This is the next book I want to get for my kids. Isn't it so fun looking!!
The start of a new school year is the best time to start some healthier habits with your kids...like early bedtimes so they aren't falling asleep in class, drinking more water (Whole Foods has cute lunch box size BPA free reusable bottles), and eating a healthier diet. The habits we start with our young children will follow them throughout their childhood and into adulthood. One habit we have started is to try to Eat a Rainbow every day! This will help to boost their immune systems to handle the germs of school. I have charts on our fridge now for each child that I printed off from
here. We mark what the kids ate from that color food group, with the goal of eating a rainbow everyday! There are also kits off
this website you can order.
Some of our personal rainbow choices include:
Red: apples, tomotoes, watermelon, strawberries, red bell pepper, salsa, and frozen raspberries
Orange and yellow: peaches, clementines or canned mandarin oranges, carrots, sweet potato,
Squash, corn, yellow apples, peppers.
Green: Broccoli, green beans, avocado, peas, celery, spinach, cucumber
Blue and Purple: blueberries, grapes, plums.
White: Bananas, potatoes, beans, and garlic
You can see it is not too hard to get an entire rainbow in a day if you eat the recommended 5 fruits and veggies each day. Many nutritionists and doctors recommend up to 10 a day.
Here is a great website for that resource.
And an easy way to get several colors in with one meal is a bag of mixed veggies. You can add this to so much...soup, sauces, Quesadillas, as a sidedish, in Lasagna....
I have a recipe for a great lunch that covers many colors of the Rainbow!
Take a whole wheat pita and cut it into four triangles. Spread hummus on both inside halves and then layer spinach leaves, sliced baby tomatoes, thinly sliced cucumbers, and olives.
I also added a little pinch of shredded carrot.
And sides were more fresh fruit and vegetables.
In Isaac's, I added turkey because he needs an extra dose of protein or he is "starving" an hour later. The kids LOVED these! Isaac ate three and Jayden ate his and asked for a second after scarfing it down. He was the one I was worried about as fresh vegetables and he do no always get along!
I figure if the baby can eat a rainbow...so can the big kids!
Another great way to get vegetables in your kids, is this book that my friend gave me years ago:
She has you make up the same purees I am already making for Jasmine...sweet potatoes, squash, spinach, etc. and then incorporates them in recipes. Your kids get a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals without even knowing it! I think kids eat too much dairy and not enough produce and whole grains. Just think of how often a day you serve your small child milk, yogurt, cheese, and processed snacks. It is easy, I know....and those foods have their place in a daily diet. BUT they will not ward off illness like fruits and vegetables will. And a multivitamin is not sufficient alone. So I challenge you to use this school year as a way to start some new habits! Every time Isaac pinches his nose as he chokes down his steamed broccoli (a veggie he hates but the other kids love) I say, "It takes kids ten times for kids to try food before they will like it" and he says, "what number am I on?" Ha!!
What kid friendly meals do you all make that incorporate a variety of fruits and vegetables?
This is the next book I want to get for my kids. Isn't it so fun looking!!
Squash, corn, yellow apples, peppers.
Green: Broccoli, green beans, avocado, peas, celery, spinach, cucumber
White: Bananas, potatoes, beans, and garlic
And an easy way to get several colors in with one meal is a bag of mixed veggies. You can add this to so much...soup, sauces, Quesadillas, as a sidedish, in Lasagna....
I also added a little pinch of shredded carrot.
And sides were more fresh fruit and vegetables.
In Isaac's, I added turkey because he needs an extra dose of protein or he is "starving" an hour later. The kids LOVED these! Isaac ate three and Jayden ate his and asked for a second after scarfing it down. He was the one I was worried about as fresh vegetables and he do no always get along!
She has you make up the same purees I am already making for Jasmine...sweet potatoes, squash, spinach, etc. and then incorporates them in recipes. Your kids get a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals without even knowing it! I think kids eat too much dairy and not enough produce and whole grains. Just think of how often a day you serve your small child milk, yogurt, cheese, and processed snacks. It is easy, I know....and those foods have their place in a daily diet. BUT they will not ward off illness like fruits and vegetables will. And a multivitamin is not sufficient alone. So I challenge you to use this school year as a way to start some new habits! Every time Isaac pinches his nose as he chokes down his steamed broccoli (a veggie he hates but the other kids love) I say, "It takes kids ten times for kids to try food before they will like it" and he says, "what number am I on?" Ha!!
For two weeks only, Candice is offering one FREE bag when you order the 5 Bag Value Combo! You pick the fabric and sizes of all SIX bags...that would allow you 3 different sets of matching sandwich/snack combos if you wanted.
CreATEmeMom's second back to school deal is a FREE napkin when you order a set of 4 napkins for $5.50!
We put papers with every number that was entered in each giveaway into Isaac's new school lunchbox.
Then Jayden drew for each prize.
#13....Christy!! Hooray!!
#24 Kimberly! Congrats girl!
#2 Kristi!! Way to go~ Her daughter, Sydney will love it!
#7....Nicole!!! Hooray!
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