It is #TuesdayTips and today we are talking about Tasting the rainbow. When we talk about eating the Rainbow, we don’t mean skittles. There is so much information to help both you and your child on having a better balanced meal and adding in color.

The good news is that each color of the rainbow helps with our bodies.

Red helps with fighting off heart disease, lowering the risk of cancer, regulating blood pressure and lowers bad cholesterol

This includes:

Apples

Cranberries

Pink Grapefruit

Red Currants

Strawberries

Blood Oranges

Lingonberries

Pomegranate

Red Pears

Watermelon

Cherries

Nectarines

Raspberries

Red Plums

Red Cabbage

Tomato

Red Chicory

Red Potato

Beetroot

Red Chard

Red Bell Pepper

Red Jalapeno Pepper

Purple/Blue helps with lowering the risk of cancer

This Includes:

Aubergine

Purple Kale

Purple Potatoes

Beetroot

Purple Carrots

Turnips

Purple Bell Peppers

Purple Cauliflower

Blackberries

Plumes

Prunes

Blueberries

Purple Grapes

Figs

Raisins

Green helps keeps eyes healthy and protects our brains

This includes:

Artichokes

Bell Peppers

Celery

Avacado

Broccoli

Edamame

Green Peas

Green Chard

Mustard Greens

Beet Greens

Mustard Greens

Okra

Bean Sprout

Cabbage

Green beans

Kale

Spinach

Watercress

Green Tea

Limes

Green Apples

Olives

Kiwi

Pears

Orange and Yellow helps with lowering the risk of cancer, heart disease, and helps our immune system

This Includes:

Carrot

Tumeric

Orange Bell Pepper

Sweet Potatoes

Pumpkins

Yams

Apricots

Kumquat

Nectarine

Passionfruit

Blood Orange

Mandarin

Oranges

Peach

Cantaloupe

Mango

Papaya

Persimmon

Corn

Ginger

Yukon Potatoes

Yellow Onion

Yellow Bell Pepper

Squash

Apples

Lemons

Asian Pears

Pineapple

Bananas

Starfruit

White helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol

This includes:

cauliflower

onions

garlic

turnips

parsnips

mushrooms

white beans

Citrus helps with keeping a healthy heart, and immune system.

This Includes:

Lemons

Limes

Oranges

Grapefruit

Yuzu

Kumquat

and more more

Now that we have covered what the rainbow consists of, we need to cover the how to do. It is easier said than done right? So here are my tips and tricks or you can check out my facebook group: Kid Made and Kid Approved for more.

• Eat your fruits and veggies, be the role model for your kids
• Get them involved in the cooking
• You can grow your own garden, even indoors
• Change names to veggies and explain their superpowers
• Serve with every meal
• Use the 1-3 bit rule. They must take at least one bite before leaving the table.
• Have them easily accessible
• Let the kids play with the cut veggies and create art
• Hide or remove the junk or unhealthy options
• Use dips
• and last resort, hide them in food.

Now no one will eat all veggies and fruits, it is just fact but if you can grow your child’s palette to have a list that covers the rainbows, you are on to creating your own little rainbow. Remember that it stakes 15 tries ( and I am not referring to bites) to get your child to begin liking something.

Here is a list of fun ways to incorporate the rainbow into your meals.