Monday, January 30, 2012

Rainbow Week : Red + Today I Ate A Rainbow

Today is the first day of  Rainbow Week  for my sproutlets! 
Throughout this school week we'll go through the colours of the rainbow with a school lunch featuring foods in that colour, rainbow lunches for the little girls at home, some of my favourite rainbow bentos from other blogs, maybe even a rainbow craft. And a Review and Giveaway of The Rainbow Kit from Today I Ate A Rainbow! So here we go, beginning with Pickle's favourite colour:

Red


Bella's red lunch contains grape tomatoes, a Red Rome apple, strawberries, and veggie pasta made with beets & tomatoes. I packed marinara sauce in a Thermos (not pictured) for her to pour over the pasta. Lots of red. Even her Easy Lunchbox lid is red :) I cut RED out of a heart-shaped slice of white cheddar and skewered the letters with a little heart food pick.

Rainbow


Birdie & Sprout's heart muffin tins hold a rainbow of heart-shaped fruits & veggies - strawberries, carrots, banana, grapes, raisins + a heart-shaped whole wheat peanut butter sandwich ball. Sprout loves eating raisins ever since she learned that they are purple grapes kissed by the sun!


More Rainbow Fun!


Rainbow Kit Review & Giveaway!

When I first received our Rainbow Kit from Today I Ate A Rainbow, just before Christmas, I put it aside to open after the holidays, because even though I was excited to try it and hopeful that it would encourage my sproutlets to eat more fruits and veggies, I was a little apprehensive too - what if they didn't want to try it, what if it didn't work for us? I decided to wait until after Christmas to do my review - give them a chance to eat all the candy in their stockings :)

What is The Rainbow Kit ?

It's a rainbow-themed nutritional chart that encourages your child to "eat a rainbow" - a serving of fruit or veg in each of the 5 colours on the chart - marking them with magnets as they do, so they actively try to get the 5 servings of fruits & vegetables they need each day. It's much more than a nutritional chart! It's a game, a challenge, an incentive... and it's fun!


We've been using it about a month now, and I can emphatically tell you that I love it! It has been working for us! Within the first week Birdie & Sprout started asking for fruits & veggies to try to get all their colours! Bella, already an adventurous eater by our standards, was also inspired by it... she even tried the dreaded  brussels sprouts to "get her green". Every day after supper they ask if they can have just a little of any colour they are missing... !


Now, there's rarely a day when the 3 girls don't "eat a rainbow", or come close. I'm even using it to motivate my ultra picky Beanstalk to eat real food!  Sailor Boy is amazed and impressed by it too - I think he was the most skeptical, and most pleasantly surprised when last week, both our boys willingly tried new foods - yes, even Pickle! He isn't trying vegetables yet, but he's been inspired by his siblings getting so much enjoyment and positive attention for eating better to ask to try things he hasn't before. It's really wonderful :)
What's in The Rainbow Kit ?

1 Today I Ate A Rainbow! chart 
4 sets of coloured magnets
4 achievement magnets
2 fridge magnet strips 
(to secure your chart to your fridge)
1 colour-coded shopping list
The Rainbow Bunch Book
& a Rainbow Bookmark

Tip : The magnets come on sheets - after you pop them out, you can cut up some of the leftover magnetic bits to glue or tape to the back of the grocery list, or the chart :)
You want your own RainboKit, don't you?

Thanks to the generosity of the amazing Kia, creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow! chart & kit, and author of The Rainbow Bunch, one lucky reader will win a Rainbow Kit of their own! I'm so pleased to be able to share the Today I Ate A Rainbow! love  ♥

All you have to do is leave ONE comment on this post!

If you like, share what fruits or veggies your little one won't eat that you hope a Rainbow Kit might help with - or just say hi - anything you like - it just makes reading the comments more fun :)

I'd also love it if you would visit the Today I Ate A Rainbow Facebook Page and Like them, even tell them I sent you! But not everyone has a Facebook account (It's true!)  so I'm not going to make that a requirement. And if you want to Like my Facebook Page or follow my blog the buttons are there for you over on the right ♥


The winner will be chosen (by comment # using Random.org) and announced on Monday morning, February 6th, sometime between when I get home from taking my sproutlets to school, and lunch. Good luck!

Don't forget - I need a way to contact you!  If I can't contact you to get your information to give to Today I Ate A Rainbow, they can't send you your prize.  So make sure your comment either includes a way to contact you or links to a profile with one. Thank you :)

Disclosure: I received a Rainbow Kit from Today I Ate A Rainbow! to review.  No other compensation or payment was given. All opinions & descriptions are my own.

The giveaway is now closed. Thank you for entering!

62 comments:

  1. Our little guy really loves all fruits and veggies. We do have a little trouble getting him to eat mushrooms and eggplant. This kit looks like a lot of fun!

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  2. My kids actually eat a lot of fruit and veggies. We haven't mastered peas yet though!

