Today I Ate a Rainbow! Or At Least, I Will...

I am not typically one to use this blog to shill (I know, stupid, stupid, stupid!) But this time around, I had to share an awesome program we discovered through my online mom's group:

http://www.todayiatearainbow.com/

It is called "Today I Ate a Rainbow" and was created (surprise, surprise!) by a mom who couldn't get her picky kid to pick the right foods. Said mom was a pretty picky eater herself so she was doubly motivated to figure out a solution. The "Today I Ate a Rainbow" program comes with a large multi-colored magnet board that lists different fruits and vegetables under each color of the rainbow. It also comes with four different shapes of magnets that fit each color. Our kit had stars, squares, triangles, and circles. Dave and I got the plain shapes (circles and triangles, respectively); Jayden snatched up the stars; and Seanie happily took the squares.

Now each day, the boys are conscious of "filling their rainbow." Jayden has to eat however much I have set out for him in order to get a magnet for any given color, while Sean usually has to eat a full serving. But sometimes when I am introducing a new fruit or veggie, they only have to take a bite to qualify.

Sean just finished lunch (that's the Blueberry Kid showing off his purply skin in the photo) and once upon a time, the request for him to try a cucumber would have been met with whines and wails.

Today, knowing he only had two colors left in his rainbow, he popped that cucumber slice in (without Ranch for dipping, no less!) and topped it off with some tomato pieces. He was so proud of completing his rainbow before dinnertime! And I am just happy to have a way to get them motivated to eat better.

The funniest part?

Dave and I are seeing how many fruits and veggies we're getting, too. And let's just say the kids aren't the only ones in the house who clearly need motivating!