Want your child to consume more vegetables? Read here....

Want your child to consume more vegetables?

 Discuss the idea of "eating the rainbow" with them.

Today's young parents were raised during some of the most harmful diet culture periods. The moralization of food as "good" or "bad" has remained constant throughout these shifting trends, from diet and "lite" foods and drinks to expensive "superfoods."

 

Many of us now have difficult relationships with food, eating, and dieting as a result of these diet movements. If this is something you've experienced before, you might be wondering how to use the fun aspects of healthy foods to get kids to eat more of them.

 

"Eating the rainbow" refers to regularly consuming a variety of colored vegetables and fruits. The evidence shows that encouraging your child to eat a rainbow can start more balanced and positive conversations about food.

 

Promoting variety

All vegetables and fruits are healthy.

 

Because each fruit and vegetable has its own unique nutritional profile, the more fruits and vegetables you consume in those servings, the better.

 

Aiming for the rainbow can assist in encouraging variety because eating a variety of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis has more advantages than eating the same type over and over again.

 

We may also eat more if we are served diverse and colorful meals. Therefore, you can utilize the rainbow to assist in consuming all of those serves if you or your children are having difficulty eating enough fruits and vegetables.

 

Sparking adventurousness

Chasing the rainbow can also help kids get out of their comfort zones and encourage them to try new foods early on.

 

Kids can benefit from routine, but there are connections between our willingness to try new foods and other healthy traits and habits. People who enjoy trying new things tend to eat better than people who don't like trying new things.

 

Introducing young children to the complexities of food. 

The majority of today's parents were raised during the "reductionist" nutrition era. Instead of whole, complex foods, the key macro and micronutrients they contain were the focus. It's easy to believe that bread is "bad" and citrus fruits are only a good source of vitamin C when we think in this way, but foods are much more complex than this. As a result, bread becomes all about the carbs and citrus becomes all about the vitamin C. A single food rarely contains a single nutrient, and a single food rarely contains a single nutrient. Even more importantly, food contains "bioactive compounds," which are more than just nutrients.

Plant foods naturally contain these bioactives, which can also be referred to as phytochemicals or phytonutrients (phyto means "from plants"). They are not as necessary for our survival as nutrients are, but they can be beneficial to our health.

 

Because these bioactives are frequently linked to colors, foods of various hues not only have distinct nutritional profiles but also distinct bioactive profiles.

 

In point of fact, bioactives are frequently the pigments that give fruits and vegetables their colors. For instance, anothcyanins, which have been linked to reduced inflammation, and lycopenes, which have been linked to the health of the heart and blood vessels, can both be found in reds.

 

The names of the various bioactives and their functions are irrelevant to children. However, you can begin discussions about the intricate nature of our biology and the food that sustains it.

 

Where is the source of fresh food? 

Numerous children don't know which fruits and vegetables are which or where their food comes from, according to survey data.

 

When they ripen, fruits and vegetables often turn a different color, and the different parts of the plants from which they come are also different colors. Therefore, discussing the rainbow can lead to discussions about:

 

where food originates,

how it grows,

which parts of each plant are safe to consume, and

which parts taste good.

 

 

Anything goes with rainbows.

 

You can start discussing with older children what happens to the colors of foods when they are cooked or mixed. When paired with other colors, some foods that aren't particularly appealing on their own might become more appealing. For instance, combining bitter green leafy vegetables with citrus' sourness or berries' sweetness can enhance their flavor.

 

Cooking can release or alter nutrients and bioactives, as well as make or dull foods.

 

Kitchen science experiments can make use of colors, such as blueberries or cabbage, which act as natural indicators of acidity.

 

Talking about colors can pique children's interest, but they do not need to be familiar with every detail in order to benefit from eating the rainbow. Because of its diversity, the rainbow puts less emphasis on individual foods, making healthy eating simpler and more enjoyable.