Easy Way to (Kids) 5 a Day?

Shortie

Hiya

I'm trying to rack upi the fruit and veg my two eat (6 years and nearly 2). They'd both eat fruit till it came out of their ears but I struggle sometimes with the veg.

If we eat pizza, we make sure we have veg on there, and our bolognaises are packed with veg, but if we have more basic dinners (say sausgae & mash) we can sturggle to get them to even eat the peas!

What does everyone else do, even if the ideas are a bit sneaky? I prefer them to know they're eating the veg, but will hide things if needed :rotfl:

Also, we currently have to give our 6 year old fruit with a meal only. He's Type 1 diabetic and fruit between meals would send his blood sugars crazy. An fruit is fin, as long as it's in a meal, but I'm getting a bit 'stuck in a rut' here and was after some suggestions... Currently we pop sultanas in weetabix on school days for breakie, and a piece of fruit with lunch, snack and dinner-dessert is often fruit. But I think a change of routine might be nice but I can't think of any fruity alternatives?

Thank you!
Shortie

HowlinWolf

try hiding veg in things if they are really anti-veg. Pizza sauce can happily disguise grated courgette and carrot, they will never know. What about fajitas with peppers, onions and mushrooms and maybe some crisp lettuce to put in the wraps. Try adding some parsnip or celeriac to the mash with your sausage and mash. Can you serve a homemade fruit smoothie as a drink with a meal? What about fruit based puddings like crumbles and fruit pies? You could also cook your carrots with a small amount of water and a know of butter - so that they are glazed, they are much sweeter this way and may be more palatable.

Zed42

My DD (5) loves cut up veggies as snacks ... cucumber, peppers, carrot batons (dipped in hummus), cherry tomatoes ...

Currently fresh asparagus is a total winner

Pudswise, my DD is such a slow eater, puds don't often happen ... but pears and custard is a good one, or a fruit crumble ....

HTH some....

Pink.

Hi Shortie,

Raw veg are a favourite with my youngest too and he often asks for some when I'm preparing the meal so I don't stress if he doesn't eat too much during the meal, especially as the raw veg are probably better for him as there is no vitamin depletion from cooking.

A bit of [STRIKE]manipulation[/STRIKE] imagination can help too. Ds was fascinated by bulls when he was small but wasn't too keen on brocolli. We just happened to drop into conversation at dinner one night that bulls love brocolli and that's what makes them so big and strong. That night he decided to finish all the brocolli in the dish and since then has never had a problem with it.

These threads may give you some more ideas:

Five portions a day?

Any devious ideas for hiding veggies?

5 a day help needed

Pink

Shortie

Thank you for the suggestions and I'll have a good nose through the thread Pink

For my older one, I didn't even think about carorot sticks in his lunchbox, doh!

And hiding veg in Mash? I'll definately give that one a go :beer:

JoolzS

Shortie wrote: »

Hiya

I'm trying to rack upi the fruit and veg my two eat (6 years and nearly 2). They'd both eat fruit till it came out of their ears but I struggle sometimes with the veg.

I'm wondering if you are misunderstanding the "5 portion of fruit and veg a day" message. If your kids are happy to eat fruit, then let them stick with that. It isn't five portions of fruit AND five portions of veg.

There have been reports that too much fruit and/or veg in young ones can actually cause malnutrition because they then don't have room to eat much needed proteins, starches and fats.

If your kids are eating what you feel is a balanced diet, then don't worry yourself about "5 portions a day". It's an arbitrary number. No-one has AFAIK tested whether or not four portions is healthy, or if six is even more healthy. Stating that 5 "portions" of fruit/veg per day is healthy is just ridiculous!

On a personal level, I will say that I used to enjoy fruit and veg far more when it was just another food and not part of a number of "portions" per day that I was told I "should" eat. An apple used to be just an apple - now it's a "portion" I no longer enjoy it and so rarely eat it.

Julie

zippychick

JoolzS wrote: »

I'm wondering if you are misunderstanding the "5 portion of fruit and veg a day" message. If your kids are happy to eat fruit, then let them stick with that. It isn't five portions of fruit AND five portions of veg.

There have been reports that too much fruit and/or veg in young ones can actually cause malnutrition because they then don't have room to eat much needed proteins, starches and fats.

If your kids are eating what you feel is a balanced diet, then don't worry yourself about "5 portions a day". It's an arbitrary number. No-one has AFAIK tested whether or not four portions is healthy, or if six is even more healthy. Stating that 5 "portions" of fruit/veg per day is healthy is just ridiculous!

On a personal level, I will say that I used to enjoy fruit and veg far more when it was just another food and not part of a number of "portions" per day that I was told I "should" eat. An apple used to be just an apple - now it's a "portion" I no longer enjoy it and so rarely eat it.

Julie

Wouldn't we be complaining if the powers that be didn't tell us we needed 5 a day and hid their healthy recommendations? This site looks quite informative

Shortie

JoolzS wrote: »

I'm wondering if you are misunderstanding the "5 portion of fruit and veg a day" message. If your kids are happy to eat fruit, then let them stick with that. It isn't five portions of fruit AND five portions of veg.

Lol no, I know it's a total of 5 fruit and veg together xxx. I now have an image of my 22month old with carrots popping out of his ears for sheer volume of fruit and veg eaten :rotfl:

I think the same that it's a guideline, but I think it's a good one to try stick to as a gentle reminder as a parent to pack a bit more into their day

nopot2pin

Shortie wrote: »

And hiding veg in Mash? I'll definately give that one a go :beer:

As well as hiding parsnip and celeriac in mash, try mashing cauliflower with the mash


Just for a bit of fun ...
You could try pea races...
Eat as many peas with a cocktail stick, only one at a time.
Who ever eats the most in, say 30 seconds, is the winner :T
You could use beans, or sweetcorn with this, but peas are harder because of the "roll factor"

Shortie

nopot2pin wrote: »

You could try pea races...
Eat as many peas with a cocktail stick, only one at a time.
Who ever eats the most in, say 30 seconds, is the winner :T
You could use beans, or sweetcorn with this, but peas are harder because of the "roll factor"

:rotfl:

I like that idea

nopot2pin

Shortie wrote: »

:rotfl:

I like that idea

It is fun
But YOU have to be prepared to eat alot of peas

When I visit my neice we play this.... the first 2 or 3 games, I always win
For some reason, I cant keep it up though
But I do just manage it long enough for her to consume a child size portion of veg :cool::T


Edit... Oh... and be wary of little cheaters, putting 2 peas on the same mouthful/cocktail stick