How To Get Kids To Eat Fruits And Veggies

In this Section :

• Be an example to them!
• Be patient and tricky
• Get the kids involved
• Make the most of snacks
• Serve desserts… with fruits
• Useful links

1. Be an example to them!

As parents, you are their role models. Children will imitate your good actions as well as your bad, hence the importance of adopting healthy lifestyle habits. And because behaviours learned in childhood can last for life, instill healthy eating practices in them as young as possible. At family mealtimes, have fun experimenting with different kinds of nutritious foods like fruits and colourful vegetables.

Build nutrition-consciousness into every meal: The best trick for getting enough servings of fruits and vegetables is to include some in every meal and also in snacks. Fresh or frozen, in soups or salads, raw or cooked, mashed or stir-fried… any way is a good way to eat fruits and vegetables.

• At breakfast, add some fresh, dried or canned fruit to cereal, porridge, bowl of cottage cheese, pancakes, waffles.
• For weekend brunch, use up your vegetables by making some tasty omelettes. And jazz up bagel and cream cheese by adding slices of strawberries, pear or peach… young and old alike will love it; Encourage the habit of starting meals with soup, salad or a few raw veggies;
• Fill half of each plate with vegetables or increase the size of servings your family already eats.
• Add nutritional value to meals by doubling the quantity of vegetables called for in recipes (sauces, stews, meatloaf, pasta, etc.).
• End meals with a special treat (see our suggestions on Serving desserts… with fruits)

2. Be patient and tricky

Did you know children sometimes need 5 to 10 exposures to new foods before accepting them? The important thing is not to force them to eat things they don’t like, so they won’t develop an unhealthy relationship with food. Remember: their tastes will change and their curiosity will grow with age! As parents, you are responsible for the quality and not the quantity of food consumed in your home. It is important to respect your children’s appetites.

Aim for smaller portions. As a general rule, children will accept smaller portions of different vegetables more easily than a big serving of a single vegetable. So try serving at least 2 different vegetables per meal, ideally of different shapes and colours: green, red, orange… in sticks, fleurets, sliced, cubed, etc.

Vary the presentation. As the youngest kids gradually get used to the flavour and texture of new foods, vary the way you present those foods. For example, fleurets of broccoli can be served plain, or coated in cheese, in a soup, stir-fried or with a dip. And to hold kids’ attention, dream up funny ways of setting out their plate. For example, create a face on a mini-pizza: baby corn for the hair, sliced mushrooms for the eyes, an olive for the nose and sweet pepper for the mouth.

Rearrange your kitchen! Just like adults, children have a tendency to eat whatever is close at hand. Always keep fruits and vegetables in plain sight and within easy reach: place a basket of fruits on the kitchen counter, raw veggies already prepared in the fridge, vegetable juice and sliced fruit in the larder. Store cookies, chips and candies out of reach… or better still, don’t buy them on a regular basis!

Add a sweet touch. To ensure that cooked vegetables become your children’s friends, serve them with warm honey (carrots, broccoli, beans, zucchini, sweet pepper, etc.).

Whip up some smoothies. Children like drinks, so conjure up some different smoothies for breakfast or snacks. Put in the blender some milk or enriched soy beverage, yogurt and frozen fruits. For taste, add an exotic fruit juice (lychees, papaya, guava, etc.). For a dessert smoothie, replace the yogurt with a scoop of ice cream!

Serve them the things they love. What child doesn’t love pizza? Top off your homemade pizza with a variety of vegetables such as strips of zucchini or sweet pepper, grated carrots, sliced mushrooms or fresh tomato, etc. Add a source of protein (ham, tuna fish, chicken, shrimps), then coat it all with grated cheese. A complete masterpiece! For taste, add fruits like pineapple pieces or avocado.

Play hide-n-seek! For the pickiest eaters, disguise veggies in their food – even if that isn’t the ideal solution! You can also add puréed vegetables to spaghetti sauce, macaroni, chili or meatloaf.

3. Get the kids involved

By joining in meal preparation, kids are more likely to try new things. Involve them in making up a weekly menu, bring them along to the supermarket and get them to help with the cooking. Depending on their age, ask kids to get foods out of the fridge and wash them, prepare salads, measure quantities for your recipe, stir soups, etc. As well as teaching them a few culinary ideas, you’ll be sharing some quality time.

