What are your top recipes and tips for getting your DCs to eat more fruit and vegetables? Tell Tesco and you could win a £200 voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

Tesco have asked us to find out what Mumsnetters' top tips and recipes are for getting their DCs to eat more fruit and veg.

Here’s what Tesco say, “Studies show that 90% of 7 – 14 year olds do not eat their five-a-day. Our Farm to Fork Trails allow children to touch, smell and taste a wide range of fruit and vegetables - some make fruit kebabs. Parents and Teachers tell us that children are more willing to try new varieties after the visit. We’d love to hear what you’re doing at home to encourage your DCs to eat more fruit and veg.”

So, what are your top tips for getting your DCs to eat fruit and vegetables? Perhaps you hide mushrooms in pasta sauce? Or maybe you have another method for sneaking peas and carrots into meals? Do you have any fail-safe recipes that your DCs love?

Whatever your top recipes and tips are, Tesco would love to hear them!

Everyone who adds their comments to the thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 Tesco voucher.

Please note that any comments posted on this thread may be used by Tesco in further marketing material (anonymously, of course).

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

I hide the vegetable in the food like mashed potatoes & swede, or shepherds pie with miniscule pieces of carrot celery and onion. It's delicious and the kids eat every bit. I do tell them what is in it (afterwards) confirming they do like the flavours yes win win!

Blend them into smoothies

I think with fruit and veg if its finger food and it looks tempting then it gets eaten! Adding little tempting bits and pieces with every meal soon stacks up!

DS (4) is being raised vegan. He has been told that animal flesh = dead animals, and as such, doesn't wish to eat them. He knows that dairy also means animals have to suffer and die, and he doesn't want to be part of that. So it's fruit and vegetables, quite gladly. Some more than others, so to ensure good balance I do smoothies/juices with superfoods. It works well. There are some he doesn't like, and we just leave them. There are some I don't like, and I won't force myself. We both get enough variety.

I don't sneak vegetables in as such but I found that DS still eats the meals I weaned him on so my tip is to include all those veggies early. My son loves lentils too because we've always had them at least once a week.

Try to get a couple of portions in with every meal so at tea time you're not trying to get 5 a day into one meal! One DC happily eats fruit and veg - with the other it's a constant battle and so I hide fruit and veg in everything, ie/ flapjacks have fried fruit and grated apple in, cheese sauce has spinach and broccoli in, pasta sauce is homemade and full of veg, just pureed, mash has cauliflower/butternut squash in, blended soups are full of veg but smooth and tasty. I count one smoothie/one glass of juice as a portion each. If there is a veg they like and will eat happily, serve it with everything! Eat a lot of veg in front of them so they see it as normal. Each day I have usually got 5-8 portions in. If only they knew, mwa ha ha!

Show your children that you are also eating your vegetables. It should be part of every meal and not seen as a punishment.

I've found that growing fruit and vegetables has really encouraged my little one to try more and enjoy more. I ger her involved in the planting, the watering and the picking. She now enjoys some of the vegetables I have to keep an eye on her eating them straight from the plant.

Start early. Babies tend to give anything a go, when all food is new and exciting. Then keep it up.
DS1 is vegan, so would be pretty hungry if he didn't eat them!
DS2 is very independent and will happily eat previously rejected foods if he has made/prepared it himself. So, yy to involving little ones in the growing/shopping for and preparation of, fruit and vegetables.
(And if all else fails, cover it in grated cheese or ketchup!)

Keeping fruit and vegetables varied so they find them interesting and exciting

Breakfast time smiley face done in blueberries etc on the porridge. Everything gets blended into home-made pasta sauce - including beetroot which is the one thing usually unfussy DS1 won't eat if presented on its own. My other tip is just 'not giving up'. Just because a meal doesn't go down brilliantly the first few times doesn't mean you should stop making it if you like it and it's good for them. My youngest now LOVES veggie burgers made of carrots, courgettes and peanut butter, and will request them for birthday meals etc. He refuses to believe that he claimed not to like them the first few times he had them!

We used to oven roast apple pieces

We add veggies to our go to pasta sauce that we use for pizza, pasta and chicken!

My kids will happily eat any fruit as long as it is on a skewer! They loe fruit kebabs.

Home made pizzas they help make is always an easy way to do it, especially as you can include veggies in the tomato sauce as well! ;)

They'll soon eat them if there is no other alternatives

Vegetables generally grating them into the meat mixture and they tend not to notice.
Fruit always make it fun - just letting them squirt some cream on seems to work.

I chop up roast dinners and make it like a fry up and he eats it all with loads of gravy and mint sauce

I would actually love to know because although my little boy loves fruit, it is very difficult to get him to eat vegetables.

mine arnt big fruit eaters but they love home made smoothies you dont need a posh smoothie maker either just throw a mixture of fruit in a jug and wizz with a handblender yummy

the good old- they'll make you run super fast, grow super strong normally does the trick with my ds

I am really lucky as all four of my children have always eaten plenty of fruit and vegetables so I have never had to worry. However, when I was a childminder, I had one child who wouldn't eat any fruit and veg. I regularly used to make spaghetti bolognese - and in the bolognese sauce I would put carrots, onions and tomatoes, but blend them up into a puree so they didn't realise.

Definitely agree with the view that it is good for children to see you eat plenty. I have a friend who is a single mother and her daughter has autism. I occasionally look after the daughter as she is good friends with my youngest. Mealtimes are always difficult - they often eat out or have takeaways, whereas cooking for 6 means we tend to eat homemade meals most of the time. Last time I was looking after the little girl, she ended up staying for tea. Once again, we were all sat at the table together (my family of 6 and this little girl). I had cooked a chicken and served it with roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. Before I dished up, the little girl said she didn't like chicken, carrots or broccoli. I told her I would put a little bit of everything on her plate and she could eat what she wanted - she was the first person to finish and her mum couldn't believe it. Even more so, she had asked for a roast with carrots and broccoli three times the following week.

I make a big minestrone soup from scratch with onion, peas, cabbage, carrot, beans, green beans, lentils, spinach and broccoli and blend it. The kids love it and I have some for freezing too.

cut them into finger size pieces and make a homemade dips

I mash up cauliflower in with my sweet potato mash, it's never detected :)