Fruits and Veggies for Picky Eaters
Fall is creeping in and the kids are heading back to school! As such, we thought this would be a good time to tackle a tough obstacle that many of you have mentioned: getting the kids to eat their fruits and veggies. Of course, we want to help kids understand the importance of eating fresh, nutritious vegetables, but that’s often easier said than done.
So we’re here to help! Read on for tasty (and sneaky) tips that’ll help you incorporate fruits and veggies into each of your family’s meals.
Breakfast:
- It’s a classic move: add some fresh berries or banana slices to pancakes and waffles.
- Incorporate smoothies! Use fruits and berries, yogurt, and ice for a basic, tasty smoothie. Raw honey and stevia make great sweeteners, and you can try adding natural peanut or almond butter for protein, healthy fat, and flavor. With the right combo, you may even be able to sneak in a few greens without compromising taste. Experiment to see what they like!
- Don’t rule veggies out at breakfast! Try including veggies in scrambled eggs (check out ideas for hiding them in your scrambles), or making breakfast casseroles, or frittatas.
- Try veggie breads and muffins! There are plenty of recipes for healthy zucchini, pumpkin and banana breads or muffins.
Lunch
- Pack some of those veggie-based breads and muffins, especially for sweets or snacks.
- Try these kid-friendly veggie lunch sandwiches.
- Try veggie wraps! Fill a whole-grain tortilla with cream cheese, guacamole, pesto, or hummus and add greens and any veggies your kids like.
- Have a good thermos? Make a fruit and vegetable smoothie and send it along.
- Make it fun! Instead of chopping, try using a cookie cutter to make shapes out of produce like cucumbers, zucchini, melon or pineapple.
- Include one of your children’s favorite dips with any cut-up produce you send along. Ranch, peanut butter, salsa, pesto, hummus – if it’ll help them eat their veggies, pack a little bit of dip in their lunchboxes.
- Freeze stone fruits like nectarines and plums just before they are fully ripe (to freeze, place them in a Ziploc bag and lay them flat in a single layer in the freezer). Pop them in the lunchbox in the morning and they’ll be edible by lunchtime (plus they’ll help keep the lunchbox cold).
- Have a dehydrator, or know someone who does? Apples, zucchini, butternut squash, carrots, turnips, beets and green beans can all be dehydrated to make tasty, crunchy chips that are lunch-box friendly.
Dinner:
- Try breading and starchier vegetables like zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and eggplant. Bake or pan-fry them and serve with a little marinara, Greek yogurt dip, hummus, or ranch.
- Add veggies to pasta and sauces! To save time and hide veggies, you can freeze pureed veggies and use them later for amazing sauces, breads, and other dishes.
- Set out cut up veggies and fruits for the kids to snack on while they wait for dinner.
- Try your hand a veggie fries and veggie tots! Sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, squash, parsnips, and Brussels sprouts are among the many veggies that can be transformed into fries and tots.
- Try adding fruits, berries and cheese to salads for a little kid-friendly flavor.
- Pizza night? Add your own veggies, or order veggie toppings, and put together a quick fruit salad for a healthy side.
- Zucchini, squash, kohlrabi and other heartier vegetables can be shredded, seasoned and turned into delicious patties, fritters, and cakes.
- Add lots of veggies to your soups and stews! You can even sauté or steam veggies and add them to pre-made soups.
- Mash it up by trying mock mashed potatoes! Try mashed cauliflower and sweet potatoes, butternut squash and apples, or combo of root vegetables.
- Have you tried zoodles? They are a great replacement for pasta, and super easy to make with the right zoodle maker. (We’re loving this one from OXO, which you can use with zucchini, squash, beets, and more!)
We know that getting kids to eat fruits and vegetables isn’t easy. But we hope that at least some of these ideas can help you sneak more nourishing foods into your family’s meals!
Disclaimer: This article is not meant to replace the advice of health professionals, and we understand that dietary needs and tastes vary from one child to the next. If you have questions about the right diet for your children, we encourage you to consult your doctor or nutritionist.
