Nutrition Nuggets January

Fabulous Fruit

Looking for a nutritious food that is ready to eat, is easily available, and comes in lots of varieties? Try fruit! Consider these ways to encourage your child to have at least 2-3 servings every day.

A color a day. Pick a color for each day of the week, and challenge family members to eat a fruit that matches (plums, grapes, or blackberries on purple day, for instance). At night, report to each other on the fruit you ate. idea: Ramp up the fun by asking everyone to wear clothes that match the color, too.

Ad campaign. Suggest that your youngster design a magazine or billboard ad to persuade children to eat more fruit. She could write a catchy slogan on a poster board, add advertising copy, and illustrate it. Or she could create a script for a radio ad and record herself reading it in an "announcer's voice." Coming up with reasons to eat fruit will get her thinking about why she should have more fruit.

Wheel of food. Have your child think about different ways to enjoy fruit by making a "wheel" for each of her favorites. She could draw the fruit (an apple) in the center of a sheet of paper and make 4-6 lines from it 9like spokes on a wheel). At the end of each line, have her illustrate a way to eat the fruit 9sliced apples with caramel dip, applesauce, apple-cinnamon muffin).