Vitamins Galore!

     Want to make sure your getting all of the vitamins you need to stay healthy?  Make your plate a rainbow!  Make sure you are eating a variety of colors of whole foods and getting 15 minutes of sunshine a day.  As a Food Educator, I have been learning more about the vitamins found in whole foods.  I now know how to name all the vitamins in a food based on it's color and that's what Local Matter's Food Is Elementary program is teaching children. 

It goes like this: Vitamin A and C are found in the same colors of foods-red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and orange.  Vitamin B and E are found in the same colors of foods-brown and green. Vitamin D we get from the sun.  Even though it is chemically added to foods such as milk and orange juice-the best way to get it is from the sun.  There, now you know exactly what vitamins you are getting when you eat any color of whole food.  We also teach the children about how each vitamin helps our bodies.  For example, Vitamin A helps our heart, our hair, eyes, teeth, and skin.  Vitamin C helps our muscles, helps us fight off germs, and helps our whole body. Vitamin B helps our brain, helps us be happy, helps our bones and our skin.  Vitamin E helps us fight off germs, helps our muscles, and helps our whole bodies.  Vitamin D helps our bones. When teaching the vitamins lesson last week, we asked the children to point to the different body parts that each vitamin helps and encouraged them to use movements and hand gestures to help remember the information.  

     When it came time to taste some healthy, colorful whole foods....we served them red and yellow sweet peppers, orange carrots, purple cabbage, green beans, and brown mushrooms.  A few staff members were wondering how the mushrooms would go over with the children.  The good thing is, young children are still so open to trying new foods especially if the other children, teachers, and staff around them are trying them.  Many of the children ate the mushrooms...no problem.  A few children who did not want to eat the sweet red and yellow pepper...asked for more mushrooms.  And, at least two other children who are normally selective eaters...seemed to like the texture, and ate only the mushrooms.  So, there you have it.  You never know what foods a young child will want to try...so it's good to offer them a variety of healthy choices....and see what happens. 

For more information about our Food Is Elementary program, please visit the "What We Do" section of our web-site and then click on Education. Under our eductaion section, you can also find our Food Is Elementary video which shows clips of children and food educators in the classrooms.  Enjoy!  Elizabeth