Can you eat a rainbow?

Yesterday we made this gorgeous rainbow of food for lunch, a yearly Thanksgiving tradition at our preschool. In preparation for making our delicious rainbow I asked each child to bring in a fruit or veggie of a specific color to share.

We talked about all the amazing nutrients in our food and even touched on the special things in foods of certain colors. For example, yellow and orange fruits and veggies are loaded with beta-carotene and purple-blue indicates the presence of anthocyanins. These special and amazing nutrients are like super heros in the body, protecting it and keeping it strong!

During lunch we let the children choose the foods they wanted from our rainbow and it was exciting to see many of them choosing to try the entire rainbow, even kids that are often picky about what they will eat. One little boy enthusiastically told me that he felt strong after eating his rainbow!

Want to make your own food rainbow?

Here are some ideas of foods in every shade of the rainbow:

RED: tomatoes, strawberries, beets, raspberries, red apples, red bell pepper, watermelon, red grapefruit, blood oranges, cherries

ORANGE: oranges, apricots, peaches, cantaloupe, mangoes, carrots, squash, sweet potato, papaya, nectarine

YELLOW: corn, yellow peppers, melons, grapefruit, banana (if you choose to send this item we can prepare it in class), pineapples, lemons, yellow apple

GREEN: peas, artichokes, leafy greens, avocado (if you choose to send this item we can prepare it in class), broccoli, green grapes, pears, honeydew melon, green apples, green bell pepper, celery, kiwi, green beans

INDIGO-BLUE: blueberries, plums, blackberries

PURPLE: dark purple grapes, purple potatoes, purple cabbage, eggplant, figs, purple bell peppers, purple carrots, purple cauliflower

Do you have any special ways of encouraging kids to eat healthy? I would love to hear about it!

Shared on: The Kid's Co-op