My boys are only 7 and 9, but the eye-rolling has begun. Last night I got it in spades. I started talking about what each color fruit and vegetable does for our bodies and why it is important to eat a rainbow of foods. Apparently¹, they have heard this too many times, because the minute I started talking they started rolling their eyes.

我的两个儿子，一个7岁，一个9岁，但是我昨天晚上发现他们已经学会转眼珠了。我跟他们讲各种颜色的水果和蔬菜给身体带来的好处以及为什么我们要吃五颜六色的食物。很明显，他们已经听过太多次了，因为我刚一开始讲他们就开始转眼珠，表示很明白了。

Because they are such experts, I asked whether they could please teach their toddler sister why each color food is good for her. I figured the timing² was perfect, as she is learning her colors and body parts. They rolled their eyes at me again, asserting that a 1-year-old will not understand. But because they love to teach her anything, they went along with it. She relished³ all of the attention.

因为他们几乎是专家级人物了，所以我问他们可不可以告诉他们刚学走路的小妹妹为什么每种颜色的食物对她有好处。我觉得我小女儿这个年纪是了解这些知识的最佳时间，因为她正在学习各种颜色以及身体的部位。两个儿子又朝我转了转眼珠，坚定地认为一个1岁的小孩儿无法理解这么深奥的东西。但是因为他们喜欢教她一切事情，于是就陪她一起学。我的小女儿很喜欢两个哥哥的关心和照料。

Here is what my boys told my daughter:

以下就是我的儿子们告诉我的小女儿的事情。

— Orange and yellow vegetables and fruits are good for your eyes, so if you want to see a baseball pitch coming your way or be able to read at night, you should eat a lot of pineapple, yellow peppers and yellow summer squash.

——橙色和黄色：橙色和黄色的蔬菜水果对于眼睛很有好处，所以如果你想要看清朝你飞来的棒球或者能够在晚上看书，你就应该多吃菠萝、黄辣椒以及黄色的西葫芦。

— Blue and purple fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, blackberries, plums, eggplant and purple carrots have been shown to improve memory. If you want to remember all the things that Mom forgets, you should keep eating blue and purple foods.

——蓝色和紫色：如同蓝莓、黑莓、李子、茄子和紫胡萝卜等蓝色和紫色的蔬果对于提升记忆力有很好的功效。如果你想要记住老妈忘记的所有事情，那你也应该坚持吃蓝色和紫色的食物。

— Red foods, and unfortunately not the synthetic⁴ dyed ones, support your heart (by decreasing heart disease risk, preventing hardening of blood vessels⁵ and reducing inflammation). So eat lots of raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes and watermelon to help your heart pump.

——红色：红色的食物（不包括那些人工染红的食物），能够使心脏运转正常，如降低得心脏病的奉献，预防动脉硬化以及减少心脏的炎症。所以多吃树莓、草莓、西红柿和西瓜等食物可以让你的心脏更健康。

— Green vegetables are Mom's favorites. They have been shown to help prevent cancer and other diseases, keep our blood healthy, and support the immune system that keeps us from getting sick. By keeping our blood healthy, green veggies give us energy, so eat lots of them if you want to keep up with your big brothers!

——绿色：绿色蔬菜是老妈的最爱。据证实，绿色蔬菜有助于预防癌症和其他疾病，保持血液健康以及保障免疫系统功能正常。通过使我们的血液保持健康，绿色蔬菜给我们带来能量。如果你想要赶上你的哥哥们，那就多吃绿色蔬菜吧！

There are obviously more scientifically accurate reasons to eat your colors, but I thought my boys did a pretty good job. Life is colorful right now. The farmer's markets are overflowing⁶ with yellow, orange, red, green and blue foods, so it couldn't be simpler to eat the rainbow. And as I pointed⁷ out to my boys, it turns out it is not premature⁸ to teach a 1-year-old about nutrition. They just rolled their eyes.

当然肯定有更多科学准确的理由来解释为什么要食用不同颜色的食物，但是我觉得我的两个儿子做得非常好。从现在起，生活中变得多彩。菜市场里随处可见黄色、橙色、红色、绿色以及蓝色的食物，所以吃得五彩缤纷十分容易。正如我跟儿子说的，事实证明1岁就教孩子营养学的知识并不早。当然，我的两个儿子只是转了转眼珠。