Eating the Rainbow Isn’t Just Good Advice for Kids. It Works for Grown-Ups Too!

March, recognized as National Nutrition Month, is a good reminder to take a look at your family’s eating habits and choices, and introduce healthier changes as needed or pat yourself on the back for a job well-done. Providing nutritious meals and snacks for your family, especially with young children, can be exhausting as there is no one single approach to nutrition and health.

Growing bodies have different needs than adults and vice versa. For instance, milk plays a vital role in helping toddlers get the calcium and Vitamin D they need to build strong bones. Additionally, it is recommended that toddlers drink full-fat whole milk while older children and adults should drink nonfat, 1% or 2% fat milk. For adults, drinking lower-fat milk has been linked to better heart health, lower risk of having diabetes, and show less signs of biological aging.

Revamp Your Family Meal Game with These Tips

1. Start by evaluating your family members’ ages and nutritional needs. Kids Health has some information to help you identify the dietary needs of toddlers and preschoolers as well as tips on vitamin supplements, avoiding power struggles at the table and tips for picky eaters.
   MyPlate is another really good resource that can help you personalize your family eating plan. Plus, it’s free, available as an app, and has information for every life stage, recipes and tips to help your family eat healthy!
   

2. Plan ahead. Planning out your family’s meals and snacks each week ensures you have well-rounded food choices. Experts also say that it saves families stress, time and money. Liz Weiss, a registered dietician nutritionist and mom, understands all of the challenges (and joys) of feeding a hungry family. She shares her wisdom, including tips for meal planning, on her website, podcast and in blog posts.
   

3. “Eat the rainbow,” which just means choosing a variety of colorful fruits and veggies each day. Stay away from plates of food that tend to be all one color.  Plus, when you eat colorful foods, you are adding different nutrients, minerals and beneficial properties to your diet. For example, red foods enhance brains and heart health while yellow foods promote eye, skin, brain and heart health while also being anti-inflammatory. Check out this Healthline article to diversify your fresh produce choices and increase the health benefits by adding more colors to your diet.
   

4. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! While choosing a variety of foods from the five food groups each day is important to maintaining a healthy diet, so is maintaining a hydrated body. Water is the best choice and crucial in making your body function well; it helps to keep your brain and other organs functioning well, regulates your body temperature, improves sleep quality and more. You can tell if your children are dehydrated if their urine color is a dark yellow or amber color.

Check out the Eat Right website from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for more information about how you can help your family eat healthier.