How to get kids eating more fruit and veg?

[SausageSimon]

DS is 5 and his fruit and veg intake has gradually reduced. He claims he doesn't like it anymore etc and I'm struggling to resolve the issue!!

Any tips or suggestions? I'd love to see him tucking into some really healthy meals again

It’s probably just a phase.
I make ice lollies with fruit juice
Pear and/or bananas are good for hiding in porridge
Hide courgette in this recipe for Mac and cheese www.myfussyeater.com/one-pot-mac-cheese-with-hidden-veg/
Or hide cauliflower with this version www.bbc.com/food/recipes/macaroni_cauliflower_53315 Cauliflower is good for hiding in mash, as are parsnips.
Chickpea meatballs www.myfussyeater.com/veggie-chickpea-meatballs-for-kids/
Sweetcorn pancakes www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/s/sweetcorn-pancakes.html
Add puréed sweetcorn to scrambled egg.
Cauliflower cakes www.healthylittlefoodies.com/cauliflower-tots/
Pasta bake www.ocado.com/webshop/recipe/secret-veggie-pasta-bake/23305

Cauliflower pizza base:
Heat the oven to 200C, gas 6. Blitz 250g cauliflower in a food processor and tip into a microwave-safe bowl. Cook on high for 5-6 mins, until softened. Carefully squeeze out any excess water in a clean tea towel, then mix with 1 beaten egg, ½tsp freshly chopped oregano and 1 tbsp Parmesan, and season. Spread the cauliflower mix onto a lined baking tray, to a circle about 23cm wide. Spray with Frylight and cook for 10 mins.
Mix tomato purée with a little hot water and spread onto the cauliflower base. Top with mozzarella and cook for a further 10 mins.

Tiny amounts of lots of different things he can pick his way through.
DIY food- fruit chunks, cocktail sticks and chocolate sauce; wraps that they fill themselves with grated carrots, sweet corn, cucumber sticks and grated cheese/chilli.

Thank you to both of you for your posts, I really hope it is just a phase!

Some great suggestions @Ricekrispie22 I'll definitely be trying a few of those.

@picklemepopcorn I like the cocktail stick idea!

What do you think I should do when I get the "yuck" reaction? If I suggest trying anything new that's what I get! I never know whether to gently push him or just leave it and try again the next day?

Limit snacks through the day and offer the vegetables 10 mins before dinner when he's at his hungriest then serve the rest later.

Hopefully he'll pick at it while waiting for you to serve the rest. We do this with ours, helps with the cries of "immmmm huuunnggrrrryyyy"

Pasta pesto and peas/spinach/green beans.
Raw veg goes down a lot better here than cooked. I cut it up and they grab it and then refuse it on the plate!

Aha! That's why set yes they are starving when I'm cutting it up!

Jamie's 7 veg sauce - lifesaver. This is the best way for me to get veg into my kids when I am meeting with resistance. They just don't know it's there.
You can use the sauce as a substitute in anything that calls for chopped tomatoes. I also use it as a pizza sauce, pasta sauce, use it to make quesadillas which are a super easy healthy meal: spread one flour tortilla with 7 veg sauce, sprinkle grated cheese, add any other toppings such as cooked chicken, cooked mushrooms, peppers etc, pop another tortilla on top and toast the whole thing in a dry frying pan for a couple of mins on each side. Just until filling is piping hot and tortillas are slightly crisp.

Also fajitas (tons of peppers and onions) go down well because they enjoy constructing the wraps themselves.

Just ignore the yuck.
I put a tiny portion of several veg (preferably some of which he likes) on the dinner plate, with a small portion of 'nice foods' like fish finger/fries. When they clear their plate, offer more of whatever they want. That way, they keep trying a variety of veg without it becoming a battle.

Always offer a nice sauce of some kind to dip into. It really doesn't matter if they eat some rubbish along with the veg.

Some more amazing ideas, thank you!!

Tonight I waited until he was hungry and asking for snacks then made his tea. It was just chicken nuggets, mashed potato and peas to start him off easy! He had it all apart from 2 mouthfuls because the doorbell went and that messed it all up

But it's a start! I've also ordered him a reward chart.

I think instead of fussing about the fruit or veg I'll just give him small portions and say he gets a sticker when the plate is empty

Get him involved in cooking and shopping. Allow him to serve himself can sometimes help.
Also eating together so that everyone is modelling the good eating habits.

Don't reward for eating veg - it becomes obvious the veg is not nice that way.

I do loads of veg purees into tomato based sauces or green veg into pesto. They can't ever tell.
Fruit with melted chocolate trick for puddings works!

Cut out sugar entirely from his diet. When kids get addicted to it, no other food tastes good. Takes about 2 weeks to detox from the sugar and reset the taste buds.

Unless there are other issues, Iwould just keep serving them and not make a fuss or force the issue. You could make a rule that he has to at least try everything, but you might be able to get away without that. Definitely don’t get into a power struggle by insisting he eats everything.

At 5 I’d deal with the ‘yuck’ thing as a table manners issue. Just keep reminding him of what you’re expecting him to do if there’s something on his plate he doesn’t like.

James Wong's book 10 a day the easy way has some neat ways to boost fruit and veg intake - including putting veg, fruit or pulses into things like pancakes and pastry.

Do you all eat together? DH and I have always made a point of eating with the kids whenever we can (most nights as DH works from home usually). DD is generally a great eater and I think a lot that is down to the fact that she sees us enjoy our food which encourages her, and we don't give her "kid's food", she has what we are having. Obviously nothing salty etc.
I know some kids are very fussy or have sensory issues that make mealtimes difficult so I'm not claiming I have the answers. We are just lucky that she loves her food for the most part. But if you don't already, it might help to all sit together for mealtimes and let him see you eating what he's also got on his plate.

I wouldn’t go down the reward route personally as it gives the impression that veg for example is not enjoyable and has to be tolerated to get some kind of reward.

I agree it’s important for you all to sit down together wherever possible and eat the same meal. Don’t react to any refusal to eat, just lead by example. I find it helps to give everyone an empty plate, serve the food on the middle of the table and let the kids helps themselves. The rule is that they have to take a little of everything and try it, but they choose how much. If they refuse something, don’t take it off the menu, just keep offering it in the hope they’ll accept it once it becomes familiar.

The best chance to get fruit and veg in is to give it when I’m making dinner and they’re hungry - give a plate of chopped veg to eat while they’re waiting.

We always have our meals together and he sees me enjoying a variety of things, but he won't try anything veg related. The last thing I somehow convinced him to have was a jacket potato and that felt like a miracle!

It took quite a while just to get him to have chicken wraps instead of ham sandwiches for example, as I was trying to gradually get him into fajitas (but no spice for him) and I can't get him to have any of the peppers or onions for example. We are stuck at chicken and cheese wraps for now

I was hoping the reward chart would focus on finishing the meal overall rather than mentioning the veg itself.
Which has worked so far with the things he used to like, so carrots and peas etc. He had a small amount today with no fuss, but I don't think it'll work with anything new!

Update!

DS loves his reward chart, and we decided together he can have 1 star for finishing his meals and 2 stars for trying something new. He suggested trying tuna and I couldn't believe it! He's just had some and there was no fuss

Every 7 stars he gets a reward such as a trip to the park or to stay up a bit later at the weekend!
Let's hope he stays this interested