HOW TO ENCOURAGE KIDS TO EAT FRUIT AND VEG!

HEALTHY SNACKS!

This one has worked 4 me for 19 years with my son and its still working....!
i chop up the fruit into bite size and put in the same tupperware colored plastic bowl i did back in 1989.. and to add a little something i often provide a small fork...
this seems to work a treat whilst my son is chilling out after work watching the simpsons...
should try it...!!!!
Margot.H

Offer fruit instead of junk food for snacks. My 2 year old son loves it.
Caronlina D.  
Mash some sweet potato with some steamed pear, kids love the sweetness and
sweet potato has great GI so it will keep kids going for longer than mashed
potato
Christie.B

FRUIT ICY TREATS

freeze oranges and mandarines and serve then for afternoon tea for kids as frozen ice blocks(fruit blocks)  Denise.C
I give my son ‘ice-cream’ – that is, he gets frozen banana on a stick.  He also seems to LOVE eating frozen peas – still frozen. Silvia. DF

We don't have problems with getting our 15 month old daughter to eat fruit ('Apple, apple, aaaaple.....') however I guess if she wouldn't eat fruit, during the summer I'd chuck the fruit in a blender with ice and serve up fruit smoothies or semi frozen 'slush puppies'. Another one is to make fruit ice blocks. Just use put the blended fruit in a cup with a teaspoon in it for the iceblock handle. Let the kids experiment by making different flavour blends. They'll keep coming back for more! Kiwi fruit and Watermelon iceblocks... yum!
Nick & Janelle.F

DIPS

It's all about the DIP!
Kids love to dip, you love kids to eat their fruit and veg.  Here are my favorite dips to make the kids happy.

Veggie Dip
2 part sour cream to 1 part whole egg mayo
Italian herbs mixed in

Fuit Dip
2 parts yougurt to 1 part sour cream
passion fruit mixed in
Don't forget the all time 80's classic "ants on a log"
Cut celery into section (logs)
Fill the celery with cream cheese
place raisons along the log
Christina F

1. Firstly find one vegetable they like to eat like carrots and make
   carrot sticks, and add some other vegetable like celery and cut into
   sticks too.  Arrange on a platter with a favourite dip, say hommus, and
   include other goodies they like such as cheese sticks/portions, and a
   favourite fruit.
2. If my kids are having a "not so vegetablely dish", I still try to
   include carrot sticks on the side because I know they love them and will
   be happy eating at least one vegetable!
3.  I substitute lettuce with baby spinach quite often.
4.  Baby spinach is great on pizza, pasta etc.
   
   Thanks.  Marie. D-C

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH

The No 1 rule with kids is this, Kids don’t do what you tell them , they do what you DO!
The most powerful thing we can do with our children is to see us eating and enjoying fruit and vegetables. There is no better advertisement than for us to practice what we preach.
I come from an Italian background and we ate huge bowls full of ridicchi and tomatoes from as young as we can remember.  I have passed this on to my son who devours salads.
Justin P

HIDE THE VEGGIES!

Make spring rolls at home using frozen spring roll pastry sheets. It is amazing what the kids will eat if it is in a spring roll. Getting the kids to help make them is great too!
We have used carrot, bean sprouts, cabbage and chinese cabbage, shallots, onion and celery.
We cook a little pork or chicken mince and mix it with the vegetables and soy sauce.
You don't even need to deep fry. Just spray with oil and bake in the oven!
Sharon. C

My three year old loves banana bread so I pureed a whole heap of cooked green veggies together with some cooked apples and then added it to the usual banana bread recipe.  He hasn’t noticed the bits of green in it yet 
Angie. B

BOLOGNAISE SAUCE

When I make meat sauce for bolognaise or lasagne, I blend/grate carrot and zucchini and add to the meat sauce - the kids never know it is there!
Sinead. A

I add grated carrot & zucchini to my tomato based pasta sauce. The kids happily eat up their spaghetti bolognese (or whatever pasta I'm making), not knowing there's vegies hiding in the sauce. Ingenious!
Jennifer. O

