Kids Eat in Color, MD

Jennifer Anderson (College Park, MD) is a registered dietitian with an masters degree in Public Health. She's passionate about changing the way we feed our children, catering to picky palates in a way that does not compromise health. Her colorful bento boxes have developed a loyal Instagram following and high child-approval rating. In the following interview, Jennifer shares some tips and encouragement on how to raise the next generation of veggie and fruit lovers. 


Get in touch with Kids Eat in Color: kidseatincolor@gmail.com

Tell us about your organization, what do you do? : 

Kids Eat in Color is a rainbow Instagram feed of my son’s colorful lunchboxes (@kidseatincolor). Each post includes tips and tricks for exposing kids to fruits and vegetables. My mission is to help parents see that kids will eat a variety of healthy, colorful food. When we make eating food a fun, pretty, or novel experience, we can entice kids to eat veggies instead of pressuring them!

How did you get interested in working with food? What introduced you to and made you passionate about what you do?

I started making cute and colorful bentos because my oldest son wasn’t growing as expected. I knew that pressuring him to eat wasn’t the answer. Making meals fun, colorful, and novel really helped him to eat better and grow stronger. 

I know so many parents who worry about their kids’ health or constantly battle over food. I’ve experienced these things myself. I feed my toddler and preschooler every day, and I understand how tough it can be! I want to give parents tools to help their kids be healthy in a positive way. 

I’m a registered dietitian and I have a master’s in public health. I’m always testing the latest child-feeding practices to see what works in real life and sharing my findings with other parents in a way they can put it into practice.

What are some tips you can share with us?

With kids going back to school parents are looking for ways to keep their kids healthy at school. Here are 3 tips I’ll be following this year:

1. Make it a rainbow
Add as many colors from the rainbow as possible! Each color helps the body in a different way, so the more colors, the merrier! Also make sure to include a good source of protein to keep kids going strong. 

2. Add something fun or cute
Use colored silicone muffin cups or cute food picks for fun. Mini cookie cutters are great for cutting fruits and veggies into shapes. If you’re introducing a new vegetable, you can pull out a Tater Tat to make it more exciting. My kid gets a kick out of wearing asparagus and then seeing it in his lunch. Just one or two cute touches make lunch fun without costing you tons of time.

3. Use leftovers whenever possible
Leftovers are the best. They save so much time and decrease waste. Plus, you can add some of the cooked veggies from dinner to your lunches. This gives you more chances to expose your kids to a larger number of fruits and vegetables.

What frustrates you most about your work or the current food culture at large? What do you wish to change the most?

“Kid food!” Someone got the idea that if a kid doesn’t eat real food on the first or second try, then they don’t like it. In response, the food industry gave us “kid food," (chicken nuggets, hot dogs, yogurt pops, processed breakfast cereals, etc.) which of course kids love on the first try. 

The problem is, kids need “real food” (fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, etc.) to be healthy, and eating "real food" is a learned habit. Learned habits take time to form. For example, I gave my second son avocado several times per week for over a year: he looked at it, poked it, hit it, licked it, and spit it out, over 100 times, until one day, he shoved it in his mouth and ate it. Now he loves it! While I was waiting for him to eat avocado, I was giving him real food he already liked.

We sell our kids short if we just give them kid food. They deserve the learning experience of seeing veggies over and over. And it’s a lot easier for them to learn to eat broccoli if it isn’t up against chicken nuggets! 

I want parents to understand that even showing their kid a fruit or veggie earns them "good parent points." It’s OK if the kid doesn’t eat it. The goal is to expose them to as much real food as possible when they are young; in time, we can crowd out “kid food” with real food.

Any recent moments of optimism? Things you see changing for the better?

I’m constantly inspired by parents who expose their kids to veggies over and over. They are tireless! Since starting Kids Eat in Color, I’ve had more and more parents tell me their own story about how they've added more fruits and vegetables to their kids’ diets. 

Also, it's exciting to see restaurants offering healthy adult meals in child-size portions. Our favorite deli (Jason’s Deli) offers a child salad bar option on the kids menu, which my kids love. 

Finally, I’m a huge fan of the most recent improvements to the National School Lunch Program, which require more fruits and vegetables to be part of each meal. Most schools have already implemented the improvements with success. This is a great program that ensures all kids have a chance to develop fruit and veggie eating habits.

What's your favorite vegetable to eat, grow, or wear?

Purple potatoes. They are SO fun in a lunch box. I love turning them into flowers and stars with mini cookie cutters. It makes the rainbow pop out of the box--and of course they taste better because they are purple!