Have fun with a family challenge. Motivate your kids to eat more fruits and vegetables every day by setting up a daily family challenge! Put a sheet of paper with everyone’s name on the fridge door. Every time someone consumes a serving (see our servings chart), give them a star. The idea is to earn as many stars as possible and ultimately achieve the goals set out in the Canadian Food Guide.

Once the daily requirements have been reached, get everyone involved in the colour challenge. This time, all family members have to consume the five colour groups (red, green, blue-violet, yellow-orange, white) of fruits and vegetables every day to make sure they get their optimal nutritional elements.

Encourage children to serve themselves. If your kids are a little older, or in their teens, make a point of not preparing their plates for them. Establish a “self-service” policy: place dishes of vegetables (mashed potatoes, salad, stir-fried) on the table. Let everyone serve themselves and experience the feeling of being more self-reliant.

4. Make the most of snacks

Give children fruits and vegetables if they’re hungry… when they get home from school or sports activities, for instance. Fruits and vegetables make excellent snacks, either on their own or in combination with other foods: fresh fruit and yogurt, grilled soy beans and vegetable juice, dried fruits and cheese cubes, fruit compote with almonds, cottage cheese and fresh fruits (melon cubes, grapes, blueberries, etc.).

Go for a dip. Children love dips! To liven up raw vegetables, create a dip with a base of yogurt, hummus or creamy vinaigrette (cucumber, etc.). You can also combine equal quantities of light mayonnaise and 2% m.g. plain yogurt, then flavour to taste using: • pesto • ketchup and parsley • curry and honey • salsa • Dijon mustard and maple syrup. And so you’re never caught short, prepare a few crudités in advance when you get back from the supermarket (broccoli and cauliflower fleurets, sticks of parsnip or fennel, green beans or snow peas).

Fruits also belong in dips: yogurts, fresh cheeses and puddings combine wonderfully with melon, banana, berries, citrus fruits, apples, pears, and so on! For a further sweet touch, add jam, honey or maple syrup to plain yogurt.

Serve raw vegetables more often. Kids still refusing to eat their vegetables? Serve them up raw some of the time; most children actually prefer them this way. And if dips can help your children eat more vegetables, make those too.

Freeze grapes. Here’s a tasty snack that’s easy to prepare. Spread out some seedless grapes on a cookie tray and freeze them for a minimum of 2 hours. That’s it! Makes a very refreshing snack or dessert. Just be sure your children are old enough to eat grapes whole.

Peel, cup, slice… Since children love eating with their hands, dress up fruits and vegetables in interesting and manageable ways, especially for the youngest ones: oranges peeled and quartered, melon in cubes, apples in pieces, broccoli in small fleurets, etc.

5. Serve desserts… with fruits

Mix health with pleasure by making fruit-based desserts. It really doesn’t need to be complicated! For example: chocolate fondue accompanied by delicious fresh fruits, or a scoop of ice cream covered in fruit (banana slices, canned mandarins, strawberries, blueberries, etc.), then drizzled with honey or caramel.

Iced yogurt: In the blender, mix equal quantities of vanilla yogurt and frozen fruits (berries, pineapple, tropical mix). Serve right away.

Apple surprise in the microwave: De-core some apples of your choice and fill with dried fruits (grapes, cranberries, apricots), as well as a pat of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook for about 90 seconds, and it’s ready!

Home-made popsicles, Recipe #1: Mix vanilla yogurt, frozen fruit juice concentrate and fruit pieces (strawberries, banana, kiwi), then pour the mixture into popsicle molds. Recipe #2: Insert popsicle sticks into half-bananas and roll them in a syrup of chocolate and coconut. Keep in the freezer.

Fruit parfaits: Cut fruits into fancy shapes, then arrange alternating layers of fresh fruit and flavoured plain yogurt, drizzled with orange zest and honey. Sprinkle on some grilled coconut or chocolate shavings.

Fruit cones: Place small pieces of fresh or canned fruit in cones, then top off with a scoop of ice cream. Serve right away. A guaranteed hit!

Home-made croustade: This isn’t nearly as complicated as you might think! Just place some fruit (apple, pear, peach, strawberries, raspberries, etc.) in the bottom of an oven-ready dish and cover with oat flakes and brown sugar. Pour a little melted butter on top and heat in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Golden fruits: Sprinkle a little brown sugar plus a pat of butter on banana, mango or pineapple slices, then brown for a few minutes under the grill. A real delight!

6. Useful links