Do your kids always have their 5 a day?!

[TeddybearBaby]

This is a really boring one, I’ve never posted before. I’m feeling stressed about nutrition - more dc than me! I really believe in ‘everything in moderation’ and try to get a bit of all the food groups in.

Do you all make sure your kids have at least their 5 / 7 a day? Aibu to stress about this?! DS and DD will probably have around 2/3 pieces while at school and I was going to make macaroni cheese because it’s their favourite and they need a nice chilled out night. Both very tired from the end of term etc. but I’ve started stressing that it means they won’t have their 5 a day 🙄.

Maybe I’ll put mushrooms / broccoli or salad with it. But what’s your opinion, is it fine to sometimes not have your 5 a day or is it a MUST?!

Mine do. It's a bit of an obsession with me. If I make macaroni cheese there'd always be steamed broccoli or peas and carrots or sweetcorn with it.
At breakfast they'd either have diluted juice or a smoothie or homemade banana milkshake, then apple snack at school, carrot sticks or cucumber and a clementine in the packed lunch, then two veg minimum with evening meal. Maybe chopped pear or strawberries afterwards. It's a bit of a faff, but worth it to get them into the habit of healthy eating from a young age.

No! between 2-7 depending on day, fussiness level, what's on the menu etc.

You sound way overly anxious about food!

Isn’t it 7 a day? Or 10? 5 is easy, but 10 can be a challenge

Christ no. He doesn't eat any veg except cucumber and the only fruits he will eat are: blueberries (which give him the runs, so are out), bananas, satsumas and very occasionally apple.

Oh and BTW I and my three siblings were raised eating a million fruit and veg a day. Only one out of four of us is still like this - the other three are pringles and Maccy D's addicts!

I stick as much as I can in, but I don't keep count and don't take into consideration the 'portion' recommendations. DS has fruit at school and portion of veg with his lunch (when he eats it), fruit snack after school, veg with his tea and sometimes a bowl of fruit after that. If he moans he's hungry, fruit bowl is always available. He is getting more picky though so I'm going to have to start hiding things in sauces.
Weekends are a bit of a free for all but I try and add as much veg as I can to dinners and at least one piece of fruit with breakfast.

Yes, usually, but as with other posters, some days it's 10 and other days its 3! I enjoy cooking so find it easy to give them healthy food that they like eating. I also give them carrot discs with blobs of humous on as a 'starter' before dinner if I think they haven't had enough raw stuff.

We also try to stick to a Japanese guideline of eating 30 different things each day, but again, I'm not completely rigid about it!

I tend to think about how things shake down over a week, rather than per day.

They have at least 5 a day available to them. That's all I'm saying on the matter.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha...no.

@BrutusMcDogface well my kid routinely gets 5 for breakfast. Banana while waiting for porridge that has 3 portions of dried fruit added and a glass of fruit juice

20 portions of fruit and vegetables is 1.6 kilos of vegetation.

Depends on which of my children you are talking about.

DD1 - most days has at least 3 or 4 of the 5 a day.

DD2 always exceed, she more like 20 10 a day but she will eat any fruit or veg cooked or raw but she is not so hot with meat and dairy.

DS - No I'm lucky if he will eat 2 a day. Although summer better as he eat summer fruit, not so keen on apples, pears and oranges. And will only eat the top bit of broccoli.

I always put at least one other type of veg on his plate from him to try but I don't force.

Yes normally, maybe 1 day a week where it's less.

Mine love fruit and are pretty good with veg so it's not a struggle really.

I think mine probably do most days. The baby would happily sit in his highchair munching veg all day but I was going to say the toddler didn't as he is going through a fussy phase (which isn't great as we're veggie and he has dairy and soy allergies already restricting things) but then I remembered that pulses count and he absolutely loves homous, refried beans, kidney bean and mushroom paté, baked beans and anything that I call a veggie burger, including falafel and all kinds of chickpea flour fritter type things, plus he will tolerate lentil soup and kichhdi, that could have lots of small soft bits of veg in as well as the lentils so yes, I think we do get there most days. Fried mushrooms or a banana will usually be easy wins if we he hasn't had much.

I don't know, I don't count, but I think it's more about getting into the habit of giving fresh fruits and veg at each meal.

Breakfast can sometimes have fresh fruit juice, or a banana, or blueberries or strawberries with something else.
Snack is a fruit
Lunch has some kind of raw vegetable starter, veg with the main.
Afternoon snack is a fruit, or a home made smoothie, or veg sticks and dips
Diner has veg.

I don't have set menus, but if you start thinking of fruits and veg as staple food, it's easy. Some people wouldn't consider having a cup of tea without milk, others don't even think about not having veg with meals. Hide it, show it, serve it raw, serve it cooked, there's no reason why children won't eat any of it ever.

Easily yes, BUT almost all fruit, probably one veg a day, two on a great day. I know that's too much but still better than chocolate and crisps.

Banana while waiting for porridge that has 3 portions of dried fruit added and a glass of fruit juice

That's a crazy amount of sugar.

You know it's just a marketing thing yes? People sat round a table decades ago and came up with it. A bit like any other marketing campaign

However it's a reasonable thing to aim for. My youngest probably has in a day

Couple of raw carrots
Veg with dinner
Apple or two

@BatShitBuns natural sugar is completely different to refined sugar. Or is it foil hat wearing time already

Dried fruit is only meant to be one portion a day because of the sugar, sorry.

Check NHS online.

Yes, easily.
Fruit and porridge for breakfast, always. 2 portions easily.
Fruit snack at school.
Lunch - probably 1 or 2.
After school - banana.
Dinner - whatever I'm cooking always comes with a side salad - cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, carrots
So, I'd say 10 per day as a minimum.

natural sugar is completely different to refined sugar. Or is it foil hat wearing time already

I just love watching parents polishing their halos about giving their DC dried fruit when sugar wise it will rot your teeth as much as haribo will. My dentist told me not to give it to my DS at all, or fruit juice.

No foil hat here, my DS only eats about five things!

Oh it is! Wait, are we going boat style or full on dipsy? (Pst guess what you do right after your breakfast)

Gosh dd does easily looking at this thread

Didn't even know half of this would count

I never think of dried fruit or bananas or ready stuff as part of the five

I always at least try to get some good uns in there