Quick Tips to Get Your Kids to Eat Their Daily Fruits and Veggies

Making sure your kids get their daily recommended fruits and vegetables doesn't have to be a chore. These simple and quick tips can work for any parent on any budget.

With such a variety to choose from year-round, try adding half a peach or half a cup of berries for desserts or snacks. Add any variety of beans to your next salad, stew or soup.
Most kids prefer crunchy foods over mushy ones. Try raw or lightly steamed veggies to keep the crunch factor high! Light steaming also helps retain more of the nutrients lost during cooking.
Nowadays you can buy fruits and vegetables that are pre-cut for easy preparation and convenience. Keeping a cooler handy with such items are great for hungry kids in the car as well as preventing those unplanned trips through the local drive-through.
Use your blender. Fruit smoothies made with low-fat milk or yogurt are a great alternative to sugar filled sodas and juices. You can experiment with different fruit varieties and concoctions so nobody has to get bored!
More nutrition can actually mean more flavor. Try shredding carrots or zucchini into meatloaf or casseroles. Include chopped or diced veggies to pasta sauces or lasagna.
Think salad. Try a chef salad for lunch or even dinner. What about a fruit salad for dessert? Salads need not be a dull affair as there are so many vegetables that can taste great in them. Try chopped cauliflower or broccoli, beans or mixed greens. A little experimentation can bring surprising results.
Finally, what is in sight? Studies show that families that have fruits and vegetables around eat more of them. So, keep fruits and vegetables visible. Put a bowl of fruit on the table and keep cut-up carrot and celery sticks in a clear container in the refrigerator.

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Daily Nutrition For Kids

As a parent it is important for you to make sure you meet the standards of daily nutrition for kids. Your children need a certain intake of certain types of food. In order to make sure you're raising a healthy and well balanced family, the requirements of daily nutrition for kids must be met!

If your child is very young, feed them fruit and vegetables so that they are used to these foods. You can go with starchy vegetables like potatoes and squash to provide some carbohydrates through this food group. While whole grains are good and recommended, very young children can become very full when eating whole grains and they may not want to eat anything else. This means they will be missing out on protein and dairy groups. While your child is still very young, you can serve them refined grain products.

Just stick to lean meats. In terms of dairy products, you can keep them on full cream milk till about the age of three then switch them to 2% or skim. This assures you that daily nutrition is being met for your kids. Follow your food pyramid and chart to make sure you're on track.

For older children, start by making sure they get a good amount of fruit and vegetables each day. Since these are the two food groups that children seldom look for, provide it for them. Make fruit a part of their breakfasts, and vegetables as part of a snack or packed lunch. Children naturally go for grains and protein groups, so make up for what they will naturally lack. If your children feel they're too old to be drinking milk, substitute this with yogurt, pudding, cheese, or calcium fortified fruit juice.

When eating proteins, try to serve a lot of fish and beans. The omega 3 in fish is a good fat and good cholesterol. Omega 3 is also very good for your skin, and this can be a perk for teens dealing with acne. Poultry is also a healthier choice than beef and pork. When serving beef and pork, go for the leaner cuts to lessen your children's fat intake.

Parents should trust the food pyramid and see that it provides for good, healthy, well balanced meals and snacks in proper servings. While this is a great guide for daily nutrition for kids, parents also have to keep in mind not to force their children to eat. Try making sure your kids get the right servings of the right food groups, but if they simply are not hungry, don't force the issue, especially if they've been eating nutritious food all day. Children have a natural clock that tells them when they've had too much to eat.

Adults have it too, but often tend to ignore it. Don't force your children to eat when they're not hungry, this could lead to an overeating habit in the future. Also make sure that they chew their food well and eat slowly, this also prevents overeating.

Daily nutrition for kids is something that is easily met if you just pay a little more attention to what you serve. Before you know it, you'll be able to serve good and nutritious food for your kids at all times!

Need help in choosing the right foods for your child? Get all your answers here! Children and Nutrition is a great article that introduces the basics of knowing what your child needs everyday!

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