Taste the Rainbow

I know that as parents we try to teach our kids to eat all the colors of the rainbow to encourage them to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.  But it wasn’t until recently that I realized how much joy it brings me to eat colorful fruits and veggies. I have noticed that my children have strong preferences for certain colors in their fruits and vegetables.  They like red grapes but not green grapes, they like green cabbage but not purple cabbage, they only like orange carrots, they like purple plums with yellow insides, red onions, they like broccoli over cauliflower, they like honeydew but not cantaloupe, the list goes on.  I also have my preferences. I think the fruit or vegetable tastes better if it’s the color that I like. I like green apples with a little red on them, I like green crisp grapes, I love purple cabbage, I like a mix of green and red bell peppers (but I don’t like green bell peppers on their own), I like darker mushrooms, I like red potatoes best, and I prefer zucchini over yellow squash.  I am sure that if I did a blind taste test fruits and vegetables probably do vary in flavor according to what color they are. But I notice that I purchase my fruits and vegetables according to the color that I like more than anything. I think it just makes it more appetizing! But maybe I am just choosy.