Eating the Rainbow

The best plate looks like a rainbow. Fruits and vegetables get their colors from natural helpers called nutrients, and each color does a different job inside you. Red foods like tomatoes and strawberries help your heart. Orange foods like carrots and sweet potatoes help your eyes. Green foods like broccoli and spinach help your whole body grow and repair.

That is why eating the rainbow works better than eating one favorite food forever. No single food has every nutrient, so the colors team up: a plate with three or four colors is almost always a healthier plate than one with just one. You do not need to memorize any nutrient names - just count the colors.

Trying new colors is an adventure, and it is normal to need a few tries before a new food tastes good. Scientists say kids sometimes need to taste a food ten times before they like it. One bite counts. Your taste buds are still learning, just like you are.