Let’s face it – getting our kids to eat healthily is a daily struggle for most parents. When’s the last time you heard a mom say, “My kid ate all the veggies I put on his plate for dinner.”? Yeah, exactly. The effort we take in getting our kids to eat healthily is tough (believe me, I know) but it’s worth it. Sadly, today, many kids are dealing with major complications from the foods they eat. It’s not only about drugs, tobacco, and alcohol.
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So how do you teach the basics of nutrition to a child? It can be hard for even us adults to understand what and how much to eat. But for kids, it takes a simple method: to eat as many different colors as they can. Essentially, they need to eat the rainbow. The colors in foods are indicators of nutritional value, and different colors mean different vitamins and minerals… and superpowers.
The bottom line: think color and superpowers. And fill your kids in on the secret!
RED
Rosy-colored fruits and vegetables offer loads of an important antioxidant called lycopene. Lycopene is a carotenoid associated with a hoard of health benefits. Those benefits include protecting the skin from sun damage and decreasing the risk of heart disease and some forms of cancer.
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The Superpower: Red food makes you dash like the Flash! The superhero Flash wore a red outfit for a reason. Lycopene-rich foods have been shown to decrease symptoms of wheezing, asthma, and shortness of breath in people when exercising.