A Rainbow of Real Foods: The Choosy Rainbow Salad

By: Jennifer Ripepi, MD

There is a popular candy with the slogan "Taste the rainbow."  Let's try to get kids excited about the rainbow of REAL foods. Just for a moment, think about how food looks and presents itself. Many popular snack foods are really bland or neutral colored. Potato chips, crackers, pretzels are not really eye-catching or colorful. Now think about strolling through the produce section at the market. Wow! Color everywhere. There is a healthy, nourishing rainbow in the produce section of your grocery store. Let’s “taste the real rainbow.” And while you are tasting the real rainbow, take a listen to Choosy's song of the month, Yum Yum Yummy!

Remember ROY G BIV? That guy who helped you recall the colors in the light spectrum. Let's think of his name when we try to prepare the Choosy Rainbow Salad.

Red- little tomatoes or cherries or strawberries
Orange- orange peppers, carrot sticks, or an orange (little ones are popular now)
Yellow- yellow peppers, apples, tomatoes, or corn
Green- lettuce, broccoli, snap peas, green beans or any other greens are great
Blue- how about blueberries?
Indigo and Purple- grapes, blackberries, purple cabbage

Make it a game in the store and if there is something you haven't tried before, show your family what Choosy would do: Try it!

Now put it all together. Remember that just a little is all you need for each salad or make a bigger one for the family to share--that could save you time. Look at the picture to get an idea for assembling this or create your own way. You can cut the pieces up and everyone makes their own. Food art is fun, creative, and can include the whole family. Use a small amount of whatever dressing you like or try it dressing-free. It's your choice.

Encourage children to create their yummy, colorful snacks using the cut up veggie rainbow pieces you provide. Children are more likely to eat food they prepare. Not interested a rainbow salad? How about just adding a little of the rainbow to each meal? Fruit for breakfast. Fruit and veggie for lunch, and fruit and veggie or salad and veggie for dinner. That gets you to 5 in a day!

And remember, when you use some fruit or veggies to have colorful snacks, instead of bland junk food snacks, you are well on your way to giving yourself and your kids the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber they were meant to have as fuel. Real kids, real food!

Here's to Rainbow Power! What strategies do you use to have your children eat a variety of healthy colors?

About the Author: I have been a pediatrician for over 25 years. My husband and I have been privileged to raise 4 bright and healthy children. I have tried to gather wisdom from the families I have been blessed to meet during my journey. I believe in practical and flexible parenting to help raise healthy adults. I love to garden, hike, travel and cook and I am looking forward to hearing from Choosy followers.

Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes

By: Christine Cox, The Choosy Mommy

At my daughter’s 18 month doctor’s appointment, the physician asked me if she knew where her nose was. At that point, the honest answer was no. I was teaching her the “fun” things, like animals and the sounds they make and what we saw out the window. We were working on our ABC’s and 1, 2, 3’s, but it never occurred to me that I should be teaching her about her body parts.

It was like a duh moment for me. All parents have those but I can honestly say that I felt like I skipped this lesson when it should’ve been one of the first to be taught. Not only are these important but it can really help to tell me what is hurt when she falls or what doesn’t feel good on a bad day! So we started working on where her nose, eyes, ears, hair and toes were as soon as we got home.

Now, I am happy to say that I am running out of body parts to teach her and we are now able to play body part games like head, shoulders, knees and toes. I was playing the Choosy Nation CD in the car while we were traveling one day and it mentions moving her head, shaking her elbows and waving her hands in the air and I could see her in the rear view mirror doing all of those actions, even in her car seat! So when we got home, I played the same song so she could move and dance along with it. She loved it!

Needless to say, I went from, “Oh my gosh, I missed a parenting step” to, “She knows all of her body parts” proud parent moment in no time. It is important to continually educate our children but keep it fun too. My daughter most certainly learns best when it is an active and engaging activity. Sometimes it is a game to her, but in reality, she is just soaking up the knowledge!

What body part games or songs do your children love?

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master and The Choosy Mommy for Choosy Kids. She has always had a passion for writing and is honored to contribute her work to this blog. Most of her writing inspiration comes from her daughter, Capri, who is fun-loving and full of energy. Click here to learn more about Christine.

First Comes Brushing, Then Comes Flossing!

By: Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP

We have all heard about the key elements to excellent oral health and hygiene for young children: brushing their teeth twice a day, before bed and after breakfast, with a smear of fluoride toothpaste on a soft child-sized toothbrush; providing tooth-healthy drinks, such as water, instead of sugary beverages; flossing between teeth as soon as you see that they are touching each other; and taking your child for regular check-ups starting when the first tooth erupts. We’ve discussed creating good brushing habits with your children and starting regular check-ups when their first tooth appears, but what happens after they have been seen by the dentist and are on the way to mastering daily dental routines? 

On one of our recent posts, a mom mentioned that her little one likes to dip his/her toothbrush into a cup of mouthwash and rinse with that. It got me thinking, as I am sure many children would love to do that. What does it do to their teeth/mouth? Is it safe? 

The instructions on the label of mouthwashes is that children under six should not use the product. This is likely due to the fact that many, but not all, mouthwashes have a form of alcohol in their liquid and it is not safe to be swallowed in large amounts. This is something you will want to discuss with your child’s dentist. There’s no need to wait for your child’s next dental visit, just pick up the phone and call your dentist and ask for current recommendations! 

Also, it is important to understand that any ingredient that limits our normal production of saliva will actually be counterproductive and can even lead to more decay of our teeth. Saliva is very beneficial because it has a buffering effect on the “acid attack,” composed of acid waste products that are created when the bacteria in our mouths digest sugars and carbohydrates.

If your children are anxious to start copying your mouth washing techniques, my suggestion is to teach them how to floss instead. Flossing between two teeth that are touching is helpful because it breaks down the build-up of plaque between the teeth, which is essential to do because the toothbrush bristles cannot get in-between the teeth that are tightly spaced. It is important to help children with flossing because they do not have the manual dexterity to floss by themselves until they can write cursive. Be sure to move the floss gently under the gum line, where the germs causing decay are more likely to grow because that is where it’s dark and warm. The gum line is also where there are leftover food particles hanging out (which the germs love to eat). Flossing between our own teeth and our child’s teeth on a daily basis will disrupt the plaque traps and prevent the germs from building up. By demonstrating flossing between our own teeth on a daily basis, our children will want to copy us. 

The manufactured “flossers” for children are very helpful because they are easier to grasp for small fingers and they fit into small mouths more easily, plus they are colorful and animated looking! 

Have your children tried flossing? What age did they start? Remember to check out Choosy Kids CD and DVD collection for brushing songs and videos!

About the Author: Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP, CPNP-PC, is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She has 20 years of experience in public health nursing, maternal and child health, family and community health promotion and has extensive health expertise in oral health, childhood obesity prevention and child nutrition. Click here to learn more about Amy.