It can be hard to get kids to eat vegetables and fruit. You are not alone! Many children don’t eat enough vegetables and fruit. Here are a few easy tips to get your children to enjoy their vegetables and fruit and meet their nutritional needs.
How to get your child to love their vegetables and fruit :
1. Lead by example
Your children will want to try new vegetables and fruit if they see others at the table eating them. When you make healthy food choices for yourself, you are teaching your kids about healthy eating.
If time is an issue, skip cooking the vegetables and serve them raw with a salad dressing, hummus or Greek yogurt as a dip. You can also throw frozen vegetables in cooked dishes. There is no washing or chopping!
Keep fruit where your kids can access them for a quick snack. Cut up oranges, mangos, pineapple, peaches or pears and put them in a plastic container in the fridge. Keep a fruit bowl full of apples, plums and bananas on the kitchen table.
2. Get kids involved
Take children to grocery shopping. Make eating vegetables and fruit a game of colours. Ask your children to find different coloured vegetables or fruit to have for snacks during the week.
Involve your children in preparing lunch. Let them choose which vegetables and fruit they want packed. Visit a farmer’s market or a local farm. This will teach your children about where food comes from & how peoples work to get us food ready to eat.
3. Introduce new vegetables and fruit with familiar foods
Serve a new food alongside familiar vegetables and fruit. Try roasted cubes of sweet potato with white potato or a mixed kabob alternating between new and familiar vegetables or fruit.
Do not force at all to eat any new fruit or vegetable. Let them try on their own
4. Don’t give up - Try, try again & again !
Most children need to be introduced to a new food 10 to 15 times before they will try it. So, don't give up on any vegetable or fruit. Try different ways of preparing the vegetable or fruit. For example, if your child won’t eat carrot sticks, maybe they would eat grated carrot. Give new vegetables and fruit to your children as often as possible, especially when they are young. The earlier you start, the better.
5. Add variety
Buy vegetables and fruit in season. During the winter months, frozen vegetables and fruit tend to be a better buy and they are just as nutritious as fresh. Try experimenting with one new vegetable or fruit a month.
6. Easy, kid-friendly recipes
Visit dietician for Kid-Friendly Recipes for new ideas. There are so many creative ways to add vegetables and fruits to your child’s day.
How can a dietitian help?
A dietitian will make sure your child is getting important nutrients like protein, fibre, iron and calcium that your child needs to grow and be healthy. Your dietitian will make suggestions on how to boost the nutrition of the foods they are already eating and give you a plan on how to introduce new ones. They can also help you plan balanced school lunches and help you with reading labels.
