To ask about five a day …

[Playinthepark]

Does this count for a two year old?

I do try really hard to make sure she eats well and she definitely doesn’t eat junk, but even then it’s hard getting five portions of fruit and veg into her, anyone else struggle?

Yes, but the portion sizes are small. I try:

Fruit mixed into cereal/porridge for breakfast
Vegetable "crisps" with dip
Shredded/grated veg mixed with grated cheese on a sandwich
Plain yoghurt mixed with crushed/blended fruit
Cooked and blended veg mixed into pasta sauces etc

Thanks, some really good ideas there.

Yes, it's the range and diversity of fruit and vegetables that's important at that age, as PP says, the portions are smaller.

The US used to have the phrase, "5 A Day the Rainbow Way" for the colour idea.

I buy those bags of frozen finely chopped mixed veg and cook that in the pan before making saucy things. Sneaks some veg in and adds loads of flavour. I also add frozen mashed carrot and swede/sweet potato into regular mash. You could just do it from scratch but I find myself not being arsed and just doing the quicker less healthy way, this makes it easy to make meals veggier.

For little ones five is fairly easy. It's one at each meal time and 2 fruit or veg based snacks. If you serve veg based meals like vegetable curry or chilli or soups it's easy to get two if not 3 into one meal.
Another good option is to serve crudités with veg based dips, thinks like salsa, guacamole, roasted pepper, butter bean.

I think it's all about routine - we all have fruit after every meal so they see that as normal. Then some veg with lunch and dinner takes it to at least 5.

My 3 year old yesterday are:

Toast and then raspberries
Quesedilla with cucumber on the side and then an apple
Fish with broccoli and a banana afterwards

You see, that would be a bit much for DD, she wouldn’t manage fruit just after a meal. She usually has cereal for breakfast and a mid morning snack of fruit, then both lunch and dinner do usually have a serving of veg, so yesterday she had chicken, sweet potato and mixed veg, so that was good. But she doesn’t have a massive appetite, so it can be hard to get it in!

I think a portion for a toddler is only one of their handfuls. So you could do 3 quite easily at lunchtime with a couple of different types of veggie sticks and a bit of fruit.

I know dried fruit not necessarily a good thing for teeth but I sometimes shove some in with his Wheatabix. Also I put frozen peas in everything as they're so versatile (e.g. pasta/rice/quickly steamed in microwave etc). And do a lot of tomato based sauces with tinned tomatoes or passata.

So my DC have had
blueberries and banana with their cereal
grapes and cucumber snack
peppers, tomatoes and sweetcorn in their dinner.

its not too hard.

Frozen veg is so handy, I have some in my freezer and chuck 2-3 in every evening meal.

Well, no, it’s not hard for you because your children eat it

DD wouldn’t have fruit and cereal, she’d have one or the other and fruit probably isn’t brilliant to just have in the morning.

She would have the snack and the peppers tomato and sweet corn, but it would be a very small portion and probably only count as one serving. So we’ve only one meal to go and she’s only had two of her ‘five a day.’ That’s what I’m asking.

Of course, if you have a child with a big appetite, this won’t be an issue.

I work to the 30 different types of plant a week target, than five portions of fruit and veg per day. It works more easily for me with my way of eating (usually one meal a day with no snacks on weekdays, two meals at weekends). It sounds harder but takes into account fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts, seeds, grains, beans, pulses, legumes so actually is easier, and forces a wider variety than me just adding blueberries to my meal every day and feeling good about it! But if she's eating a diet with variety of fruit and vegetables, I really wouldn't worry. Maybe focus on your daughter with trying to eat a 'rainbow' of foods than on the five a day number.

Older but we always do at least one meal with mixed veg, so a pasta sauce or baked potato topping or stir fry with rice or mixed veg sandwich. Mix loads of veg chopped small with cheese or cream cheese and some herbed de provence and lemon / fajita, maybe add a meat. Usually get at least 3 veg in that way but a mix of 7 types, add a fruit juice. Frozen diced cauliflower, chopped cherry tomatoes, onions, aubergine, baby courgette, baby leek, carrots, mixed peppers, spinach, radish etc. Freeze a couple of portions and serve with a different carb the next time. Pearl barley risotto is delicious, but a little bit of effort.
Easy lunches:

• Savoury pancake is good for adding veg too.
• Mushroom, beans and onion made into a pate on toast is always popular, or houmous, serve up with cherry tomatoes and olives. Most veg can be turned into a dip or toast topping with little effort.
• Refried bean wraps with veg
• quick chilli on rice
• Lentil Soup
• Cheesy bean jacket potato with onion and radish chopped up tiny for added crunch. Don't forget peanut butter, cashew butter and almond butter for breakfast on toast / in porridge.