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  3. LOVE the lunches!!! SO CUTE.
    AHH Little Miss would LOOOOOOVE this kit! I had been eyeing them since you posted about them!!

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  4. Super cute lunches :) My girls would die for this kit! Rainbows are an obsession of my girls, and if that would help Big D to eat eggplant and Little D to eat asparagus.... THAT WOULD ROCK!

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  5. We love growing and eating fruits and veggies from the rainbow This would be such a great and fun learning tool for my little princess

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  6. Would LOVE this! Would be so happy if my daughter ate more fruit and veggies! She has food allergies and we're so limited on foods/snacks.

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  7. My youngest son LOVES any type of fruit, but veggies are a little trickier. He will eat only vegetables that are round! I try to get creative, but it's tough sometimes ;) Using the cupcake liners have really helped though, thanks for all your great ideas!

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  8. That kit looks awesome... I'll have to see if I can source one here in New Zealand

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  9. I would love this for my daughter, my son will eat pretty much anything (except tomatos) but my daughter is very picky. I think this would be a great help!

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  10. I would love to have this for my granddaughter!

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  11. I think that kit would be awesome! Like a lot of kids, my girl loves most fruit, but struggles with most vegetables... I'd love to try this!

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  12. My kids would be so much healthier if they could get excited about eating rainbows! Hope to win.

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  13. There's not much that Kidlet won't eat but it can be hard to get him to eat a variety every day! He would eat nothing but pears for fruit if I let him lol. A chart like this would be useful!

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  14. I have one pretty good eater, one picky eater and one that is middle of the road! I would hope this would help with bell peppers- none of them like those. lori at lawrencemonsters dot com

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  15. My 5 year old won't eat fruit AT ALL. He will eat apples. Thats it. No grapes, not strawberries, no banannas, oranges, nothing. I'd love to have a little help!

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  16. Anonymous1/30/2012

    I love this idea! This looks more manageable than what we tried last summer... We used graph paper and tried to get each family member to color a square every time they ate a fruit or vegetable. It was a fun idea that everyone was excited to try, but it ended up failing as we got busy and the pages got lost...
    Hope I win :-) Looks like lots of fun to try!
    Michele (onlyoneL@embarqmail.com)

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  17. I've got this sitting in my Amazon cart since you blogged about it a lil bit ago. I think this will be a fun way for the whole family to eat a rainbow every day. Our whole family is trying to get more fruits in veggies in our diet one way or another. What a great giveaway!

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  18. Anonymous1/30/2012

    Our little one loves fruit, but I'd like him to eat more veggies. He'll eat carrots, corn, peas and avacado, but I'd like for him to eat cucumber, broccoli, etc. He will eat salad greens though!

    headkd@hotmail.com

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  19. My daughter doesn't eat any vegetables except celery on occasion! This looks promising!

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  20. Oh, I would love this giveaway. I'm desperately trying to get my very picky 9 yo to get the proper nutrition. What a fun way to get him involved.

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  21. Fruit is easy in our house, but veg is a whole 'nother ballgame!

    I found you from the Bento Blog Network. Nice entry for red!

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  22. love the Bento boxes and love her rainbow site!!

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  23. Anonymous1/31/2012

    My husband never offers my daughter enough fruits and veggies before he hands over the ice cream and donuts. I think this may be a great way to remind them both that her nutritional needs must be met for her health. I want this please. Scampsie@verizon.net

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  24. February's theme for our Cooking with Kids Club is I Can Eat a Rainbow, selected before I even knew about the site or kit. How cool is that?! CWKC is hands-on free fun for for pre-school through sixth grade. Two sessions so far have included 3-7 year olds. The coolest part? Half the participants and future registrations are boys!! Thank you for sharing this great site and kit.

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  25. I loveeee the red lunch box, I need to buy letter cut-outs! My son used to eat all veggies and fruit, but he's becoming more picky - the kit would really help him along! Thanks for this giveaway! ladhaa@hotmail.com

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  26. Your blog is great! I so wish I had time to make such adorable lunches. You can bet there will be some hearts on the table come v-day though! My little guy would probably do well with the kit. He loves a challenge : )
    thecrazyelephantboutique@yahoo.com

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  27. what a great idea. I need to get my little g eating more fruits and veggies

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  28. Michelle B1/31/2012

    I love this idea as my son only eats broccoli and carrots for vegetables! Everything else gets 'hidden' in his foods like pasta sauce with pureed zucchini. He does like games so this sounds like just the thing for him! mhbracciof@hotmail.com

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  29. Anonymous1/31/2012

    There are so many yummy veggies and a few fruits that I can think of that T & D won't eat, and won't even try...I'm thinking that this chart mixed with your inspiring presentation would be JUST the thing to get more good stuff into their diets. The carrot hearts worked to get little D to eat carrots!

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  30. The fruit hearts are really wonderful! What great idea!

