>We all know how important it is to get your children eating their 5-a-day of fruit and vegetables, but what if your child doesn’t like vegetables?? Luckily for me, my children are fruit and veg
>We all know how important it is to get your children eating their 5-a-day of fruit and vegetables, but what if your child doesn’t like vegetables?? Luckily for me, my children are fruit and veg lovers, but it is always great to do fun things to get them eating even more fruit and vegetables.
Some of my favourite ways to get the children eating 5-a-day is to be a bit inventive.
I find getting the children involved with food is a great way to get them eating things that maybe they wouldn’t touch normally. Try making a pizza, chopping up mushrooms, and draining some Green Giant Original Sweetcorn with Peppers and whatever else you find in the fridge, and get them to create their own pizza faces with the vegetables! The red peppers make a great mouth, and the green pieces are great for eyes.
Green Giant have a vast range of products which are full of vegetable goodness, just 80g (that’s about a handful or three heaped spoonfuls) of Sweetcorn is 1 of your 5-a-day! My children love Green Giant Sweetcorn, as its easy for little fingers to pick up and they love the texture! It is so versatile, you can enjoy it cold with salad, or even cooked, the possibilities are endless.
If you have a child who flat out refuses to eat any vegetables and fruit, you can always easily hide them! Blitz up some vegetables into a puree and stir into your normal shepards pie mince and gravy to make a hidden vegetable -packed dinner! Green Giant have some great tips and recipes on their Official Green Giant UK Facebook Page.
We would love you to share your handy tips, hints and advice on how you get your children eating their 5-a-day. We have a brilliant Abel and Cole Vegetable Box and Green Giant products to give away to our favourite entry so they can try out all the tips! Simply leave us a comment below with your hints and tips! This competition will run until 14th November 2011
Terms and Conditions.
For your chance to win an Abel & Cole vegetable box , write your best tips/hints/advice in the blogger comment box before the 14/11/2011. Entrants must be over 18 and residents of the UK or ROI – Prize is one Abel & Cole vegetable box (no cash alternative) -There will be 1 winner. The winning post will be decided based on the following criteria: uniqueness/creativity/originality. By entering the competition, you agree that your hint/tip may be shared on Green Giant’s Facebook page and used by Green Giant in any other media.
This is a sponsored post.
>i always make hedgehogs to get my son to eat 5 a day . the sausages are spikes the mash is the body ,carrots for eyes , gravy is grass , sweetcorn is hay x
>Try mashing other veg in with potatoes, also I know you shouldn't play with food we sometimes make pictures with veggies makes it more interesting xx
>Get them to help you 'grow their own' then they will be more interested in eating the produce
>i give different veg fun names eg broccoli – trees, sprouts – footballs etc
>ok, we had photos of the dreaded veg cut out of magazine and pasted on to cardboard, these veggies became characters Sid Sprout, Billy Beetroot, Charlie carrot etc. We created bedtime stories with adventures of these characters and then at the end of the story Daughter had to guess which Veg would turn up for dinner the next day. This seemed to make it fun and fortunately worked like a dream for us.
>We always make faces with ours… or have a little competition across the table of who can make the best face. It always puts a smile on their face when they see eyes, nose and mouth made out of veg, and then they add to their face as they are eating it….
>Kids loke sweets, just tell em that they are called sweetcorn cos they are sweets!
>psychologically proven : if you don't like it but then taste it 10 times you get to like it! So encourage them to eat, even small bites and portions and soon they will be begging for it 🙂
>We have mash with potatoes, carrots, swede, and parsnip in, gets them to eat almost all their 5 a day in one go
>I stew several different kinds of fruit and then use it in with breakfast cereal or as a pudding with yoghurt – it is so tasty and healthy too.
>Make veggies more that what they are! Brocolli can become small trees, and you can be a big dinosaur eating those trees! Cauliflower can be winter trees & sweetcorn can be nuggets of gold from a pirates horde. Rings of onions, carrot discs and peas become a solar system on your plate. Playing wth your food isn’t always bad!
>I give a vegetable with every meal so it becomes 'normal' and not weird or hated. If you always do that, they won't think twice about eating them!
>My mother always let me and my sister get involved in cooking the family dinners, so when it was served we always wanted to eat it because we felt proud of our hard work 🙂 . Individual veggie Pizzas were always a favourite, especially when they looked like faces
>dont make a big thing out of giving them vegetables, if they see adults sitting down and eating veg together they will just eat it and it wont be a big deal. mashed potatoes with squash mased in is lovely!
>When my daughter was litle, I used to make her a "face" for lunch – the eyes were cucumber slices, the nose a cherry tomato, the mouth was red pepper and the hair grated cheese. She absolutely loved it!
>My 2 kids will eat any veg (even those they are not too keen on) if they are cut up smallish and cooked with rice and seasoning, usually chinese 5 spice/pilau/jamblaya (not too spicy)
>For our son, its def not making a big deal out of it, He eats very little so more often then not i want to make a massive deal of it, But i want him to see it as normal.
