How Crayola and Purple Carrots Boosted My Nephew's Nutrition

February 17, 2010 10:20 pm

How Crayola and Purple Carrots Boosted My Nephew's Nutrition

$Behind the Burner: How Crayola and Purple Carrots Boosted My Nephew\'s Nutrition$

We all know that kids can be picky eaters. Just the word "vegetable" can make some particularly difficult little ones cringe. I recently had this experience with my three year-old nephew because his own parents feed him nothing but junk food —mostly packaged mac n' cheese and soda. So I knew he would be a real challenge because his palate was quite naive. I came up with a plan to get him interested in cooking. After all, he was always first hand on deck when I would bake cakes. I figured arousing his curiosity in the kitchen would be a cinch.

After much thought about how to get him to eat nutritious foods, I came up with a game plan. It dawned on me, kids love to color. He could sit for hours with a coloring book and a box of crayons. So I broke out the Crayolas and sat down with him. I asked him to draw me vegetables that were crazy colors. So instead of yellow corn, he would color it red and instead of green lettuce he would color it blue. Of particular interest were purple carrots. After this drawing activity we went off in search of fun colored vegetables. He loved the experience; every minute of it. I had heard in the past the that one way to get your kids eating is to get them involved in the cooking. This trick is tried and true.

Lucky for us, the weather cooperated and we went to our favorite outdoor Farmers' Market. There we found what he had drawn—red corn—and at the nearest Whole Foods, purple carrots. He was elated. We took our colorful finds home and got cooking in the kitchen. He watched and assisted in preparing all the dishes, especially purple carrot soup. He ate every last bite. There is something about the rainbow that is psychologically thrilling, and for the wee ones, I think colorful produce can give a whole meaning to "taste the rainbow."

Photo credit: www.connectmidmichigan.com

� Written by Jennifer Ambrose

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Tags : eat your vegetables, kids to eat veggies, high-produce diet, purple carrots, purple carrot soup, Jennifer Ambrose, Behind the Burner