Five portions a day?

anonymousie

We find it dead easy to get out 5/day (often it is much more). I have kids aged 14/11/8 and they don't have any difficulty eating it either.

We have gradually changed to a predominantly veggie diet at home though and that makes it simple. DD1 takes pack lunch to school, but that is sandwich/cake and at learst 3 pieces of fruit:rotfl: (or cucumber/carrots). DS eats veggie at school as he thinks the meals are better, but DD2 likes her breadcrumbed meat stuff:rotfl:

I often have fruit plus cereal or yog for breakfast. Luch is "grabbit and run" maybe a tin of beans (counts as 1 portion) or tomatoes/tinned pulses or even just fruit if I'm really pushed I have been known to eat a bag of apples in the car! Seems expensive, but even the "finest" are £1.99/bag- cheaper than most pre pack sarnies).

Dinners-lots of variety. Remember, if you chop it fine you can hide extra veg (onions, courgette, swede, carrot etc ) in most things that have a sauce- try making spag bol with half the meat and double the veggies- an extra beef cube an noone knows! (then add a few green lentils and decrease the meat further;) .

At the mo I have a lentil soup cooling in the pressure cooker- work of a moment whilst I got breakfast (onion, carrot, swede, celery, garlic, mug of lentile and a couple of ham stock cubes).

As DH says "I would hate to eat whole platefuls of boiled veg, but a veg curry is something I would positively choose to eat"....Said veg curry is generally tin toms, what ever veg I have in, a mug of lentils, half a jar pataks curry paste and a tin of coconut milk.

BTW I cook large amounts at a time, it is easier to cook ahead and have it either frozen or in the fridge ready to roll when you have full time work and busy kids! I cook "properly" a couple of times a week.

BTW fruit and veg may seem expensive eaten in quantity BUT easpecially if you add pulses (even tinned ones, though I now do my own in bulk and freeze) they really are so much cheaper than the sort of meat you would want to be eating-i don't mean the reclaimed pink, rusk filled "value" sausages!)

Tam_Lin

Yes I do manage my 5-a-day easily now I've gone veggie. My stomach is definitely happier, and my tastebuds have come back to life.

lil_me

DS2 quite easy, will have some veg and fruit. DS1 is more difficult, only veg he'll eat is sweetcorn and cucumber. He will eat fruit, downside is won't eat apples/pears, will eat berry fruits, kiwis, grapes etc etc only problem being makes it extremely expensive. However I wouldn't let cost stop me, I would rather do without myself than them not get their fruit and veg.

We usually do fruit salads etc on weekends, fruit is there for in between meals, I stop them snacking on cakes, biscuits etc but they can have fruit whenever they want.

I do also use dried fruit for when we are on the go. Little tubs of raisins come in handy for kids with the hungries.

Me, easy, love almost all veg and fruit. Late night snack for me before bed was strawberry yoghurt with fresh strawberries and sliced apple. YUM!!

DP is another matter, I provide enough each day with meals, aiming for 2-3 veg with each meal minimum, but he regularly leaves it on his plate unless it's something with hidden veg in. He tends to eat most of what is in a stew or bolognese etc (I am for at least 2 portions per serving as he likes veg done this way) but as he gets full will leave the veg for the meat, so I have reduced the amount of meat I put in There is always a mountain of fruit in but he rarely eats it. Way I see it is at 27 he's old enough and stupid enough to make his own mistakes. Stopped getting annoyed with him, he knows the facts and if he wants to just carry on he can.

Pink.

Hi Mics_chick,

There's an older thread on eating the five a day that should help so I've merged your thread with it to keep all the suggestions together.

Pink

julesgr

I manage it much more easily when at work than when I'm at home... Carrot & cucumber to dip in houmus for lunch , a couple of apples and some grapes. then I have extra veg in the evenings !

When at home i don't seem to have the inclination for the fruit

shell2001

Again, we went with the its put on the plate dont make a big deal of it. DD1 has never been a problem but DD2 was not keen. She is now almost 3 and will eat whatever we put on her plate, although she did have 3 attempts at cabbage the other day and each one came back out - but she tried so was praised for that.

As an adult I know there are some veggies I just dont like the taste of - tomatoes, cucumber, parsnips. I try them periodically just incase my taste buds have changed but NOPE! So as long as the girls try stuff I am happy.

I do hide veggies in bolognaise. I sautee off diced carrot, leeks etc then whizz it in the blender with passatta.

The other day I got some natural yoghurt sprinkled on a teaspoon of brown sugar and when it had dissolved mixed it through. I then sliced grapes, strawberries, apple, banana, dried apricot and gave then forks so they could dip in (like fondue). Went down very well.

At lunchtime they always have sliced apple, cucumber sticks, carrot sticks on their plates. In between meals (especially if its about an hour before tea) if they say they are hungry the answer is help yourself from the fruit bowl - nothing else.

Good luck

Mics_chick

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Have you tried smoothies (in a blender, per person, half a ripe banana, handfull of fruit, eg peach, pineapple, kiwi, berries, approx 4 tbsp yoghurt)? This is also a great way to get calcium into children, and using full fat yog, calories into poorly ones.

As for veg, I grate it into burgers, which keep them moist, and much tastier than 100% meat IMO. I chop veg into pasta sauce, but you can grate it in, too. That way, it cooks down and is impossible to spot (or remove!).

My children didn't eat much veg when they were small, but have always liked fruit, so I never woprried about that.

Penny. x

Have you got a recipe Penny?

Penelope_Penguin

For the meat ones, I use good minced beef from the butcher, and mix and equal volume of veg and season with black pepper and herbs. I grate the veg as then it forms burgers more easily. You can use whatever you like - carrot, onion, garlic, swede, pepper, courgette, sweetcorn, mushroom. I then shape it in a burger maker, fry in a little oil, and put into a toasted wholemeal bun.

I also have a veggie one based on chickpea and courgette. Will find the recipe later.

Penny. x

morganb

[QUOTE=I_also_have_a_veggie_one_based_on_chickpea_and_courgette._Will_find_the_recipe_later[/QUOTE]

Yes please Penny, DS1 won't touch chickpeas unless they're in houmous or soup, so burgers would be good.

lil_me

Oh I never thought of things like that in burgers, DOH! Might try this on DSs this week as I make my own anyway. If I grate it (got new grater thingy to try out) hopefully they won't notice. Will just try a bit at first and build it up.