How to change kids diet?

[EmmaDilemma5]

Reading up on ultra processed foods and have realised how bad my family's diet has become.

We're vegetarian and both work full time so often default to (UPF) veggie meats as the basis of a meal, with oven chips, rice or pasta and veggies. But also have oven pizzas as a weekly staple. Then, shamefully, too many biscuits and crisps than I care to admit.

If it was just me and husband, we'd eat much better but my young kids are fussy and often refuse homemade food (won't eat lasagne, shepherds pie, stews, jacket potatoes). They also moan for snacks 24/7.

But we need to change things while they're young.

So how do I do this?! Has anyone radically improved their fussy kids diet? How?

I really love the Facebook / Instagram 'my kids eat in color'. Definitely check it out.

My kids are 8 & 6. They like the science of the things the different colour foods do for the body. I've got them screenshots.

My 8yo likes to watch eat well for less and try recipes.

We talk about hidden sugars. We look at the traffic light labels etc.

Sometimes we will see who can get to 5 a day first, Dd will make a chart. Or last week we tried to see if we could eat 30 different veg and fruit in a week.

I meal plan for the week and shop to that plan. Including lunches. Everyone can input so in a week there's something everyone likes. I have a 3 week rota for when we are too busy, I can open it on sheets on my phone in the supermarket.

We go to the greengrocers at the weekend and get most things there.

We make bread in a Breadmaker.

Don't get me wrong the struggle is real, I have a book I write food ideas in and it's got pages called 'things Dd actually likes', 'low fodmop', at one point each meal was like choosing who to upset.

By 'everyone is finished' I don't mean plates are empty. I mean that people feel they are finished eating

I do lots of frozen veg for my veggie kids. Frozen peas, frozen broad beans, frozen sweetcorn, edamame beans. Almost every meal has one of them because they are v quick to cook (4 mins in microwave) and healthy and the kids eat them.

Also lentils (pouch of green lentils) heated with half tin of tomato and some frozen spinach. Serve with rice or jacket potato. And cheese.

We ditched the biscuits and crisps. I'm following a lady who pre preps and freezes dinners in reusable freezer bags. Havnt tried it yet but looks good.

We use Wholemeal pitta breads as pizza bases as only take 10mins in oven or grill. I keep the pitta bread in freezer and use from frozen