I need to change how may family eats.

[Summerishere123]

We don't eat very well. Other than me, no one else will eat fruit. Veg, DH and DD eat (DH doesn't like root veg though and DD only root veg!) but DS won't touch at all. DS just wants to eat crap all the time.
I have decided not to buy stuff in any more to avoid the binging but what do I feed them instead?
What healthy snacks and breakfast meals do you feed your kids? any ways to make fruit a more interesting prospect?

I'm a fan of the cocktail stick. Everything tastes better when you eat it with a cocktail stick.

I wouldnt use rewards . Just aim for healthy food and family mealtimes. No snacks in cupboard, fruit for inbetween meals, maybe rice crackers.

Also get them to help with food preparation and cooking
Life skills etc etc

Beef stew with loads of veg in it
Mash with carrots mashed in
Red pepper and tomato soup with cheese on toast

Banana milkshake or smoothie for breakfast

Puree loads of veg into a tomato based sauce for pizza, pasta, chilli etc

Veyr finely dice onions, carrots, celery and fresh spinach, then cook them into things like shepherd's pie or home made burgers.

Do sweet potato wedges instead of chips

Serve peas and carrots - if some people only eat one of the two, that's OK

Home made frozen yoghurt with bananas, strawberries, blueberries - whizz up frozen fruit in the blender with thick greek yoghurt and honey.

Apple crumble - bramley apples cook down to a soft sauce which is pretty easy to ignore under an oaty crumble topping

Banana bread or other cakes with pureed fruit or even veg in them. I know people who sneak courgette and beetroot into chocolate cake.

I'd go for fresh produce instead of specifically fruit. If they will eat smoothies/juice, that's better than nothing for now! Just keep it natural and not artificially sweetened. Fruit can seem kind of labour-intensive; think of preparing a pineapple or mango or even an orange.

Try snacky finger foods like berries, cherries, grapes, baby carrots, mini cucumbers, little peppers, broccoli and cauliflower florets, orange or tangerine segments, edamame, cherry tomatos. Mine will dip almost any raw veggie in hummus. Fruit leather and dried fruit can be good as a portable snack. Mashed banana and mashed avocado could appeal.

Fruit can go in/with other things: cereal, granola, muesli, porridge, yoghourt, ice cream, even in a salad.

If there's a outdoor or farmers' market near you, go as a family trip on the weekend. Browse and talk with the vendors, and then everyone picks what fruit and veg they like.

This may sound "woo-woo" but get them involved in the land and the wheel of the year. Just for example, pomegranates are in season right now, plus persimmons, cranberries, apples, pears, brussels sprouts, winter squash, sweet potatos, etc. Could possibly do a "family" activity like berry picking, apple picking, foraging for mushrooms, etc. at the right time of year.

Longer term, would they be interested in growing anything - even in pots if you don't have a garden or access to an allotment?

Introduce small changes gradually so good eating habits stick rather than one big overhaul. That's more likely to collapse and will be very hard to reintroduce again. Decide what you want to tackle first, choose an easy thing to tackle first.

www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/food-and-mood/about-food-and-mood/

Practical advice and recipes here

www.cwt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/CHEW-5-11Years-PracticalGuide.pdf

I think you can make sure it is available to them, but can't force them to eat it.

I serve veg or salad with every meal. My eldest is great and loves veg but my other two don't. They will usually eat sweetcorn, or a raw carrot stick, or cherry tomatoes. Nothing green.

Sorry op, don’t want to divert thread but does anyone else find it intensely annoying that it’s often women who are left to improve a family’s nutrition, and that men are often willing to cook but they don’t include enough veg when they do! I know lots of couples like this in our friendship group anyway.

Mine are teens now but when younger they would only really eat fruit if I prepped it. So they wouldn’t eat apples or pears, but if I cut them up and shoved them in a lunchbox with some peanut butter to dip on the way home from school they would eat them.

I used to wash and cut up strawberries, blueberries and grapes etc and leave them in snack sized tubs in the fridge at kid height ready to grab. I also used to make fruit salads (cut very small) and milkshakes with bananas and strawberries.

It's worth thinking about the portion sizes served too. If they are potentially getting a big serving of something on their plate they will eat; are they filling up on this and no longer hungry and able to avoid the food they don't want to eat. My daughter is terrible for avoiding meat, but with this guide we can talk about how much she should be eating and it seems to help as you just use the hand size

Are they involved with shopping and cooking?

Is fruit the new devil now then?
Fruit is good for you.
It has sugars, yes, and also protein and fibre.
Very different from a packet of fizzy laces

What sort of meals/snacks do they enjoy eating at the moment? It's probably easier to start with stuff they like.