How do you eat your veg? I get that most kids don't like just a salad, but there must be meals you have yourself that have lots of veg, just do that?

Focus on proportion rather than quantity if she doesn't eat a lot. Is she filling up on fatty milk and cheese so eating less? Are you over-estimating the amount of veg needed?

Surely the size of the serving is directly proportionate to their needs? I wouldn’t class cereal topped fruit as two portions in the morning? Reduce the cereal to allow for the fruit? Obviously you might not like to give cereal and fruit but the principle is the same whatever the meal.

i also grate things like carrot and courgette into pasta sauces, just make sauce with veg and blend it down. It’s not about having fruit and veg in addition to your meals - it’s ensuring they form part of them.

I think there’s a bit of misunderstanding. I’m not saying that I don’t make meals with veg or even that DD doesn’t eat it. But she just doesn’t have a big appetite. Today, she’s had cereal for breakfast. Then she had a mini Soreen loaf as a snack. Then beans on toast (maybe half a slice of bread) and one of those tiny petit flous yoghurts. Then a tangerine when she woke up, then tomato pasta. All reasonable - I hope.

But it’s still at best 3 portions of fruit / veg. And there’s no way I could get any more into her. She just doesn’t eat much. I can’t replace food with fruit and veg as her calorie intake would be too low! So just hoping what I’m doing is all right.

Breakfast - a sprinkle of blueberries or raspberries. Porridge and fruit. A mashed banana or avocado on toast.

Lunch - tuna and cucumber sandwich, a few carrot sticks or cucumber sticks alongside her beans on toast.

Dinner - throw in some other veg, or make the sauce with many veg.

i think it’s a 1/3 - 1/2 of their intake that should be fruit and veg?

Anyway OP - I wouldn’t worry, I’m sure she’s fine, if you’re worried just ensure you’re giving vitamins and the opportunity to eat fruit and veg.

HotDog - I must not be explaining very well. I don’t necessarily need advice on recipes that include fruit and veg. What I’m trying to explain is that my DD wouldn’t be able to manage those portions. If I gave her avocado on toast she wouldn’t manage a full slice of toast. It would be half a slice at most with a little spread of avocado, which wouldn’t count as a portion - or would it? This is all I’m asking.

Fruit juice counts as a portion so that could be a way to up it. Or a smoothie. Baked beans count so beans on toast for breakfast with orange juice and you’ve already got 2 in. Or porridge we grate apple and put sultanas in or grate carrot in with cinnamon etc for ‘carrot cake porridge’. I think if you can start off well then the rest of the day usually follows if you know what I mean.

I'm sure it's fine. I'd just mix it up a bit, so on the pasta put a sauce of tomato, aubergine, courgette, yellow pepper & onion. It isn't more veg necessarily, but a wider mix of nutrients. Instead of the soreen bar, maybe slice up a pancake stuffed with 5 types of fruit, freeze and just defrost for snack each day. It's not much fruit, but lots of little traces of different bits.

Honestly at that age I wouldn’t worry too much about quantities (assuming she’s not obviously undereating/deprived of anything) and just make sure she gets exposed to a good variety of fruit and veg. There’s a thing called the division of responsibility where your job is to decide when and what she eats, and she decides whether she eats it and how much. So long as you’re consistently providing healthy balanced food, then you’re grand. No point getting into a stress about how big the portion is

Yes I think that’s fine. She’s small, so she only needs small portions.

Maybe you could buy some dried strawberries/raspberries etc and sprinkle them into her cereal?

Make sauce with lots of veg in, then blend it.

One small glass of fruit juice (not fruit drink).

A portion for a toddler is very small.

Apple slices and cut up grapes as a snack.