Superpowers...

One question I get asked often is how I get my kids to eat the different foods I use in their lunch boxes. I'll admit that when we first transitioned to a healthier lifestyle it was a bit of a challenge. My kids were so accustomed to packaged, processed, high fructose corn syrup filled foods so introducing them to a variety of fruits and vegetables was a process to say the very least. A friend recommended the book "Eat This, Not That for Kids" which outlines a variety of superpowers kids gain by eating various colors of fruits and vegetables. As a mama of two boys this certainly grabbed my attention so when the book arrived I immediately color copied the pages, laminated them and put them up on our refrigerator. Each night at dinner we spent time going over all the superpower foods we were eating. Over time the kids kept asking for more and more superpowers...on any given night I was serving three or four different fruits and vegetables taking full advantage of their willingness to try these foods! Here are a few photos from the "Eat This, Not That for Kids" book:

It's been a little over a year since I first introduced the "superpower" concept to the kids and they are still excited about eating different colored fruits and veggies on a daily basis. My 8 year old son is a bit more adventurous and tends to eat a bigger variety of vegetables than my 5 year old, but we just keep presenting him with different vegggies on a regular basis. Right now he is eating FAR more vegetables than he did before we started this process so at least there is progress and that's good enough for us. Every morning my youngest son comes downstairs and asks me to tie on his superhero cape (a.k.a. his blankie). When he sits down to eat his meals I can just see the wonder in his eyes as he digs into the different colored foods...I love it!

Today's superpower lunch includes: ham and cheese sandwich, snap peas, peppers, blueberries, strawberries, trail mix (protein bar, almonds (you can leave these out if nut allergies are an issue)cheerios, sugar-free chocolate chips)