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Review: Eat Like a Rainbow (Win a Copy)

by · May 14th, 2008
Family & Kids, New Products, New York, School Food, Vegetables

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Singer-songwriter (and The Jew & The Carrot contributor) Jay Mankita recently teamed up with The NY Coalition for Healthy School Food to create Eat Like a Rainbow – a “rocking, funky, danceable collection of quirky kids songs about healthy food and sustainable living.”

Sounds great, but would kids actually listen to a CD about eating fruits and vegetables? Last weekend, I tested it out on the experts, my three daughters.

On Friday after school, I left two of my daughters (6 and 4) in the minivan with their babysitter while I picked up their older sister (who is 8). I casually suggested they try listening to the new CD until we returned. When my oldest daughter and I got back, the tunes were cranking and there was a bonafide dance party in the car.

6 year old: “This is the best ever!”

Mankita’s music is heavy on rhythm with some great electric guitar riffs. The songs range in style from calypso to rock and have catchy, kid-friendly titles like: “New Food Attitude,” “Everybody Likes Vegetables,” and “Junk Food Man.” The last song, Sun, Wind, Soil and Rain is a beautiful lullaby about seasonal cycles. My 8-year old critic, after hearing only the beginning of the first cut, said, “I like the music, but I don’t like the words.” Then she proceeded to listen to the entire CD and changed her mind.

Fast forward to late Sunday afternoon, back in the car for the drive home to New York City from our summer home in Fire Island. My 8-year old immediately asked, “Can we put the Jay Mankita CD on?” I had to apologize – it was packed it in my luggage and irretrievable.

My husband rooted around in the glove compartment and found an older Jay Mankita CD we’d bought at the first Hazon Food Conference. We toured through every song, but the kids were disappointed – they preferred Eat Like a Rainbow’s R&B and rock to this CD’s spoken word feel. Now that we’re back home, however, and their beloved new CD has been unearthed from my suitcase, my girls are ready to turn up the volume and dance. Yes, even to songs about vegetables.

Win a copy of Eat Like a Rainbow for your kids – or yourself!  Tell us which vegetable you loved most – and hated most! – when you were a kid.

Listen to samples and purchase Eat Like Rainbow here.
Check out The New York Coalition for Healthy School Food here.

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10 Responses to “Review: Eat Like a Rainbow (Win a Copy)”

  1. Rachel B. Says:
    May 14th, 2008 at 11:16 am

    That sounds adorable! I love dancing to music with my new baby in my arms.
    When I was little we used to have artichoke-eating parties with a little pot of melted butter. I will expose my baby to lots of vegetables and hope I don’t get a picky eater!

  2. Sarah Says:
    May 14th, 2008 at 11:52 am

    Oooh! Perfect timing. My 7-month old son has just started his food adventures. I’ve explained to him its excellent because our CSA starts soon, so it won’t just be frozen peaches from last summer, but new and fresh food to try.
    When I was a kid… well, we were a pretty white bread family it turns out. But my dad once *forced* me to eat cooked carrots (which I was very clear I didn’t believe in). It didn’t go well, and there was no more non-voluntary food after that.

  3. shev Says:
    May 14th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

    Yup, I remember the artichokes we were introduced to and loved (what’s not to love about melted butter?). My Mum used to par-boil vegetables (potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, etc), transfer them to a glass dish, cover them with a thick layer of wonderful cheese sauce and bake it. YUM!

  4. Gersh Says:
    May 14th, 2008 at 1:50 pm

    I looooooved (and still love!) broccoli and spinach. And no I don’t want no darn cheese sauce on my veg! Cheese goes on PIZZA.

  5. Debra Says:
    May 14th, 2008 at 3:15 pm

    I will tell you about my 16 month old son’s favorite food because I am so proud of his food habits and because he loves to dance: He loves peas! We buy the frozen organic peas, and mix them into pastas or salads, or just let them defrost and eat them plain. My son will pick through his whole bowl of pasta- passing the pasta, cheese, and other vegetables- just to get to the peas…and then we have to add more. It is really cute.

  6. Lucy Says:
    May 14th, 2008 at 8:39 pm

    As a former preschool teacher, I’ve seen how leaning & fun go together. Music & colors are very important in a child’s world. I’ve also seen the importance of healthy eating. Growing healthy minds & bodies. Music is upbeat & fun. Invest in a child’s world. Buy for yourself or a teacher/class.

  7. aliza Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 10:58 am

    wow! I think my 3 and half year old niece would LOVE this CD. apparently they had a whole unit in her pre-school class about healthy food and the lesson she somehow gleaned was that unhealthy meant “yucky,” “not tasty” and was kind of confused when she came home. It was such a cute and funny reaction, based on the common assumption of the exact opposite– that healthy food is “yucky.” Yael and I both love broccoli “trees” and she likes to “clink” them with whoever is eating with her (as in clinking glasses) before eating them. :)

  8. Susan G Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 8:07 pm

    This sounds wonderful — to me, with grandchildren in mind. The veg my kids loved best, their grandmother’s ‘broccoli cheese,’ some kind of Greek inspired preparation. What I didn’t eat as a child: canned asparagus! What I wish I had learned to eat as a child: leafy cooked greens…

  9. Atarah Says:
    May 17th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

    Oh, the quest to get my sweet 3.5 yo son to eat some of our beautiful CSA veggies. If figure if we keep offering (and bake some into muffins) he’ll eat enough sooner or later.
    Growing up we had quite an extensive vegetable garden, with a strawberry/rhubarb/rasperrby patch, and several fruit trees (plums, pears, apples). My favorite was tomatoes, picked off the vine, rinsed off by the outdoor spigot, and eaten warm – just bite into it like an apple. My least favorite was swiss chard – probably because the only way it was served was as a over-cooked slightly slimy blob.

  10. Leah Koenig Says:
    May 19th, 2008 at 9:49 am

    Thanks for all of your wonderful comments! It’s great to hear from so many parents out there. I especially loved aliza’s story about her daughter’s fondness for “clinking broccoli!”

    Congratulations to Rachel B, who – thanks to the trusty random number generator – won the copy of Eat Like a Rainbow.

    Keep your eyes open for more chances to win great foodie cookbooks, books, cds, etc. on The Jew & The Carrot.

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