The Healthy Rainbow

By Marisa Defeo and Joshua Ossinsky

Objectives
Teaching easy to use techniques to find healthy food in a smarter way
To differentiate between food you should always eat versus sometimes eat
Demonstrate that the more colorful the food, the healthier it is.
Pre and post evaluation questions (at most 5 minutes):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What are some good ideas of finding healthy foods at the grocery store?
What are some foods that you should always try to eat?
What are some foods you should use for a treat?
Where is the best section in the grocery store to look for snacks?
What are some of the best color combinations for food?

Outline
Before start include this image

To provoke thought

Rainbow Food Leaders activity (50mins)

Whats required:
1. 5 leaders, each wearing one color shirt, one red, one orange, one
green, one blue or purple, and white.
2. Use spinner for twister activity (use the yellow on the board and the
pale yellow on the spinner to represent white vegetables

a.
3. Use board (blow up and make as many copies as needed)

a.
4. Frozen fruit as snack/reinforcement
a. Options for fruit: blueberries, grapes, watermelon, bananas,
pineapples, strawberries, mangos
5. Use good and sometimes food pictures for emphasis
a. Red good:

b. Orange good :

c. White good:

d. Blue/purple good:

e. Green good:

f.

Red sometimes:

g. Orange sometimes:

h. Purple sometimes:

i.

Green sometimes:

j.

Sometimes white:

How it works:
1. Divide class into 5 equal groups, one group per leader.

2. Each leader has 5 minutes to explain and demonstrate what is good

about their color, and why the sometimes foods are just sometimes
foods. (25 mins)
a. Scripts and guidelines for leaders
i. All leaders must include the following lines: who knows
some fruits or vegetables that are (leaders color)? did
you know that some foods that include this color are only
good for an occasional treat? vegetables and fruits are
energy straight from the earth, and are great for getting
big and strong
ii. Red Leader: Include how red fruits and vegetables are
good for your heart and keep your immune system strong
while also tasting sweet, like watermelons and
strawberries.
iii. Blue/purple leader: the richer the color, the greater the
health benefits, they battle cancer and give a good
indication of when they are best to eat
iv. Green Leader: high in potassium for strong bones, great
for keeping your body clean and healthy, and a great base
to any meal. Salads are a great way to add greens
vegetables such as lettuce to any meal.
v. Orange: Tons of vitamin C and fights off scurvy like
pirates, great for your eyes with beta carotene and
vitamin A.
vi. White: also a great source of potassium, can help hair
grow, keep your skin clear, high in fiber
b. Use the good color graphs to point out examples of food they
should always eat whenever possible while stating benefits.
i. Health benefits
ii. Cost : example grapes 1 bag for 2.50, and kiwis, which
you can get 6 for 2.00 at the local farmers market
iii. Takes little to no preparation
iv. Give you tons of energy rainbows from the earth give
you power
c. Use sometimes graphs to demonstrate foods that they should
sometimes eat
i. Reinforce that these foods should be special occasions
rather than a daily thing to consume
ii. No food you should never eat, but these foods should be
eaten in moderation, a little goes a long way
3. fruit and vegetable twister (25 mins)
a. Set up game like traditional twister
b. For every color you land on name a fruit or vegetable so the kids
can try to remember which color goes with which food
c. If kids are stuck, give them the color
Good versus bad rainbows (5 mins)
o When eating the rainbow there are many foods that can be bad for
you that are also really colorful.

Foods like skittles, fruit loops, m and ms, and other sugary loaded
things will just cause your energy to dwindle after the rush, and
doesnt build strong bodies.
o When looking for your rainbow look for foods that come from the earth
naturally, not any that come in a box.
o The fruit and vegetable isle holds the greatest rainbow of food.
Difference between veggies and fruits: (5 mins)
o fruit
Came come in juice, frozen , canned, or fresh
Generally sweet in flavor
High in vitamin C-especially tropical fruits like oranges
o Vegetables
High in fiber
Can be cooked, raw, or juice form
Some vegetables, such as beans and other legumes, are really
high in protein which is great for building strong muscles.
Generally rougher until cooked
Recipe:
o Easy snack: mixed frozen fruits.
How to make frozen fruit: after washing off the fruit, seal them in
an airtight bag and place it in the freezer
Tons of variety and options that are cheap and can last for days,
i.e frozen grapes, 1 bag for 2.50, and kiwis, which you can get 6
for 2.00 at the local farmers market
Great for the summer as a tasty treat that can help you cool off.
Resources:
o http://www.healthychild.org/easy-steps/avoid-risky-food-additivespreservatives/
o https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/fn595.pdf
o http://www.todayiatearainbow.com/about/benefits-of-eating-a-rainbow/
o http://www.choosemyplate.gov/fruit
o http://www.choosemyplate.gov/vegetables
o http://dish.allrecipes.com/how-to-freeze-fruits-and-vegetables/
o