“Eat a Rainbow”
So many good things come from rainbows… not only was it a national symbol of hope during the COVID-19 Pandemic a few years ago, but it was also the namesake of my first business ‘Rainbow Rhythm’ ( - a parent/toddler music group inspired by my firstborn, Leah and where I met so many good friends in those early whirlwind days of motherhood). Any entrepreneurial type venture I’ve undertaken in the past decade has been inspired by my ‘rainbow’ babies - Leah and Joshua - and this new path is no exception to that rule. In fact I was absolutely delighted to be invited back to their Infant School, ‘St Matthew’s’ in Downside, Cobham to run a day of ‘Eat the Rainbow’ workshops last week fully funded by their PTA.
Having visited at the beginning of the year to host an ‘Eat the Rainbow’ assembly with the assistance of my trusty oversized caterpillar puppet, my return was met with much enthusiasm. I was so impressed by how willing and enthusiastic the children were to create their own colourful fruit and vegetable kebabs. This helped me reinforce the important message that such a colourful variety in their diets is crucial to ensure they benefit from essential nutrients and the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties most fresh produce boasts. Vibrant fruit and vegetables contain phytonutrients, which are the compounds that not only give them their colour, taste and aroma but provide key health benefits to our bodies when we eat them. Hence our bodies and minds simply can’t get enough of them to be honest… I’m probably a bit weird but I’m a bit like a kid in a sweet shop when I visit the local fruit and vegetable market each week and just love the variety of colours, shapes and sizes of the gorgeous and often, locally sourced, fresh produce.
In small groups, during these workshops the children were encouraged to use all of their senses and try new things - touch, smell and taste the produce - even if they didn’t like it! Introducing children to a wide variety of healthy foods from a younger age is more likely to encourage them to incorporate these into their diets as they get older and appreciate the benefits of a plate rich in colourful polyphenol-rich produce. We had such fun sampling the produce and creating patterns on our skewers to enjoy later in the day at snack or lunchtime. One child went as far as to say it was ‘my best day ever!’
You can create your own rainbow kebabs at home as a fun activity with your own children making snack-time a little more interesting or as a healthy addition to the table at parties and playdates…
Ingredients & Method:
Small bamboo skewers work best especially for small hands.
Vegetables such as different colours of sweet peppers, cherry/plum tomatoes, sugar snap peas and cucumber
Soft fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, banana, orange segements, grapes and melon
Chop vegetables and fruits into bite size pieces and thread on to skewers creating rainbow kebabs, colourful patterns and nutrient-rich treats!
Note: avoid using harder fruits and vegetables such as carrots, apples etc if you’re doing this with children as they can be tricky to thread onto the skewers and may result in minor injuries to fingers!
Find out more about the my work in schools and passion for educating young people around healthier food choices here
