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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Do You Bribe Your Kids To Eat Fruits and Vegetables? Follow the Mediterranean Diet Food Pyramid

I followed the Mediterranean Diet food pyramid and I didn't even know it then. I ate my vegetables when my Mom told me to. Considering the abundance of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and low calories in vegetables, I can understand why mothers bribe their kids to eat vegetables. Fruits are also abundant with nutrients, low in caloric value, and mostly sweet.

I love fruits and vegetables. I like the colors, shapes, and textures. Fruits help me in my quest to cut down on my consumption of sugar. It's the best replacement for all the sweets I crave and it's a great low-calorie snack. What's nice about fruits and vegetables is their high content of water which serve to hydrate our system and makes us feel stuffed.

Juice, fruit, or salad in the morning, salad and a vegetable at lunch and dinner, a piece of fruit for a snack or desert provides you with more than the recommended daily amounts of vitamin A and C, as well as minerals such as potassium and phosphorus. Many fruits and vegetables contain calcium, iron, magnesium, and B vitamins, and most vegetables are abundant with fiber.

Vegetables join whole grains and beans in Mediterranean Diet food pyramid as a source of water necessary to keep our bowels in good working condition. Vegetables such as potatoes and broccoli also add to our daily consumption of protein. Vegetables are rich in calcium that plays a major-roll in keeping our bones healthy.

Considering vegetables and fruits provide us with mostly water-soluble vitamins which our body can only store in small amounts, we need to eat them every day as they are our main supplier of nutrients necessary for our health.

Vegetables and fruits provide us with the most vitamins, minerals, and plant nutrients for the amount of calories to keep us slim and full of energy. We depend on these nutrients to turn carbohydrates into energy rather than storing it as fat.

Fruits and vegetables are delicious and good for you. If you want to follow the Mediterranean Diet food pyramid, keep your weight down, and yet get good nutrition as well as good food, you should have the amount of servings of fruits and vegetables every day.

Vegetables 5 - 6 servings daily Serving sizes:

1 cup of raw leafy vegetable

1 cup of tossed salad

1/2 cup cut up raw or cooked vegetables from all the colors.

1 medium size potato

3/4 cup vegetable juice

Fruits 3 - 4 servings daily Serving sizes:

1 medium size fruit

1/2 cup fresh-cut up mixed fruit

1/4 cup dried fruit

* 1/2 cup fruit juice *

* Not recommended for glucose restricted diet

My Personal Experience With The Mediterranean Diet

My name is sol and I have been following the Mediterranean diet for three years now. It has made a tremendous difference in my live. I eat healthy, I exercise, and I have lots more energy. I used to weigh 207 lbs (94 kg), and now I weigh 177 lbs (81 kg). That's a loss of 30 lbs (13.5 kg)! When I look at myself now, I feel good. My body is slimmer and I feel a sense of accomplishment.

To find out more please visit my blog http://pinpoint250.blogspot.com/p/home_06.html

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