Make Your Salad a Rainbow

There are many different ways to tell people to eat more fruits and vegetables. You might say eat a plant-based diet or eat more colorful foods or eat foods that grow. But with our new Make Your Salad a Rainbow poster, the picture says it all by showcasing the natural beauty and colors of fruits and vegetables.

This poster really takes nutrition education to the next level. Display it where people will see it every day, like in the cafeteria or in a busy hallway. The picture is so beautiful, the image is bound to stick in their minds, perhaps making them add more color to their plate without even thinking about it. Those who stop long enough to read the tip boxes will get a quick lesson on the nutrients associated with each color.

With 30 fruits and veggies pictured on Make Your Salad a Rainbow poster, it would be fun to have a contest to see who can name the most.

  • In a classroom setting, you can do this in groups or individually.
  • For health fairs, pass out index cards for people to write down the items they can identify, along with their name and contact information. (We have bookmarksbuttons, and wristbands to use as prizes.)
  • If the poster is displayed in a common area (like the cafeteria or hallway), make it a crowd-sourced activity. Use sticky notes or a dry erase board for people to write the fruits and veggies they see.
  • For a different twist, post a list of the fruits and veggies pictured and see who can find them on the poster.

Nutrition Posters for the Workplace

My team and I have created tons of posters over the years, and some of my very favorite ones teach lessons that are important to showcase in the workplace.

We have posters that are designed to bring “better numbers like blood pressure, cholesterol, and BMI” or to motivate in a fun way like the food art posters. There are also ones that teach great nutrition lessons and promote positive reinforcement and education.

Let’s take a tour through some of the best options, shall we?

Top Heart Posters:

Top BMI Poster:

Best Nutrition Lessons:

Favorite Motivational Posters:

And of course there is our entire collection of over 150 posters. Which ones will best brighten up your workspace?

And, as a special bonus because I love ya, here’s a free copy of the printable PDF handout that accompanies the Fabulous Fruits and Vegetables poster.

fruitsandvegetablesposter

Make Your Salad a Rainbow!

Did you know that four final rules for implementing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) were just announced?

In a nutshell, the USDA finalized its rules for nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools, including breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

According to a press release sent out by the USDA, “As a key component of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to raise a healthier generation, the rules will ensure that children have access to healthy snacks and that nutrition standards for the foods marketed and served in schools are consistent. The rules will also promote integrity across the school meals programs.”

Want to help communicate the key nutrition lessons that are central to these new rules?

Check out this fantastic new salad bar sign!

After all, making healthful food available is only half the battle. We need to make it appealing to kids too.

 

This new salad bar sign is a better design and at a lower price than the previous version, and the video above offers some great inspiration on how to use it.

And that’s just the beginning. Here are some other “eat from the rainbow” resources that can help make healthful foods appealing to kids of all ages…

And here’s a free printable handout about eating a variety of healthful foods…

Rainbow Salad Handout

Fill Your Plate with Color!

As a special treat today, I’d like to share the handout that is usually only available to people who’ve already bought the Rainbow Salad Floor Sticker! This handout is perfect for email blasts, displays, wellness fairs, and more! How will you use your copy?

Strategies for Adding Color to Your Meals:

Make colorful fruits and vegetables part of every meal! If you do, you’ll get more nutrients, feel fuller for a longer period of time, and give your body the things it needs to stay healthy!

MyPlate asserts that people should fill half their plates with fruits and vegetables at each meal. That’s a tall order, but if you start by adding a salad to each meal and snack on fruits and vegetables instead of chips and crackers, you’ll be well on your way to a healthy eating pattern!

Variety is key too. Don’t just eat broccoli at every meal, every day! Mix things up by choosing a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Make your plate as colorful as you can, choosing a variety of foods at each meal.

Health Benefits of Colorful Meals :

When you make your plate colorful, you wind up eating lots of different fruits and vegetables, and that’s great for your health!

MyPlate asserts, “Eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.”

That same eating plan may help protect against certain types of cancers.

Plus, fruits and vegetables are loaded with fiber! According to MyPlate, a diet rich in fiber “may reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.”

How will you fill your plate in order to maximize these benefits?

Here’s a printable copy of the handout that you can use however you’d like!

Rainbow Salad Floor Sticker Handout

And here are other great rainbow salad resources…

How to Make A Rainbow Salad

We love special requests. Here is a recent one for a Gluten Free Information Poster which shows the safe, gluten-free grains that are common:

Gluten free template-1

Gluten free is not always easy but hopefully we have made it easier. Thanks to Pat Hunter, MS, RD, for her request.

Here is another request from Goleta School District. They wanted a sign to jazz up their salad bar. So we did a little research here in the Boulder school district to find out what they are doing. They taped together a sign like a table tent. So we set out to design a big table tent that is the length of a salad bar or about 3 feet long. And Goleta School District wanted a rainbow salad. So we worked on a 3 foot salad.

The real salad was indeed 3 feet long. But you can’t take a great closeup photo of a 3 foot long salad so we took multiple shots and hand-stitched them together for the best results. This salad, in our Photoshop file, was over 300 inches long. It took up hundreds of meg on our computer. It had to be right-sized and then set into the poster:

36x24 Rainbow

We liked it so much we made a 18X12 Rainbow Salad poster and a large 2X3 vinyl Rainbow Salad banner. So anytime you want to promote eating LOTS of fruits and vegetables in all colors, these products are for you.

Or if you want to make a 3 foot long salad you can copy this one:

rainbow-small

We found a glass plank at Crate and Barrel – it was on sale. And we studied photos of real rainbows.

Then we arranged the vegetables and fruits like so:

  1. Kidney beans
  2. Cherry or pear tomatoes
  3. Red peppers
  4. Orange peppers
  5. Orange segments
  6. Yellow peppers
  7. Garbanzo beans
  8. Pineapple
  9. Cabbage
  10. Jicama
  11. Cucumbers
  12. Celery
  13. Broccoli
  14. Romaine
  15. Parsley
  16. Green lettuce
  17. Snow peas
  18. Blueberries
  19. Red baby romaine lettuce

This would make a great party platter or family style salad bar, too.

ENJOY!

If you have a special request, let us know – we make a lot of our special requests and always love more!

If you are looking for more healthy food photos, check out our new photo store: http://healthyfoodphotos.com