To feed my kids fruit and veg 5 days a week

[Justus3girls]

In a nutshell my kids eat really well. 2 sometimes 3 pieces of fruit in lunchbox every day. Then veg with dinner most nights (exc Friday & Saturday)
Recently they're been moaning that they eat a lot of veg and why do they have to have it every night.
Its just always been my thought that they have to have it as it's healthy.
Unless we have curry its generally veg or salad with every meal.
Sounds boring when I write it down.
I was going to cook a roast but they asked me not to as we had one Thursday.
I feel bad chucking frozen food in the oven as doesn't feel like cooking but then I'm starting to feel mean dishing them veg every night.
Am I a mean mum & need to chill out with the veg?

As you say, it was meat and two veg and no snacking inbetween meals.

I don't think it's this. I lived in Japan for a year and my classmates were all heavy snackers — there was a vending machine outside our lecture hall and 2 to 3 snacks a day is not unusual. None of them were overweight (or even close to it) however.

The one I noticed though was the massive difference in portion sizes. Meals were typically two-thirds the size of a typical British meal, sometimes half even. Crisps came in 30-50g packs, biscuits were packed about 3-5 pieces in a bag.

In fact, I remember reading a study somewhere that mentioned how it's far better to have smaller meals with snacks than 2 large ones.

If my DD had less than at least 5 a day I would feel a failure as a parent.

You seem to be the one seeing a weekend a 'treat' to have 'days off'... bizarre.

I think it's you that doesn't like veg.

I'd like to add that we were all mid 20s/30s in grad school, not teenagers!

What veg are you giving them? We got in to a bit of a rut recently. If a meal was having veg It was peas/sweet corn/carrots most nights. I’ve realised and mixed it up and have a much bigger variety now.

I have a teen, who I think eats reasonably healthily, but I can’t imagine her taking 3 bits of fruit to school each day with her. From what she tells me, she is in the minority taking one piece with her every day. Most don’t take any.

Also, you say there is veg with every meal except curry. Why are you not putting veg in curry? I’d run out of mushrooms last week so it was just chicken curry - the dc were most put out! I think you just need to mix it up a bit!

It is kind of mean if you're forcing them to eat types of veg that they genuinely don't like. For example ds2 doesn't like peas, but he loves roasted tomatoes / peppers / onions, so I don't serve him the former, but he eats loads of the latter (he also loves broccoli and would eat a whole plate of the stuff!) If I'm doing veg for some of us that the other doesn't like then I'll do them a quick 'salad' of chopped up cucumber and tomato. Also remember that baked beans, lentils, other pulses, tinned tomatoes, passata, all count towards your 5 a day.

The only thing I think is unreasonable is not having it on weekends? That seems weird. If they see it as a treat not to have it it's no wonder they are complaining. Are they just bored of the variety? Mine have more than 5 a day, probably more like 8?

I can't really imagine many meals without vegs so to manage 2 days per week without vegs is odd...
I don't really worry about it tbh or count the vegs, I simply give the kids a range of food amongst the stuff we like + some easier kiddie food...there is pretty much always some vegs in there. If we have pizza it'll be once a week max. Curry would have veg in surely and every other meal I can think of...

Are you boiling it to death? If so you are being cruel (to both the vegetables and your children).

We eat veg every day but maybe only 2 days a week would have it as a veg side with fish or a roast. That can be quite a boring dinner.

For the last few days we had lasagne with peppers, celery and carrots, fajitas with peppers and a sweet corn side, curry with sweet potato , peas and spinach and then roast chicken with broccoli and asparagus, salmon with broccoli and mange tout. So all veg but a bit varied so the kids don’t really realise how much veg they are eating

Tbh you would be a worse parent for not feeding them fruit and veg.

Just hide it. Spag bol, lasagne, curries, pasta bakes. I chuck in loads, no one knows. It’s amazing how much veg you can even stick in meatballs or meat patties. All good. Mine are now adults with the last a teen. Still hide it. The biggest culprit is DH. Pathetic, yes but it is what it is.

