8 Out of 10 Times

Sorry to disappoint you but my kids don't jump in glee when they get offered an apple for a snack.
Their eyes don't light up when they have to eat a salad.
My 12 year old daughter rolls her eyes at green smoothies. 
My 9 year old hates slimy cooked veggies.
They ask for cheese pizza at birthday parties.
And after having kept them away from soda for years, they have recently discovered the guzzle of an iced coke and root beer. 

They love ice cream, chocolate and chips.
I don't expect them not to. 

But they also would love the opportunity to go a farmer's market.
My 12 year old daughter loves making a fresh Caprese salad with basil from our little veggie patch (which has little else growing right now).
She loves making fresh veggie juice.
My son will chomp on fresh organic carrots with the greens still on and say "Whats up Doc'?"
He dislikes eating greens but will happily drink up a blended smoothie.

I try to cook veggies everyday. This part is natural to me because it's a part of my culture (Indian).
Luckily for me, the connection of cooking to an everyday event hasn't been lost in my family.
If we want to eat, I cook or prepare it most of the time, unless it's a weekend.
On the weekend, we eat at our favorite restaurants.
You may even see us at Sonic picking up a grilled cheese and slushy once in a while.   

We are FAR from those who make perfectly healthy choices all the time.
We just try to do it about 8 out of 10 times.
If 8 out of 10 seems difficult, no worries. Start with a lower number.
But do start.

Why Eat the Colors of the Rainbow?

According to the study presented by Sandra Aamodt at Ted Talks, whether we are in a normal, overweight or obese weight range, our healthy habits can reduce our relative risk of death for the better.

One of the healthy habits is eating more fruits and veggies; this can significantly improve our health and longevity in the long run.

Start your journey today. Commit to eating more fruits and veggies.
It takes one person in the family to start. 

It's all serious stuff but in all seriousness, being scared and not doing anything is boring and a waste of time.
Make it fun. I invite you to play Eat the Rainbow Challenge.
Start eating the colors of the rainbow with us. Do it now! 

Just Start

"My kids don't listen to me"
"My husband or wife doesn't listen to me about eating better."
"We don't have time."
"We are always so busy."
"I want to eat healthy but my family doesn't."

YOU start.

Don't worry about anyone else. No expectations of anyone else in the team for today.
Don't even think about the results.

Just print out the score sheet and put it on your refrigerator.

Just play the game all by yourself. 

What's with the game?

We all know eating fruits and veggies is good for us.
So why are you (Barti) making a game out of this anyway?

The answer is simple. To make it more fun.

It's boring to do anything because it's good for us. Especially when you try to get others to do it.
It's great if you are inspired and are able to pull off eating healthy for yourself and your family.

But if like many of us, you struggle to make better choices for yourself and the family, are exasperated by all the effort you put in (that gets negated by big corporations marketing and demands for trips to fast food restaurants), struggle with the time and energy to battle strong-willed kids and in general need a little help without the pressure, I urge you to give it a shot.

Eat the Rainbow Challenge is about colors and fun and doing stuff together as a family. 
AND it's at no cost. 
Why not give it a shot?

No Excuses & Eating Fresh

I love vegetable gardens. I really do. And I know that gardening is a joy and one that comes easy to many.

It’s also a skill that can be learned and something all of us should be making an effort to do.

The truth is that however, life gets in the way and I end up buying my produce from regular grocery stores. Once in a while, I will have an odd free Saturday when I’m not transporting my kiddos to their games and end up at the local farmer’s market. The fresh produce and colors there are a feast for the senses and I hope that by shopping there, I support the local farmers and that it makes a difference.

But more often than not, our fruits and veggies come from the likes of Costco and Kroger. This is where I do my best to balance the organic versus conventional produce keeping in mind the cost as well as all the information (the dirty dozen, organic versus conventional debates etc.) that I am exposed to because I live in this world. And truthfully, also because as a health nut I’m looking for this information.

Knowledge is power but sometimes too much analysis can paralyze you.

I’ve come down to this. Eating fresh fruits and veggies is important for my family so I buy making the best choices where ever I am at that given moment. 

So whether I am at a farm, a market and or the supermarket down the street, I get the most produce I can and I leave it at that.

By all means, it's great to grow a garden or go to the farmer’s market.

But if you can’t today, that’s alright too. Just go to your local supermarket and get those apples, spinach and carrots. It may sound crazy but just FILL that cart with the colors of the rainbow.
It may not be picked from the field on that day but you're still miles ahead by making those colorful choices.