3 Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
Eating unhealthy foods can be a quick go-to when you are strapped for time and need something fast and filling for you and your family. I will admit that my family and I are not “perfectly healthy” eaters, especially with the challenges of picky eaters. As a picky eater and mother of picky eaters, fruits, and (especially) vegetables became more of a challenge to incorporate into our meals. I definitely knew this had to change so I learned three ways to get my kids to eat more fruits and veggies:
- Eat a rainbow
- Incorporate fruits and vegetables in baking
- Drink your fruits and veggies
Eat a Rainbow 
I discovered the Rainbow Innovations “Today I Ate a Rainbow” Kit which is a great organizational and portable tool for kids to keep track of the fruits and vegetables consumed in the day. It encourages kids to eat five colors of produce each day. (For example, red can be strawberries, orange includes oranges, yellow would be eating bananas, green is eating broccoli, and blue would be eating blueberries).
It comes with 4 sets of magnets to place on the chart, so up to four people in the household can use this. It also includes a picture book entitled, “The Rainbow Bunch,” teaching kids about the importance of eating healthy. Once the rainbow is eaten, the special rainbow magnet can be placed on the chart, and the “Today I Ate a Rainbow” song can be sung.
This kit is an excellent motivator and visual for my kids to want to eat a rainbow. It is also a reminder for myself to incorporate the different colored produce in our daily intake.
Incorporate the fruits and vegetables in baking
My kids and I love baked goods! So baking seemed like a good way to incorporate fruits and vegetables, and a way to 
sneak in some vegetables they would not typically eat alone. Here are a couple of popular resources for recipes that sneak in fruits and vegetables:
I made a chocolate chip zucchini bread, and neither the kids nor our friends knew we used zucchini. I would never have thought that combination would work, but it did. And, my kids got a little dose of greens for the day.
Yes, there may be the argument to not hide the “good stuff” and that it is important to teach others to knowingly incorporate healthy foods in our diet. While that is the main goal, sometimes the added supplement helps those picky eaters who would not have eaten them in their original, visible forms.
Drink your fruits & veggies
Juicing or making delicious smoothies with fruits and vegetables is another easy way to add more fruits and vegetables in your day. Juicing is when the machine extracts the juice and water from the whole fruit and/or vegetable, leaving the pulp behind. In doing so, you get the nutrients and vitamins minus the insoluble fiber. Smoothies are blended whole fruits and/ vegetables, including the fiber from the pulp. Both methods are good for you. Juicing allows you to absorb the nutrient-rich juice. Smoothies include fiber so you can feel full for a bit longer, and can also include protein if adding milk or yogurt.
They are both refreshing, are jam-packed full of vitamins, and are easy to customize depending on flavor preferences. There are so many ideas for smoothie and juice recipes online and in books. Here are some to start you off:
- Simple Smoothie Recipes from Kids Cooking Activities
- Food Network 50 Smoothies
- 15 Juice Recipes to Start Your Day from Serious Eats
Now, are you ready to try to incorporate more fruits and veggies in your family’s daily intake?
More fruits & veggies for the win!
Whether you use one of the above methods, or you have your own techniques for a healthy intake of fruits and vegetables, we are all winners if we strive for a balanced lifestyle for ourselves and our family.
