I don’t know about your house but in my house, picky eating is causing a havoc. I do see the light at the end of the tunnel as I feel that my son’s repertoire is slowly widening, but pasta is still the safest bet for any day. With my new-found extra time, I try to get a little bit creative to get out of the rut. Rainbow pasta has been on my mind for a long time. However, at first I assumed that you had to make it from scratch and color the dough (who’s got time for that?!?). When I figured you can just use food coloring on cooked pasta, I was intrigued but still sidelining it as I try to avoid food coloring for the kids.

I have seen the benefits of avoiding excessive food coloring way before I had my kids. When I met my husband, he would tell me how he always got sick from red Gatorate. He drank Gatorate but never the red one. He was shocked when I explained to him that food coloring is not great for stomachs, with red being the worst. Immediately, he started to notice that he would feel sick, especially after eating red colored candy, pops, etc. Once he cut that out, he felt better.

Naturally, after having children, I try not to stock artificially colored foods and snacks in my house at all. It’s been easy as there are so many delicious natural options available for everything. But one – food coloring. I like to bake and have been avoiding any kind of colored frosting. I don’t feel like the looks really justify all those additives and the natural route is just pain in the butt. Who has time for cabbage, beet and turmeric extracts….

That is why I was excited when I heard about natural food coloring via one of my mommy groups. I found out about Color Garden and that is what I used but my research reveled that there are others. All they have in common is that they are natural, plant based and don’t cause the side-effects artificial colors do. The only downside is that they also don’t contain preservatives and, as such, are basically single use. I was so excited that I ordered a box immediately and know that it was rainbow pasta time.

Rainbow pasta has quickly become a favorite in our house. We get to make it together and it counts for craft time and lunch time. The boys always enjoy their meals more when they get to participate in the preparation or when I cook what they ask me for. I am sure it will become a favorite in your house too.

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