The vibrant colors of the summer harvest make it a delight to embrace the popular advice to “eat the rainbow.” Bright red peppers, lush green zucchinis, and colorful eggplants nourish our senses and contribute to our health.
Summer meals provide relaxed opportunities to try new foods. For children with a reluctance to try unfamiliar flavors, picnics with watermelon, grill-outs in the backyard, and fruit-picking events can create a low-pressure environment for taste testing.
Nourishing Our Bodies
Summer produce is full of nutrients that benefit our minds, bones, and muscles.
Since fats constitute about half of our brain tissue, omega-3 fatty acids found in fresh salmon, lake trout, and whitefish are crucial for brain health. Plant-derived fats in chia and flaxseeds can offer comparable advantages. Choline from deviled eggs and edamame helps in producing neurotransmitters, while vitamin C-rich summer peaches and peppers aid in brain protection.
As children are active, their muscles exert pressure on bones, stimulating growth. Cool yogurt or berry smoothies made from soy provide antioxidants, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin K (especially if you can sneak in some leafy greens). If the spinach hiding is discovered, you can still rely on sugar snap peas, which are rich in vitamin K, magnesium, protein, and calcium to support bone health.
To build and repair muscle, amino acids—the protein building blocks—are essential. Out of the 20 amino acids, nine essential ones must be obtained through diet. Common barbecue items like salmon, grass-fed beef, and grains like quinoa or buckwheat are complete proteins containing all essential amino acids. Foods like beans and chickpeas might lack certain ones, but combining them can create a complete amino acid profile.
A Dose of Reality
While this nourishing vision is appealing, parents reading this may find themselves shaking their heads. The plethora of summer produce can meet children’s nutritional needs, but the food must actively be consumed.
Is Pickiness Just a Part of Growing Up?
At various stages, many children are deemed “picky” eaters. Various factors contribute to their reluctance towards foods selected by their parents.
Newborns possess around 10,000 taste buds, compared to as few as 2,000 in adults. Flavors considered mild by adults can be overly intense for young palates. The human instinct associates bitterness with potential danger, while a natural preference for sweetness promotes nursing habits. This biological instinct makes it hard for vegetables like kale to win over kids!
Jessica Thibault, a holistic nutritionist and former picky eater, suggests that parents should continuously present new foods. Children might need up to 15 introductions to a particular item before they are willing to try it. Making these interactions fun and varied can help, and they don’t have to revolve around mealtime. Check out the sidebar “DO play with your food!”
Thibault also advises varying the ways in which foods are presented. If young children find the aroma of cauliflower soup too strong, offer it raw, as baked wings, or roasted florets. She endorses pairing familiar foods with new options to facilitate relaxed exploration without pressure.
Discovering Superfoods
Kids might find the concept of superfoods exciting. These are typically foods packed with remarkable nutritional value. Summer fruits that appeal to children, such as berries, cherries, peaches, and watermelon, often fit into this category due to their high levels of antioxidants and vitamins. Vegetables with lower sugar levels could be less enticing, but labeling them as superfoods might spark some interest.
Teaching children about nutrition and health can encourage them to step outside their food comfort zones. Thibault kindly advises against shaming them for rejecting food, viewing it instead as a demonstration of independence and preference. Providing age-relevant information on health topics, such as immune responses or mood, can make certain foods more appealing, even if they elicit a “yuck!” response initially.
Visual aids can also enhance children’s understanding of which foods are beneficial for them. The idea of “eating the rainbow” was first introduced in Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating back in 1992, and it remains a valuable tool for promoting dietary diversity. The more recent “healthy plate” concept in Canada’s current Food Guide helps children visualize the ideal assortment of foods in their meals.
Lastly, preparing for any resistance to new foods can motivate children to select these superfoods independently. Unfavored bitter flavors can be toned down with the addition of salty tastes or yeast extracts. Sprinkling nutritional yeast on kale chips or roasted Brussels sprouts can make these choices more enticing for kids.
Calcium, Vitamin D, and Supplement Considerations
Should children take dietary supplements? In Canada, both children and adults are encouraged to consider supplementing with vitamin D if their dietary intake is insufficient. Given the limited natural food sources for this vitamin, supplementation is often advisable for kids.
Children whose diets tend to consist of a narrow range of foods might benefit from age-appropriate multivitamins. As childhood bone development has lasting effects, calcium supplements may be worth considering for those who are lactose or dairy intolerant or have restrictive eating habits.
Even if children don’t share the same enthusiasm for summer’s bounty, engaging them in a gentle and imaginative manner with new foods can foster a friendship with these nutritional powerhouses over time.
This article first appeared in the August 2025 edition of Thewindowsclubs magazine.
