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KIDS AND FOOD COLORS: THE NUTRIENTS THAT GIVE FOODS THEIR COLOR
ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
Color it nutritious! Teach your children that a colorful plate means lots of "grow foods." What a beautiful array of colors fruits and vegetables have! You can use this
eyeful of color to your advantage by teaching your child to choose naturally colorful foods. The
brightest colors are found in produce that is in season, fresh, and eaten raw or lightly steamed.
Play a color-matching game. What's in the reds? Why is it good for you?
When you're in the supermarket's produce section, send your children out on a color-
finding mission. Assign one child orange and green, and another child gets the job of
choosing two yellows! This can also be an excellent way of introducing new foods
and getting variety into the family diet.
When you serve fruits and vegetables, ask your children what vitamins and minerals
they are high in, and why these are good for them.
Have children color the fruits and vegetables. Then have them paste them on a sheet
of paper in groups according to their colors.
Have children draw pictures of food on paper plates. Are all the food groups
represented? Use colorful markers.
Ask your children what color foods they ate today. Talk about each food and its
color. "Did you eat your yummy yellows and great greens today?"
Create a "rainbow lunch," a trayful of colorful foods cut into bite-sized servings.
Kids remember colors. To get your children to appreciate the nutrient value of foods,
teach them that colors mean healthy foods, or, in kid-language, "grow foods."
Remind them: "Did you get your reds today?"
HEALTHY COLORS
Colors
Food Sources
Nutrients
Health Benefits
Red
tomatoes
tomato sauce
ketchup
watermelon
pink grapefruit
guava juice
red peppers
Lycopene
Beta carotene
Vitamin C
Lycopene is a potent antioxidant
and is one of the top ten
anticancer carotenoids. It
has been linked to
reductions in the risk of
prostate cancer.
Anthocyanins have anti-
cancer properties.
Red peppers contain much
more beta carotene (and
more vitamin C ) than
green peppers.
Pink
pink grapefruit
Lycopene beta carotene
Like lycopene, beta
carotene is an antioxidant
that is good for the eyes.
It also reduces the risk of
cancers and
cardiovascular disease.
Some orange/yellow
vegetables, such as
pumpkin and summer
squash, contain the
phytonutrient, lutein, which helps
protect against
degeneration of eye
structure with aging.
Carotenoids, like beta
carotene, are the phytos
that protect plants from
sun damage. Perhaps they
do the same for humans.
Dark green
kale, other "greens"
asparagus
watercress
spinach
broccoli
parsley, fresh
dill, fresh
romaine lettuce
zucchini
green peppers
Beta carotene
Dark green foods are rich
in antioxidants.
Blue or dark purple
blueberries
bilberries
cherries
grapes
red wine
plums
purple cabbage
Anthocyanin
The pigment anthocyanin
has anti-cancer properties.
Black or dark red
black beans kidney beans
Calcium
Iron
Black beans are higher in
fiber and calcium; red
beans contain slightly
more iron.
AskDrSears.com is intended to help parents become better informed consumers
of health care. The information presented in this site gives general advice
on parenting and health care. Always consult your doctor for your individual
needs.