| Nutritionists and the USDA Food Pyramid all provide | | | | blanche" to snack on fruit anytime, without asking |
| nutritional guidelines that suggest that offering a variety | | | | permission. At snacktime, cut up vegetables and serve |
| of nourishing foods to your children will help insure that | | | | with a tasty dip your children have helped you prepare. |
| they eat a healthy diet. | | | | Other ways to get rainbow foods into your kids' diet: |
| In fact, they state that by choosing foods from the | | | | *Top breakfast cereals with cut-up banana or |
| range of colors found in the rainbow you can generally | | | | strawberries. |
| obtain most of the necessary vitamins and minerals | | | | *Make yummy smoothies with frozen fruit and yogurt. |
| recommended for a healthy diet. | | | | Toss in a bit of kale for extra health (and your kids |
| "Rainbow" colored foods are easily found in the fruits | | | | won't even notice!) |
| and vegetables that are available in our grocery stores | | | | *Mix chopped fruit with jello. |
| throughout the year. When you offer your kids an | | | | *Start a vegetable garden. Children love eating what |
| abundance of healthy food choices like those in the | | | | they've grown themselves! |
| "food rainbow," while limiting their access to less | | | | How do you help your kids to try new foods when |
| nutritious pre-packaged "snack" goodies, you can feel | | | | introducing healthy food choices? According to |
| reassured they are eating wholesome foods. | | | | Contemporary Pediatrics, a new food needs to be |
| Great rainbow foods include: | | | | served to children about ten times before most of |
| *Bananas | | | | them will accept it! Try introducing new foods at |
| *Summer squash | | | | mealtimes, alongside some of their favorite foods. So |
| *Strawberries | | | | when you serve a yummy spaghetti dinner, add a |
| *Oranges | | | | roasted vegetable medley on the side. The good |
| *Carrots | | | | news is that most children will eventually try it. Kids |
| *Sweet potatoes | | | | also say they are more likely to give a new food a try |
| *Tomatoes | | | | when they see their siblings or parents eat it. |
| *Red peppers | | | | That's right; you need to eat healthy foods, too! Your |
| *Beets | | | | food choices are a very important opportunity, so |
| *Grapes | | | | teach your children by setting a good example. |
| *Blueberries | | | | Offer lots of good-tasting, healthy choices at snack |
| *Blackberries | | | | and mealtimes and you will encourage your kids to |
| *Spinach | | | | make healthy eating part of their life habits. If you |
| *Kale | | | | teach your children to make the right choices "most of |
| You may be surprised how easy it is to get your | | | | the time," when they are away from you it is more |
| children to eat healthy food. We suggest you always | | | | likely that they will make healthy choices, too. |
| have fresh fruit accessible to your kids at all times. | | | | So remember to put a little color in their diet! |
| You may also want to give your children "carte | | | | |