Fun is the name of the game! Encourage your kids to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables by involving them in the selection and preparation.
· Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colours. Each one will have a different nutrient with different benefits for your body.
· Try and choose pure fruit juices or smoothies with no added sugar rather than fruit drinks with added sugars.
· Ask your child to choose which fruits and vegetables they would like to try when food shopping. If choosing canned vegetables choose ones in water with no added sugar.
· If your child dislikes fruit you can make fresh fruit ice lollies or add to milk/yoghurt to make milkshake or smoothies. Do remember that eating fruit is always better than the juice as it has fibre to help keep your bowels regular.
· Ensure your presentation is beautiful not just the taste.
· Instead of hiding vegetables in meals ask your child to help prepare the meals. They are more likely to enjoy eating them if they are involved in the cooking process, even if it’s just washing the vegetables. Rather than emphasizing they must have vegetables because they are ‘good’ for us, emphasize how tasty they are by eating them yourself. Talk about where they come from and why they are good for you. You can ask them to squeeze fresh orange juice, lay out different vegetables in a bowl and let them make a wrap, noodles or a topping to a pizza. Preparing the food will stimulate their appetite.
· If your child is making a fuss don’t react. This will make them realise that making a fuss is not achieving anything.