Chef La La's Free Children's Cookbook

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Kids don't hate vegetables!

A new study released by First 5 California found that, contrary to popular belief, kids actually like vegetables. Interviews with more than 100 preschoolers, in both English and Spanish, revealed that many kids know it's important to get in a daily serving of fruits and veggies, and they like them. Interviews took place across Fresno, Los Angeles and Sacramento counties.

To help parents support this trend, First 5 California has published Yummy for Your Tummy — a free mini-cookbook with easy and inexpensive recipes developed by nutritionist and popular Latina TV personality Chef La La. The bilingual booklet also includes important nutrition tips for families with young children, such as healthy portion sizes and how to read nutrition labels.

"While there has been a lot of research on barriers to childhood nutrition, this study dispels the myth that kids are predisposed to dislike healthy foods," said Kris Perry, executive director of state agency First 5 California. "Now our challenge is to help parents find simple, affordable ways to prepare nutritious meals and snacks for their kids."

Fewer than half of California's children ages 2 to 11 eat the recommended amount of fruit and vegetable servings daily (five or more servings), according to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Furthermore, almost 25 percent of them eat two or more servings of cookies, candy, doughnuts or popsicles every day.

Yummy for Your Tummy is available for free to all Californians by calling 1-800-KIDS-025 or visiting www.first5california.com.

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