NOW CLOSED: Share your tips for getting children to eat their 5-a-day with Mumsnet and Innocent - you could win smoothies for you and your child's entire class

[AnnMumsnet]

As many of you know we have been working with Innocent, the smoothie makers, for a while now and they have now asked us to find out from you how you get on with encouraging your children to have their 5-a-day fruit and veg?

Please share your tips, stories and hints here - everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky winner will win smoothies for you and your children's entire class*. Even if your child willingly eats their 5 (or more!) a day please do share their favourite fruit or veg, how you prepare it or what got them started on eating particular fruit and veg.

Innocent say "We've been making our kids' smoothies for over five years now and in that time, lots of parents have written in to us with their hints and tips on getting healthy stuff into small people. So we've made a handy little guide of our favourite top 10 tips on how to help your kids get their 5-a-day (without having to hide a pineapple ring under their lasagne). Stuff like pea eating competitions, home-made ice lollies, shopping safaris, that sort of thing. But better still, we'd love to know all your hints and tips on how you get your kids to eat fruit and veg".

You can download their guide here

A selection of your tips will be used on the Innocent pages on Mumsnet

Best of luck

MNHQ

• If you win you'll get 5 multiserve cartons for your family and 30-35 individual smoothie kids wedges to cover the class - to be sent in September

I don't think hiding veg is a bad idea at all. I do an excellent hidden veg sauce which gets used for lots of things. It's not the only veg that DS eats but if he decides one day to pick all the pepper off his pizza, at least he's eating all the veg blended into the sauce. He gets offered lots of different things to try as well, the hidden veg sauce is just a back up!
It's really good for using up old bits of veg too, and I think it tastes better than plain tomato sauce.

My top tip is to do "bits and bobs" style lunch or snack. Loads of little bits of things on a plate, or let your DC choose. DS has tried lots of things this way that he wouldn't try if it were the main ingredient of a meal. He's also more likely to eat fruit salad than just eat a piece of fruit.

I encourage my girls to choose the fruit and veg whilst we are shopping and encourage them choosing unusual or more exotic fruits which they may not have tried before.

I've always made sure that I've provided fruit and veg in most meals from weaning so that it's not hard to get them to eat it, it's just second nature for them to have an apple or kiwi instead of crisps when they come in from playing.

Oh and mine love making fruit kebabs or ice lollies with cherries and orange segments frozen into them, you just make it fun and attractive :)

growing your own is the easiest way to try new foods and also to set an example and eat the fruit/veg yourself.

my DD loves helping in the kitchen - peeling onions is one of her favourite tasks! -

also to have some fruit like a banana at breakfast is a fantastic start, and will help them eat 5 a day

When we have our family, or family friends over for meals we'll let the kids eat with us. They like to sit down at the table with us and be treated like 'adults'. But, to earn that privilege they need to eat like adults and be prepared to try different foods. We've recently got dd1 (8) to eat Caponata, and will now eat aubergines in any form.

Also, we'e watched Jamie Oliver programmes with both dds recently and his enthusiasm with regards to the food has rubbed off on the girls and they've made me recreate the recipes.

I found starting them very young helped. I introduced all veg and fruit from weaning and consistently gave it and it definitely helped.

We go strawberry picking and make it fun, they love it.

We grow tomatoes and they love eating them when they've watched them grow from scratch.

They help me to cook meals, I find if they have helped chop/peel/grate the veg themselves they are definitely more inclined to eat it.

I try and use them as part of recipes so they taste a bit different rather than just having them on the side. Using herb and spice mixes can make them taste completely different. For example they love things like ratatouille and vegetable curry.

They also like dipping and if I make a dip they love they will stick almost any vegetable in it.

Mashed up banana in porridge is popular.

There favourite desert is A healthyish Eton Mess using natural yoghurt and blueberries on top.

Sweetcorn or peas go with pretty much most meals and mine like mashed carrot!

So basically including as part of there main meals and mashing their fruit and veg!

I've always referred to raspberries and blueberries as 'sweets' to my toddler and she views them as a treat.

Sometimes in the supermarket we try and find fruit and veg in all the colours of the rainbow which she loves.

I have always added mashed carrots to mashed potatoes and called it tiger potato. Also told the kids that there favourite character ie spiderman favourite food is eating peas . i told my grandaughter that dora loves oranges so she eat them all.

My two love peas in the pod, it's the novelty of opening them. They guzzle them down and keeps them occupied for ages.

This has probably been mentioned, but freezing fruit puree in those lolly makers will have even the most fruity-phobe child wolfing it down.

My DC and I eat bowls of frozen peas or sweetcorn between meals. (Still frozen; they're really sweet that way.)

Grate carrot into all mince dishes.

Have the fruit bowl where they can reach it.

Let them "hold" the cucumber/carrots/blue berries in the car on the way home from the shops. They will be demolished before you can get them home.

Thanks for all the comments - much appreciated.
HipHopOpotomus was selected as the winner of the smoothies...I am emailing you now.

Yay thank you!
It's been a great thread and I'm taking on board loads of the veggie tips