I’m a Dietitian and my children won’t eat vegetables… My mummy friends think it is funny that when our children eat together their kids are tucking into the tomatoes and cucumber, while my kids go for the cocktail sausages and ham! Then one day, one of the mummy’s said ‘well at least you know how to get the vegetables into them without them realising!’ Of course I do, I’m a Dietitian! Vegetables and fruit are an important source of vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants, so aim for 5 child size portions of vegetables / fruit per day.

Here are my top tips for getting your kids to eat their fruit and veg

  • Blending Vegetables into a sauce for pasta /rice. My oldest won’t eat chopped veg in a sauce, but will eat them as a smooth sauce, I even have to blend bolognese sauce with added vegetables and kidney beans!
  • Disguising chopped veg in a sauce. Small pieces of cauliflower, mushroom, peas or sweetcorn in a white / cheese sauce with pasta. I often gate beetroot into a white sauce to made pink pasta, my girls love it! Or purée up cooked cauliflower in a smoothie blender with a thick white sauce to make a cauliflower white sauce and serve with pasta!

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  • Grating vegetables (carrots, courgettes, celeriac) into shepherd’s pie / fish pie.
  • Make thick vegetable soup, sprinkle cheese on top and dip in bread/toast and butter.

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  • Homemade pizza with veg on top, sweetcorn, thinly chopped peppers and mushrooms. I make my dough in my bread maker and cook the pizza on a pizza stone, yummy!

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  • Offer fruit as snacks. My littlest will often throw fruit on the floor at the end of a meal, but when it is given as a snack as the only choice, she will eat it!

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  • Add raisins, dried apricots, banana, blueberries or grated apple to porridge while cooking. Blueberries turn the porridge purple!

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  • Add raisin, blueberries or banana to pancakes or grated beetroot for pink pancakes.

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  • Adding fruit to puddings – bananas in custard, jelly with fruit in the bottom.
  • Home made banana loaf or muffins.

 

Have you got any good ideas to share?




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