Rainbow colour Vegetarian Diet for Kids

Kriti Aggarwal Mar 23, 2018

Do you think a Vegetarian diet can be sufficient for kids in today’s life? Yes, it is a fact that a vegetarian diet fulfils complete nutritional requirements for the kids, yet the difficult part is to make kids eat fruits and vegetables. Many studies have shown that there are lots of health benefits associated with healthy and a well-balanced vegetarian diet. A well-planned, nutritious, plant-based diet is associated with a lower risk of childhood obesity, type-2 diabetes and even certain type of cancers. The key is to be aware of your child’s daily supplement and recommended daily dose so that you plan accordingly.

Making kids eat healthily: A Challenge!

Putting healthy items on your kids’ plate is easy, making them eat it can be anything from an emotional drama to a complete rebellion or a full-blown war on the dining table! Yeh mommies you are not alone in this struggle!

Kidmish has a simple but highly effective workaround to handle this :D

One great way to make your kids learn about the healthy and colourful fruits, vegetables and other nutritious food is The Rainbow. You can encourage your little ones to eat healthy by making them associate each colour of the rainbow with wholesome foods. Each colour is rich in specific nutrients that will help your child get a well-balanced diet.

Let’s see what all goes into a rainbow, specific to each colour in terms of a vegetarian diet:

Red

Red colour fruits and vegetables are packed with a lot of health benefits for kids. They contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of cancer and keeps heart healthy.

You should inculcate healthy habits since the beginning in your little bundle of joy to avoid any disease in later stages of life. The three red foods that you should be giving to your child almost on daily basis are cherries, tomatoes, and red cabbage.

Orange

Orange colour in fruits and vegetables contains carotenoids, the powerful phytochemical that can help in repairing DNA, preventing cancer as well as other heart diseases, and strengthening kids vision. From carrots, mangoes to pumpkins, there are a variety of orange colour fruits and vegetables but mangoes are kids favourite. They are also known as the king of fruits and kids love mangoes so much that they can have it in any form. You should be happy that there are immense health benefits associated with every serving of mango. So try more food recipes with mango as the main ingredient and mix it with other healthy fruits and vegetables.

Yellow

Yellow color fruits and vegetables contain an abundance of Vitamin C which helps in detoxifying harmful substances from our system. Be it Oranges, Lemons, Papaya, Peaches - all of them can help your kid indigestion related problems skin disorders and even heart issues which are becoming very common these days. You can try different salads and beverages and add lemon to meet the benefits of yellow colour fruits and vegetables in kids. A daily dose of lemonade can be a great energy booster after exercise.

Green

Green colour fruits and vegetables play a very important role in the overall growth of the kids. Spinach, Kale, Green Apple, Broccoli, Grapes, Beans, Sprouts, Asparagus are all packed with Chlorophyll, lutein, zeaxanthin, calcium, folate, vitamin C, calcium, and beta-carotene. They help in building healthy cells for growth and metabolism, reduce the risk of cancer and support retinal health. It is difficult for parents to make kids eat healthy green colour food but it can be made interesting by adding kids favourite components in it e.g. adding broccoli as a topping on pizzas or adding butter in mix vegetable soup and making colourful sprout salad with cucumber, apple etc.

Blue

Some of the fruits and vegetables in the blue colour group are Blueberries, Plums, Eggplant, Blackcurrants. They contain phytochemicals called anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are antioxidants that destroy free radicals providing numerous heart-healthy benefits. The darker the blue colour, the higher the concentration of phytochemicals, the better it will be. Encourage your kids to eat these healthy foods which are a rich source of a variety of vitamins and minerals.

Purple

Purple colour fruits and vegetables i.e. Purple carrots, Grapes, Berries, Pomegranates, and Figs are all great sources of phytonutrients required by kids. The vibrant purple pigment in these fruits and vegetables contain polyphenol named flavonoids, including resveratrol, which protects the endothelial lining of arteries, so that blood flows normally. It also helps in reducing the oxidative stress, which prevents premature ageing of cells and helps in blocking the production of NF kappa b, a powerful, noxious inflammatory agent. Making the purple fruits as part of daily diet will help your kids in the long run.

Brown

Brown colour food includes Whole Grains, which are a great option for a healthy diet. They are Barley, Brown rice, Buckwheat, Bulgur (cracked wheat), Millet, Oats, Popcorn and Whole-wheat bread, pasta or crackers. They contain fibres which reduce blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.They are important for proper bowel function and helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Eating a variety of whole grains not only ensures that your child gets more health-promoting nutrients but also helps make their meals and snacks more interesting. Like you can give Oatmeal or whole wheat bran flakes for breakfast. Substitute white flour in muffins with whole grain cereals. Make sandwiches using whole-grain bread or rolls. Replace white rice with quinoa, brown rice, wild rice, barley or bulgur.

Make your kids eat a colourful variety of fruits and vegetables every day to meet the daily nutritional requirement. You should incorporate different ways to make your kids meal look attractive so that they eat healthy food and this becomes a delightful sensory experience for them. You can make the whole meal a play by weaving stories around how good food kills various enemies of health. You can even play songs ( Video: http://lyrics.wikia.com/wiki/Yo_Gabba_Gabba!:Party_In_My_Tummy) to encourage healthy food habits in your kids.

If you still find it difficult to make your young buds eat nutritious food and bloom into a healthy flower then look for different food recipes and healthy tips on Kidmish. Join the ourKidmish club for our newsletters and updates.

Until then, Happy Parenting!

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Kriti Aggarwal

Kriti is Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Hippo Innovations where she spearheads the design and overall UI/UX of its products StoreHippo and ShipKaro.