Add grated carrot & zucchini to a bolognaise sauce with pasta!
Patrick .M

When making spaghetti bolognaise you can put just about any veggie and the kids will never know. If they ask just tell him its your 11 secret herbs and spices.
Maree. J

Make up a pot of pizza sauce, hiding zucchini, carrot, celery (really any
vege) with some nice fresh tomatoes.  Blend it all together, then spread
on pizza base and top with cheese.
Potato pizza is really nice and kids seem to love corn on pizza as its nice
and sweet.
Christie.B

GET THE KIDS INVOLVED!

Get the kids to invent their own fruit or vege receipe for us to eat. We then mark the calendar each fortnight when their special dish will be eaten and they become head chef for the day!
Desiree B

My nearly 3 year old daughter enjoys helping unpack the box and then making fruit salad with her own toy box of fruit.  Keep food fun.
Sally. C

Don’t try to get your children to eat veggies with the slightly bitter taste as their taste buds are more sensitive than adults and if they don’t like it, they just don’t like it. Try to get them to eat sweeter veggies like beans, snow peas, corn etc. Corn on the cob is good for novelty value too.
 I have always given my children raw vegetables because that is how my husband likes them and it is healthier and easier. I don’t have any trouble getting the children to eat vegetables. My son came home from his friends house once and exclaimed with shock that his friend’s family has their vegetable cooked and soggy. He didn’t like them.
Put the veggies in separate bowls on the table before the rest of the meal is served up. That way instead of hovering around waiting for dinner to be served, they can nibble on the variety of vegetables already on offer.
Get children to help with cutting or pealing vegetables at an age appropriate level. If they are hungry, which they should be just before the meal, they will practice the one for me one for the pot principle.
Robyne. C

VEGGIE PATCH!

We have a little vegie patch and the kids help to plant and grow their own fruit and vegies. They help themselves to the parsley, peas and spinach! I pretend they are being very cheeky eating the parsley and they giggle.
Penny. J

F&V ICE CUBES

My tip for getting kids to eat veg? Make a good mixed veggie puree and then freeze in ice cubes (as you would do for baby food). After this you can add the cubes to just about anything…spag bol, lasagna, savory mince, even butter chicken is yummy with a handful of veggie cubes mixed in with the sauce!
Tania. K

SOUP BREAD MIX

If you child likes bread or crackers but not veges: Boil up a heap of veges in some chicken or vege stock, then blend it all up once the veges are soft to make a thick vege soup. Make a big show of preparing some bread (“mmmm, yummy bread, look I’m buttering your bread!” etc… add vegemite too if that clinches the deal) Chop the buttered bread into little cubes & show your child as you drop them into the soup & mix them through. Then make a game of picking out the bread with spoon or hands (caution: messy!) My son falls for this one every time, eats up all his bread & lots of vege soup as well which the bread has soaked up.
Frey. K

CUT F&V INTO SHAPES

Firstly, its alot easier now we get fresh F&V from you instead of the poor supermarket quality.
Well, I try and keep it simple. I cut say carrots the shape they like them, also corn on the cob and steam them, and offer only 1 maybe 2 veg per meal 
OR
We make a garden salad and instead of salad dressing, I use a small amount (1/2 clove) of your fresh chopped garlic mixed in - the kids love it and so do the adults - I am always asked what my secret salad ingredient is!
Lastly, there is always something else they really like with dinner, either for main or dessert so, EAT SOME VEG OR CHOSE TO MISS OUT ON THE TREAT. This takes the pressure off you and gets the kids to chose - more often than not, they chose F&V - they don't want to be the only one missing out on maybe hot chips or icecream - I know I wouldn't.
 Anyway, this works for our family and I hope it work for yours as well.
Michelle H

The only way my daughter will eat fruit and vegetables is to cut all into shapes , mostly animals. With the vegetables we use home made cheese sauce for eyes etc.
Hope this helps,
Robyn. R