>If they are really fussy, blend veg into soups and sauces so they don't try to pick out the "bits"!
>Get them to help grow the veg that way they will be more willing to try it.
>I put a lolly stick into a banana and stick it into the freezer, my kids think they are just like ice lollies and scoff them up
>I blend into sauces, lots of home made soups. Always make carrot cake to.
>my little boy loves sweetcorn and carrots but anything else is a challenge!! you have to kind of make it fun for him and say i bet i can eat 3 pieces of brocolli before you do… and youd be suprised how much can be put away by them before they realise theyve just eaten veggies they usually wont eat!!
>Allow them to be creative with their food
>MAKE TRAIN TRACK OUT SLICED CARROTS USE SWEET CORN FOR THE LEVELING THE TRACK PEAS AND SWEETCORN FOR THE LIGHTS AND CAUILFLOWER FOR THE TREES WITH BROCOLIE ITS ALL GOOD FUN WAY TO EAT YOUR GREENS
>I tell my grandkids that if they eat there sweetcorn they will grow so quickly and when theyre as big as the green giant himself they will become members of his magical gang — it always works its just magic ho ho ho
>Introduce the taste of a variety of fruits early on, in juice, smoothies, sucking fruit, little and often.
I have always incorporated every veg in the meals I put in the blender for early baby meals, although
not distinguishable to see the taste is there. For older children encourage them to help prepare fruit
and veg for mealtimes with you.
>I hide sweetcorn / peas in there mash potato. I also tell them that sweetcorn will give them muscles, potatos will give them strong bones etc.
>We have had a really tough time getting Munchkin to eat any veg, so I started taking her to a local 'Healthy Eating/Living' class. Here, I find it encourages her when she is sitting with other children who are also eating the new foods. The biggest thing that has helped her though is the introduction of stories and characters into mealtimes. Now, a little 'alien' visits her every mealtime and shares her yummy dinner with her. They touch it, smell it and 'kiss' the food. Then, when she licks her lips after kissing the food, she usually puts it in her mouth. Sounds mad, but it's really working! x
>I get my daughter involved in helping prepare and cook dinner. She tries some foods raw then has no problem trying them again when they are cooked.
>we give our vegetables silly names. my daughter loves fairies so we call brocolli fairy trees an tell her that the fairys grow them especially so that little grils and boys grow big and strong and i have to say it actually works for us!
>Get them involved with helping to choose and select fruit and veg from the supermarket and then preparing the meal
>I mainly deal with older kids, and it's amazing how much more willing they are to try new foods when they've prepared it themselves. Teach the child to peel a carrot & they'll be excited to eat one they have peeled themselves. Of course if they can help choose, pick or even grow some of them that's even better 🙂
>Offer variety and don't make a big deal about eating fruit and veg, just lead by example!
>I grate any vegetable i have in to all my one pot meals eg..stews, casseroles, bolognese.What they dont see, they cant moan or refuse to eat
>Give them chopped up fruit and veg as finger food.
>try sainsburys purple carrots (witches noses)
>Growing some of our own vegetables always delights my daughter in growing, cooking and eating them. Also involving my daughter in making homemade healthy foods also helps her want to eat them.
>get your kids to play with fruit and veg make kebabs smoothies etc
>We pretend brocccoli are trees & my son loves eating the leaves off them to show me the tree goes from summer tto winter 🙂
>Eat together at the table – kids can't resist trying what the adults are eating, or they think they're missing out!
>My mother’s favourite saying was, hunger is a great appetiser. If we didn’t eat what was put in front of us it was put in front again until we ate it, no substitute.
>get your kids to help you cooking
>we grow a lot of our own fruit and veg,my 2 year old loves watching how they grow big and change colour ect. and i often get Harvey to help me to wash and prepare the veg making stories up about them as we go along 🙂 its always so much more fun as well to make faces, buildings and animals out of them! this has definitely encouraged him to try new things but as a baby i used to always let him play with his food and explore the textures and have fun in the process!
@kerrybabyharvey
xx
>We tell our 3 year old daughter that Scooby Snacks are made out of vegetables!
>we make veg as much fun and as tasty as possible – we add sauces like cheese sauce to cauliflour and make funny faces etc with them – always use some lines out of charlie and lolas i will never eat a tomato too!
>My 2 boys didn't like many veg until we had an allotment and they helped out. So my tip is to get your child to plant some plants/seeds in a part of the garden or in a growbag. They can watch them grow and will be more inclined to eat the produce.
It's a good idea to search for unusual varities of veg – round carrots, coloured beans etc. Much more fun!
>We tell our boys that vegetables are Mario Power up's that help give you special powers and super strength, it is working quite well, usually a pepper is demolised followed by a sprint round the kitchen, next step getting them to eat their vegetables and stay in their seats 🙂 x
>Frozen fresh fruit is great. My daughter thinks she's eating little lollies when really is frozen orange segments, grapes or strawberries!
>I grate carrot into things! Particularly in bolognese as you can't see it, it bulks out the meal and gets veggies in! @rhodak09
>I use the food processor to hide veggies in sauces/soup!
