I want my kids to eat more veggies.
My daughter (age 10) loves them. My son (age 13) hates them. This week, I am trying something new. Every night with dinner, I put a platter of fresh fruit and veggies on the table. I don't make a big deal about the tray... they just take what appeals to them. (When I try to talk my kids into something, they pretty much run in the opposite direction!)
This is so simple. It takes about 10 minutes to wash and cut everything. You can do it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge.
How is it going? My daughter adds lots of veggies and fruit to her plate. My son has eaten a couple pieces of broccoli (and lots of fruit).
The best things about this fruit and veggie tray?
1) It is bright and colorful. Very appealing!
2) Because my children eat more fruits and veggies, they do not go directly to the pantry after dinner to look for something else to eat.
3) My son is getting used to the idea of being close to veggies:)
4) My hubby and I eat more fruits and veggies too!
5) I pack up the leftovers to send in school lunches.
How do YOU get your children to eat more vegetables? (Any and all advice is appreciated!) Leave a comment to let us know what works for you!
xoxo,
Elizabeth
Hello!
ReplyDeleteAnd doesn't that look wonderful!?!
I do like to keep fresh fruit and veggies in the fridge for snacking.
I always cut them and set them in easy to see and grab containers in the fridge as soon as I return from the store. ( I don't wash until we eat them. )
Even though the very last thing I feel like doing is cutting fruits and veggies when I finally get home from the store, I find that if I just put them in the fridge, they never get eaten!
So I got clear containers of various sizes and fill them up. We always have strawberries, grapes, blackberries, halos, apples, cucumbers, lemons, tomatoes, and lettuce in the fridge, and bananas on the counter.
I usually slice up a plate and set it out for lunch everyday, just like you!
And I like to cut my lettuce too. It makes it so much easier to make a quick salad.
Ok, sorry to ramble!
Good post, my friend!
We like our sweets in this house, so I like to balance it out with fruits and veggies! : )
Hi Billie Jo! I love your idea of keeping your fruits and veggies in clear containers in the fridge! We have a vegetable drawer, but " out of sight, out of mind". Thanks for your good advice!
DeleteDitto! That's a great idea. And it would make dinner prep so much faster if I just got into the habit of cutting things up. I started cutting the cucumbers as soon as they get home because I'm so much more likely to add a few to sandwiches or have them for a snack if they're already cut. Aren't we such a convenience minded society? :)
DeleteIt would make dinner prep faster! (I need to do that with celery, carrots, and onions...I use those all the time and already dread the dicing and chopping!) Were are convenience minded...I love days when we do not have activities and I can slow down and enjoy cooking for my family!
DeleteOh I love that idea. Your fruit and veggie tray is so beautiful! I might have to make up one of those every day for the after school grazing that my kids always do. So much better to grab a strawberry or a cucumber slice than a handful of goldfish or a cookie. Thanks for the inspiration. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Haunani! It is such a simple idea, but it is working! Let us know how it goes! It is just too easy to grab a cookie or chips. Hopefully having these out will encourage our kids to snack and dine in a more healthy way!
DeleteLooks so pretty and yummy! Will you come to my house and cut up some fruits and veggies for me? :-)
ReplyDeleteIs he eating the broccoli plain, or with something like ranch dressing?
Hi Friend! We need to have a veggie chopping party! He just eats it plain. When I asked if he would like the broccoli dipped in honey mustard, he said, "And waste good honey mustard? No Way! " :) This is going to take some time...
DeleteSo pretty Elizabeth! We are all trying to eat more veggies so I find cutting them and keeping them in containers makes it easy to grab as a snack. Given the choices, my kids would probably pick the fruits. Veggies are a challenge here! (I'd probably skip the cucumbers, too!)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jane! My kids prefer fruits too! You know how much I admire your parenting...it makes me feel better to know you are working on veggies too:)
DeleteThat tray looks SO pretty. I just made a huge fruit salad this morning with all the fruit I could find in our fridge (before grocery shop clean-out) and I know the kids will love it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah. I bet your kids enjoyed the fruit salad. Thank you for stopping by! I enjoy your blog so much. You make mothers feel good about what we do... even on messy sticky days:)
DeleteElizabeth, my mouth is watering...it looks amazing! My husband is the one who doesn't eat enough fruit and veg here! It's such a good idea to cut it up and make it look tempting : )
ReplyDeleteJane, That is exactly what I am trying to do! Temp them into trying some healthy stuff! I hear it works for big kids too:)
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