Food and Drink to Grow On

Every meal is an opportunity for a healthy family experience. If your child learns to reach for healthy foods now, then he’ll keep on making good food choices his whole life.

A great way to help your child learn about different types of food is by explaining the idea of “anytime” and “sometime” foods.

• An “anytime” food is something we can eat every day, such as fruits and veggies in all colors of the rainbow, whole grains, lean meats, lowfat yogurt, and water or lowfat milk to drink.
• “Sometime” foods are high in sugar, fat, or salt — that’s why we should only eat them once in awhile. They’re foods such as cookies, candy, chips, and sodas.

Try This! Sometimes it takes several tries before your child learns to like a new food. Challenge your child to take a taste of something different, focusing on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, or lowfat dairy products.

Try This! Plan a meal with your child that includes at least three different colors, like red peppers, black beans, and brown rice. Have your child count up all the colors on the plate.