I give my dc a perfect diet and am perfect in every way apart from the odd serial killing spree aibu?

Don't you put veg in curry? It can be well disguised in a curry.

You are really not a mean mum, not even close!
Vegetables should be eaten at least once a day, no exception. This was what I knew, in a recent post here from a person of a nutrition course (www.mumsnet.com/Talk/teenagers/3840892-Can-I-ask-a-cheeky-question) I asked "for teens, how many meals in a day or week should include vegetables?" The answer: Honestly? All of them.
And for what I've seen that's right. I already include vegetables in the majority of meals at home but I'm going to include them in every possible meal, very close to all of them.

I would present vegetables as a food you eat mainly for healthy reasons, it's not really a matter of pleasure and taste. I'm not a fan of the "clean your plate" club as a general rule, but veggies need to be eaten, period. Frankly the "vegetables battle" is something more of young kids than teens, if your children want to be mature they should not complain and just eat them. If the mom still needs to enforce a healthy diet (totally right, it's just good parenting), the mom is not the one who is mean, they are the ones who are acting as younger kids!

As side note, in addition to the meals, you could make for them a lot of smoothies with vegetables and fruit, mixed in a free and creative way, very easy to be taken, quickly even if they are in a hurry.

Don't give up (if not, add some more veg)!
For personal experience I can say they will definitely benefit of it and they will thank you later.

Main reason why I prefer home cooked food to eating out; it either comes with enough salad to feed a small rabbit or one vegetable.

So long as you are not over boiling the vegetables so that they have no nutritional value, your doing the best for your children's health which comes before wants/likes/dislikes.

Surely pretty much every meal, every day of the week contains fruit or veg? How else will you get your 10 portions a day in?

The only meals I can think of without veg in our house are the "speedy" breakfasts - cereal, toast and pb etc. That said most breakfasts have at least one portion - mushrooms on toast, tomatoes on toast, spinach and egg, fruit and yoghurt etc. Lunch boxes would have as a minimum 3 portions - usually one fruit and 2 veg.
Dinner would normally have 3 veg accompaniment, plus whatever veg is in the dish itself - e.g. spinach and ricotta cannelloni (spinach, tomatoes, onions within ) served with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber.

I can't see how cutting all fruit/veg out for 2 days a week would even work.

your doing the best for your children's health which comes before wants/likes/dislikes.

Or you can try and make it so that healthy food isn't something they automatically dislike. If they associate healthy food with something that's delicious and varied, they're far more likely to carry those eating habits into adulthood.

We have veg with or in every dinner. Plus once a week, we have a vegetarian main. Fruit every morning with breakfast and as a snack at home. As a PP said, I don't understand how you could fit in the requisite number of portions otherwise.

Wouldn’t have occurred to me that vegetables at only one meal a day and not even every day of the week could ever be seen as a lot of vegetables.

It’s certainly not too much.

Ds is 18, he'll eat veg but doesn't really like it, he eats it first so he's left with the nice stuff. He knows it's good for him so suffers it.

Dd is 14, she likes most veg and she'd rather have fruit than chocolate, she loves it.

Don't make a big deal if it, just serve it up without comment, it just becomes normal for them.

I agree with other posters maybe you need a shake up. Juicers and smoothie makers and overnight oats or home made protein bars seem to attract the teens I know. During the winter we can be a bit heavy handed with the carrots and broccoli so I try to put new things onto my meal planner. Also try asking them what they might like to try, it may be that their palettes are changing.

So no vegetables at the weekend? I can’t imagine serving any dinner without vegetables even just a few carrot sticks!

It’s normal to have veg with every meal isn’t it? even a treat tea of fish finger peas is served with peas or sweetcorn.

"We have food every day. Sounds boring when I write it".

I don't think mine have ever gone a day without any fruit and veg whatsoever but of course it's fine to occasionally dish up fish fingers and chips