Do you struggle to get your familiy to eat their fruits and vegetables?
We all know we should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. But knowing and doing are two different things, aren’t they?
Sometimes it's just not easy to get them all in there! Especially when we're constantly tempted to fill up on convenience and junk foods. If your family is anything like mine, they’d much rather fill up on a bag of chips or a bowl of rice or pasta instead of trying an apple or a plate of steamed broccoli. So we’ll have to get creative.
Here are 10 ways to "sneak" extra fruits and vegetables into your family’s diet.
1. Start the day with a breakfast smoothie.
All you have to do is throw some fruits, Greek yogurt, spinach, and ice into a blender. You may also want to add a scoop of protein powder in there for an extra boost of protein. Just blend for a few seconds and you have the perfect breakfast ready to go. I like to sip mine in a thermal cup on the way to work.
2. Fruits and veggies makes an excellent snack any time of the day.
Add some carrot sticks and an apple to your child’s lunch box, pack a banana in your husband’s briefcase, and keep a bowl of prewashed fruits and vegetables sitting on the counter in the kitchen for healthy snacking.
3. Add some fruits and vegetables to your family’s sandwiches.
You can add some banana, sliced apples, or strawberry slices to a peanut butter sandwich. Top a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and anything else they will eat. You can even make a sub shop style vegetable sandwich by combining several different vegetables with some mayonnaise and cheese on bread.
4. Have a salad bar at dinner.
Set out a variety of chopped vegetables, lean proteins, shredded cheese, and croutons as well as several choices of salad dressing along with the greens and let everybody create their own perfect salad.
5. Let them drink their fruits and vegetables.
If you have a juicer, put it to good use by creating fresh fruit and vegetable juice combinations instead of purchasing store bought varieties that tend to be loaded with sugar. Encourage everyone to drink fresh juice as a snack.
Get creative. You could start “family cocktail hour” by pouring everybody a glass of his or her favorite juice over ice. Add some straws, cocktail umbrellas and sit together to talk about how everybody’s day went.
6. Try this for dessert.
Put a small scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt in a bowl and top it with lots of fresh or frozen fruit.
7. Offer fruits and vegetables as snacks.
You can cut apples into slices and top them with peanut butter or cheese. Cube cheese and serve with grapes. Cut up some fresh veggies and serve them with ranch dip. And of course there’s ants on a log. Spread some cream cheese or peanut butter on the inside of a stick of celery and sprinkle raisins on it (wow, fruit and vegetable in one snack!).
8. Try some new fruits and vegetables.
Pick something exotic to get your family’s curiosity. With a little luck their curiosity will outweigh their initial apprehension to trying something new. You could try artichokes, plantains, papaya, mango, star fruit, or anything else you can find in the produce department of your local store.
9. Give your favorite comfort foods a healthy twist.
Make a pot of vegetable soup or a stew that’s heavy on veggies and easy on the meat. Both of these make some great comfort food when the weather gets cold.
10. Start “My Veggie Day”.
Each family member gets to pick a vegetable one day of the week. They qualify to pick a vegetable as long as they tried each vegetable the week before, otherwise they lose a turn and Mom gets to pick.
Incorporate a few of these ideas and you'll have everyone in your family eating more fruits and vegetables in no time.
Here's a BONUS tip:
Now that everyone in the family has gotten a taste for it, make sure you always have plenty of fresh fruits and veggies available and ready to snack on.