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  31. Anonymous1/31/2012

    Thanks for the review. My nephew has Asperger's and he pretty much sticks with white/ yellow foods. His mainstays are quesadillas, chicken nuggets, and now garlic bread. He was eating corn for a bit then he got tired of it. So I was thrilled to see Pickle getting involved. Thank you so much for the review.
    Kat - Napichu@hotmail.com

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  32. I'd love to have my kids eating sweet red, yellow, and orange peppers! I love them, but none of the kids will even try them!

    shakymommy at gmail dot com

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  33. I am trying to teach my Goddaughter (whom I live with) about eating the rainbow. She has been awesome about trying new things. I'd love to be able to let her have a hand in charting her progress and even coming up with new ideas :)

    Jackie - jackie.d.roberts@gmail.com

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  34. Csilla1/31/2012

    Any vegetable would be good (and most fruits as well...)

    vasar12 at yahoo-dot-com

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  35. Anonymous1/31/2012

    My daughter loves green things (yay!) but won't touch orange or red. This could be the answer!

    Stephanie - sales@enticingicing.ca

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  36. Yet more thing on my refund wishlist! It would be so much more fun to win it from you, though ;) John is getting better about trying things but we still have a looooong way to go!

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  37. The "Today I Ate A Rainbow" is such a cute idea! Our T is an excellent fruit eater! (I think he would be happy to live on fruit. LOL!) He does fairly well with veggies, too. Actually, I can sum it up by saying that he likes FOOD! Haha. (Don't we all??!) :)

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  38. I'm glad I found you and I would love to win the kit! I have a son who is very influenced by color and he loves to use his creativity. One day he made an all green lunch with pistachios, edamame, green grapes and broccoli and I know he would love this! Thanks for the opportunity. jebarker@yahoo.com

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  39. My daughter does not like melons, sweet potatoes and tomatoes. I am sure she would eat more fruit and veggies with Today I Ate a Rainbow.

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  40. Kristen2/02/2012

    My daughter is only 4 months old but I know the importance of teaching her early why we eat our fruits and veggies.

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    1. Anonymous2/02/2012

      ozzie41@qwestoffice.net

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  41. My little guys Love his veggies, but we seem to be stuck on the same ones... I love this idea to get him into things other than Corn Carrots and Squash! He needs a little Green in his life, do Cucumbers count?!

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  42. Looks like such a fun way to get my LO to actually eat things. He is young but still stubborn and won't try new things, but he does love fruits and a few veggies.

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    1. forgot my contact info elyce@mindspring.com

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  43. Niki R2/02/2012

    What an awesome site! This health teacher is very proud!

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    1. Niki R2/02/2012

      norby_33@hotmail.com

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  44. Heather Mc2/02/2012

    wow! what a great idea! this will really help our family with their fruits and veggies!! :)

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  45. Anonymous2/02/2012

    Great ideas and helpful and fun!
    eirajel at yah oo dot com

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  46. Love this idea, I would love one of these kits!

    gemmamousley@hotmail.co.uk

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  47. What a great idea! Love how interactive the chart is.

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  48. Anonymous2/03/2012

    I really need some way to get more colorfull veggies in my children. This sounds like fun!
    Wanda
    wtsradler1@cox.net

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  49. Just discovered my daughter loves red and yellow peppers! I would love this to help me know more and to help get more fruits and veggies in her diet!

    ericavint at me dot com

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  50. I would love the kit to help my daughter get motivated to eat the greens. She has no problem with the rest of the colors. I would definitely love to have a kit for her.

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  51. I love this idea. My girls love rainbows and food, and I think this is something that would help challenge me to not take the easy route either. I love your blog.xx

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  52. Anonymous2/05/2012

    Haha. Is it terrrible that I think this will help my husband as much as it will help my kids? =) I think this is a great way to get us all eating healthier. We had lunch today and talked about all the different color foods we could think of and how we should try and eat a rainbow everyday! betbru02@hotmail.com

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  53. How cute. Think it will work on a 12 year old? He's is my worst eater and my most vocal about being anti anything healthy. I'd love to try it out. I think it would work the best on my 3 and 5 year old. Mr. 3 year old made me proud by choosing to eat raw carrots, broccoli and celery this week. Wahoo! He's been a frightfully picky eater. So glad to get a few veggies in him voluntarily. :) Thanks for sharing about this book. I've got to go finish reading the other color days. Great ideas!

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  54. Erin Blum2/06/2012

    This would be so fun to try with my kids! :)

    erin_blum@yahoo.com

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  55. My kids love fruits and veggies but carrots seem to be the challenge. I always get the "carrots are yuckie" comment. No respect for the carrots, I tell ya. :o)~

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  56. Amy campeau2/06/2012

    Love it

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  57. What my boys are willing to eat changes week to week. They are not the best on green though. And my minion with acid reflux is very picky. Very hard to get him to eat more than just a little bit.

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  58. Anonymous2/06/2012

    That is great. I think my husband and I could use it too

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