Identify Colors of Fruits and Vegetables

At each meal and snack, ask your preschooler what colors are on the plate. Getting close is good enough. You might call blueberries blue and your preschooler might call them purple. No worries! The goal is to appreciate that food comes in different colors and that it's healthy to eat the colors of the rainbow.

Keep Track of Colors You Eat

There are lots of ways you and your preschooler can count the colors you eat throughout the day:

1. Use theBowls 'n Bears Counters. This simple toy is perfect for counting fruit and vegetable colors. The set comes with six bowls and 102 teddy bears in all colors of the rainbow. Each day, choose a bowl and let your preschooler place the correct color teddy bear on the plate to mimic what is on their own plate. Since there are six bowls, each member of your household can play!

2. Use colorful stickers or markers. Take one piece of paper and divide into sections - one for each day of the week. At each meal and snack, your preschooler can fill the day with the colors s/he eats.

3. Use colorful balls. Using a big basket to hold the 'rainbow,' your preschooler can throw balls into the basket for each color s/he eats.

4. Cut out images from magazines or use a fruit and vegetables coloring book. Instead of simply counting colors, your preschooler can keep track of real fruits and vegetables s/he eats each day.

As the day goes on, you and your preschooler will be able to see which colors you are missing. Plan meals and snacks to include the colors you still need.

Fruit and Vegetable Color Guide

Red: Strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes and tomato sauce, watermelon

Orange: Sweet potatoes, carrots, oranges and orange juice, mangoes, cantaloupe, peaches, pumpkin and other orange squash

Yellow: Pineapples, yellow peppers, lemon, yellow grapefruit

Green: Spinach and leafy greens, beans, peas, broccoli, asparagus, green peppers, avocado

Blue and Purple: Blueberries, blackberries, dark beans, purple grapes, eggplant

White: Don't forget white! Think bananas, potatoes, onions, white beans, apples and cauliflower.

Recommendations for Preschoolers

Don't feel that your preschooler has to finish a complete serving to count the color. Trying one green bean for the first time should get a green mark! For reference, it is recommended that preschoolers eat about 4-6 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. One serving is ½ cup of fruit or vegetable, ½ piece of fruit, ¼ cup dried fruit like raisins, ½ cup cooked beans, or 1 cup of lettuce. For more information about preschooler servings, see the Food Guide Pyramid for Preschoolers.

I'm Kati Chevaux, the Nutrition writer at PreschoolRock.com. Let's talk about how to how to help our preschoolers eat well and develop life-long healthy eating habits. Contact me with your preschool nutrition questions and healthy eating ideas.

Helpful Tips for Parents

• Involve children in food preparation. Children who help prepare a meal are statistically more likely to eat it, even if it contains ingredients they previously rejected.

• Breakfast is the most reliably linked meal to cognitive performance in school-age children. Prioritize a protein- and fiber-rich breakfast every morning.

• Picky eating peaks between ages 2–5 and is developmentally normal. Most picky eaters significantly expand their diets between ages 6–10 without intervention.

• Water is the ideal hydration for preschoolers. Milk (2–3 cups/day) is also appropriate. Sports drinks, soda, and excessive juice have no appropriate role in the preschool diet.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best sources of iron for a preschooler who doesn't eat meat?

Plant sources of iron (non-heme iron) are less bioavailable than meat iron, but absorption increases significantly when consumed with vitamin C. Best plant iron sources: lentils (most iron-rich legume), tofu and edamame, fortified cereals, pumpkin seeds, white beans, chickpeas, and dark leafy greens. Pair them with vitamin C-rich foods: orange juice, bell peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, and broccoli. Avoid pairing iron-rich plant foods with calcium-rich foods at the same meal — calcium inhibits iron absorption.

Related reading: See also our breakfast ideas guide and our rainbow snack board guide for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🧪 Science Literacy — Understanding where food comes from, how cooking changes its properties, and what nutrients do in the body connects food experiences to biology, chemistry, and the broader scientific understanding of the natural world.
• 🥦 Healthy Food Knowledge — Learning about different foods, food groups, and what nutrients do in the body builds the food literacy that supports a lifetime of informed, health-conscious eating choices.
• 🤝 Family & Cultural Connection — Sharing meals and preparing traditional family foods connects children to family history, cultural identity, and the social bonds that family mealtimes — one of the strongest protective factors in child development — provide.
• 🌿 Where Food Comes From — Understanding that food grows from seeds, is harvested, and travels to the table connects children to the natural systems that sustain all human life — and measurably increases willingness to eat vegetables children have grown.

Fruits and vegetables come in all colors. Have fun with your preschooler by keeping track of what colors you eat each day. More colors at the end of the day means more healthy fruits and vegetables. Your preschooler will practice identifying colors and start to appreciate how colorful eating can be!