Picture this….
You’re in the kitchen making lunch for your kids and you set it in front of them and they are so excited they gobble it all up! A dream come true! That’s how I feel when I make a Rainbow Lunch for my son. My 2.5 year old sometimes turns down the food I put in front of him. (Let’s be honest – often!) I am always looking for ways to add some excitement to our lunch time routine, so I was wicked excited when another mom posted in a Facebook Mom’s Group the idea of a Rainbow Lunch.
We took the idea and ran with it! It’s simple really! You just use the colors of the rainbow as inspiration for making a lunch plate for your kiddo. I put a few bites of food for each color in the rainbow, because it can get to be a big serving size. Some days I have a food for every color and other days I do the best I can. MJ loves it! He now even requests them by name. If he doesn’t finish it all, I store it in the fridge and he finishes it after his nap as a snack! It helps to remind me that I need to give him a variety of foods and colors. With toddlers it’s so easy to get stuck in a rut.

Here are some ideas to get you started!
- Red – Tomatoes, apples, watermelon, pomegranate, cranberries, red peppers
- Orange – mango, carrots, papaya, Sweet potato
- Yellow – applesauce, golden raisins, pineapple, corn, polenta
- Green – cucumbers, peas, zucchini, avocado, pickles
- Blue/purple – grapes, plums, black beans, blue corn tortilla chips
- Tan/white – eggs, cheese, yogurt, hummus, tofu, nut butter, mini sandwiches
If you have the time, here are some fun extras.
- Use cookie cutters for fun sandwiches. (The star cutter is a favorite here!)
- Use small silicone muffin cups or small bowls to separate foods.
- Make it on a white plate to make the colors pop!
- Play or sing a color song with your kids. Like I Can Sing A Rainbow
Let your kids help! MJ asks for specific foods to be his “red” or “green” for the day. Get them involved with picking out the foods for each color and picking out new foods at the grocery store.
How do you get your kids involved in the kitchen?
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