twitter reached out about her program, “Today I Ate a Rainbow.” When she offered to send me the kit, no strings attached, I jumped at the chance. Honestly, I can use all the help I can get when it comes to my four year old in particular, and there is nothing quite like finding a great new resource. Created by Kia Robertson and her husband Jamie, Today I Ate a Rainbow!™ is a chart used to track the fruits and veggies your child eats throughout the day. Not only is it a great way for parents to monitor their child’s nutrition, but it is also a fun way to put the ability to make healthier choices in the hands of the kids themselves.
Each Today I Ate a Rainbow!™ kit includes a chart to track daily progress including food suggestions, colored magnets, achievement magnets, fridge magnets, color-coded shopping list for mom and dad, The Rainbow Bunch™ children’s storybook and a Rainbow bookmark. One of the best parts of the kit is the book, which allows other kids to tell your kids why it is so important to eat a rainbow each day.
Rainbow Foods
So how do you eat a rainbow each day? Below are some food suggestions by color from Kia Robertson.
Red
apples, beets, cherries, peppers, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon
Orange
apricots, cantaloupe, carrots, mangoes, oranges
Yellow
bananas, corn, grapefruit, pears, peppers, pineapples, squash, wax beans
Green
avocados, broccoli, cucumbers, grapes, honeydew melon, kiwi, peas, spinach
Purple
blackberries, blueberries, cabbage, eggplant, grapes, olives, plums, raisins
While my son would eat nothing but bread and fruit for the rest of his days if left to his own devices, he fights me on every vegetable except carrots. The most helpful part of this chart for me as a parent is realizing that even if he does not eat spinach, I can sneak green in his grapes or even diced cucumber. No luck with the tomatoes or peppers? No problem! Grab some strawberries and cherries.
What is your biggest nutrition struggle as a parent?
This product was provided to me by my Twitter pal, Kia, and was not sent for review or giveaway purposes. All opinions and parental struggles are my own, unfortunately.
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What a great resource. I have a lot of trouble eating my rainbow and worry about encouraging my little ones to do so. I think I’ll give this a try, thanks 😀
My biggest problem is getting my son to eat vegetables. He just doesn’t like them. He will eat any fruit you put in front of him, but only green beans and peas for veggies, and that is only with ketchup (gag). I chop spinach so small that it’s like parsley flakes and add it to his pizza.
We love our Rainbow kit in my house! Kids are absolutely giddy about getting their rainbow for the day . . .they will root through the fridge to find that orange thing the need to complete the rainbow!
I don’t have any children (yet) but I’m a nutritionist and have heard rav reviews about “Eating a Rainbow” I can’t wait to try it out for myself some day 🙂
I saw that and I’ve really wanted to try it! It’s on my wishlist!
My daughter is somewhat like Terri K’s son. She’s almost two and has never had candy or cake or anything like that. She did great eating vegetables when she was on Gerber Stage 2 foods but when we switched to table food it was a different story. She will try anything if she can dip it in ketchup first. She even does this with pb&j ewwwww…