Parenting Australia

Eat a Rainbow

I’ll admit it. Lately I’ve been guilty of reaching for the bickie tin in the afternoon when my three year old just can’t quite hang out til dinner, and I’m too busy or tired to fix her something more nutritious. And yes, while I’m at it I usually grab one for myself too. Guilty as charged.

It’s well known that processed “white” foods don’t really do any of us any favours. They tend to be full of bleached flour, high in refined sugars, packed with empty calories and low in nutrition. So why on earth do we all fall back to them at grumble o’clock? Because they are easy.

Catherine Oehlman

I’ve found the best way to avoid the temptation of the bickie barrel is to have healthy options that are equally easy. With a little preplanning, you can have nutritious snack boxes in the fridge ready to go. And with a little creativity, you can make snacking a colourful experience too.

Kids love colour. Some children have one that is their all time favourite. Others change their favourite colour on a daily basis. At the moment my daughter is into rainbows! Why not use their fascination with colours to steer them (and yourself) away from white foods and towards something more nutritious?

Set up a surprise snack box for your child ahead of time. Either prepare it the night before, or get it ready in the morning while you’re doing the breakfast routine. Chop up anything from the fruit and veggie crisper of a single colour, put it in a small container and pop it into the fridge at a kid friendly height. That way, when your child gets the munchies you’ll have an alternative that’s just as easy as taking the lid of the barrel.

Try a different coloured snack box for each day of the week. It’s a great way to make sure your child is getting a good range of different nutrients and an easy way of getting them to try new foods. It also has the added bonus of being an exciting surprise each day!

Here are some ideas for putting together colourful snack boxes for your child. Of course, what you put into the snack box will be dependent on what is in season, but don’t be afraid to mix fruits and vegetables together in the same box.

• Red Snacks – apple, strawberry, cherry tomato, raspberry, watermelon, cherry


• Orange Snacks – rockmelon/cantaloupe, orange, mandarin, apricot, carrot, pawpaw, mango


• Yellow Snacks – banana, pineapple, starfruit, corn, pear, nashi


• Green Snacks – kiwi fruit, honeydew melon, celery, snow peas, beans, avocado, cucumber


• Blue/Purple Snacks – blueberry, blackberry, grapes, plum

You could have a Rainbow Snacks day too, with a mix of different colours. Alternatively you could include foods such as capsicum in the Rainbow box as they come in a range of colours (yellow, orange, red, green... sometimes a combination!) And if you’re running low on fresh produce at the end of the week, try adding foods such as cheese and dried fruits.

My plan this week is to banish the bickie barrel and put some healthy colour back into my toddler’s life. You never know. I might even find myself keeping away from the white stuff too.

How do you get your kids to eat a variety of different foods? Have you tried Catherine's suggestion using colour to entice your children or have you taken a different tact?

___________________________________

Catherine Oehlman is a SAHM currently being raised by a terrific toddler and a curious crawler. Her background in primary education, love of the mothering journey and compulsion for writing collide on her SquiggleMum blog. Cath encourages other parents from all walks of life to maximise the time they spend with their children.

Add Comment

Name

Email (will not be published)

Personal Web site/Blog URL

Subject

Comment

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Enter the letters you see in the image.

Click to get a new image.