>I hide vegetables in alot of sauces but now i've found purple spuds dinner time is so much fun
[email protected]
>We have a big garden and grow fruit and vegetables. My little man knows very well where tomatoes and strawberries come from. We even had a couple of late strawberries the other day. I make a chicken vegetable soup for my guys which they eat with great pleasure, and it is amazing how many veggies are hidden there. Many thanks!
>I have loads of trips up my sleeve when it comes to getting my boy to eat a balanced diet.
1. Lead by example – if they see you eating well and exercising then they'll want to too.
2. Involve the kids when choosing fruit and veg at the supermarket – my boy is only 1 year old but enjoys picking up different coloured/textured foods to try.
3. In the early days (when weaning), don't fill up their beaker with juice! Mine still drink water because I never got them hooked onto juice in the first place. Offer them plenty of whole fresh fruit instead – it's much healthier and yummier because it hasn't been processed – plus they enjoy being able to see and touch and smell it.
4. Offer fruits and veg as snacks as well as part of balanced meals and desserts – stronger and more bitter veg can be easily hidden if pureed, blended into sauces or even hidden in a sandwich or healthy snack such as stuffed into a juicy mushroom.
5. Steam or boil to lock in nutrients.
Hope these help 🙂
@hannahmdy
>Offering tasty snacks – celery/cucumber/carrot and apple/strawberries/grapes – with a variety of dips is a big staple in my house. The dips give the fun element and if I want to try a new fruit or vegetable they are willing if they have a tasty yoghurt or hummous dip!
>Smother carrot sticks or florets of broccali with a bit of cream cheese or as a last resort, peanut butter. The veg will still come through, they may not love it, but will introduce them to it, and next time it'll be that much easier.
>The best thing I've discovered to get my boy interested in his fruit and veg has been to let hime grow his own
>When we decided as a family to increase our fruit and vegetable intake we put a simple chart on our fridge. It consists of 7 rows of 5 small circles; one row for each day of the week. Our son gets to colour one in for each fruit or vegetable he eats BUT the colour has to match the food! (An orange circle for carrots or swede, for example.) He feels really motivated to fill up each row and we all have a colourful reminder to enjoy a varied and interesting five-a-day!
>Smoothies are great to help towards our 5 a day. We go shopping together to pick out fruit we could use that week, I then get the little ones to help by washing the fruit. They especially love watching it being all whizzed up in the blender! Such as easy and enjoyable way to get your 5 a day.
>bribe them with money
>Make sure they get a bit of everything on their plate and don't make a big deal about it if they don't eat it. Carrot sticks and slices of red pepper are great to hand out as snacks
>We make landscapes out of the veg – brocolli for trees, sweetcorn as the road etc then pretend to be giants and eat everything in sight 🙂
>My girls love fruit and veggies but they can never have too many 🙂 I often make my own sauce for homemade pizza (including lots of tomatoes and carrot) and add 'hidden' veg to mince dishes such as grated courgette. My littlies absolutely LOVE baked beans so I always add sweetcorn to the beans (50/50 mix). Sounds horrible but it's absolutely lovely 🙂
>I try to buy fruit that’s in season to save on cost. I then make a bowl of brightly coloured fruit and put it in an area the kids walk through a lot so it’s appealing for them to pick up
>Get the kids to make their own dips, using food colouring to make them fun colours. They'll love dipping fresh veg into funky and delicious dips!
>Chop them up and let them dip them Into there favourite yoghurt
>Making homemade pizza's is always a winner – make smiley faces out of different vegetables and see who can make the funniest face – they'll love eating them when they're done 🙂
>Getting my daughter to help with the cooking of the veg has always encouraged her to eat them. Weve started growing our own veg too and she loves planting them, watching them grow and then eating them!
>My two-year old daughter loves her five a day,
Getting her to eat them now is really child's play.
Her first word was banana! She loves to eat her fruit,
She's tried so many different tastes, even celery root!
When we go out shopping, I let her help to choose,
It's important for her to see the different textures & colours of foods.
Her Grandma has a vegetable patch and we often go round to pick
Our fruit and veg for tea that night, it normally does the trick.
She eats peas from the garden and loves to pop the pod,
It helps her to get used to them so she doesn't find them odd.
🙂
>I get mine to try and grow some in the garden they are then happy to try what they have grown. I have also bribed them and hidden them in their food.
>cut the veg up small and put in sauces 🙂
>Get the kids to make fruit kebabs
>When shopping let your kids have a choice on fruit and veg, if they get to choose it there is a better chance of them wanting to eat it.
>Start with the baby-led weaning instead of feeding your baby pureed food and in future you will have no problem whatsoever!
>I get my children to help prepare the vegetables to encourage them to taste them raw and cooked x
>I think the best place to start is with weaning,the sooner you get them eating fruit and veg the better really.
now that my eldest 2 are a little older i get them to help choose what vegatables they would like with their donner when we are shopping. 🙂
>Hi! Has the winner been selected please? Would love to read which entry was considered the most interesting.