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

We have never hidden veg. We have just given the children normal food, same as we eat, from weaning. If they didn't eat something it got taken away no fuss but we would offer it again another day. When they are little it isn't about likes and dislikes, they vary so much in what they eat from day to day. True likes and dislikes develop later. Wide range on a regular basis from an early age.

Now they are older they do of course have likes and dislikes and we are respectful of that (nothing like being forces to eat something you honestly don't like to put you off food) but all eat a wide range. We do thinks like putting some mushrooms chopped up fine to disappear in a stew which ds1 will eat (he knows they are there, we don't lie, but he is fine so long as they are too small to notice) but leave some in big chucks for mushroom loving dd. I think not lying is important, it allows them to understand the difference between flavour and texture and not liking one or the other. So for ds1 he dislikes the texture of mushrooms but he appreciates the depth of flavour they can bring to stews or bol sauce.

We sometimes add veg to something that is low on veg like a curry by grating carrot into it.

Fruit is easy for my lot - eat a reasonable variety.

Vegetables more of a challenge. Try to vary things a bit but tend to go for favourites of sweet corn/ corn on the cob,broccoli, carrots, peas. Eldest will eat raw peppers/cucumber/salad stuff generally - other 2 won't touch it.

Hunger. Feed them quite late, no snacks, and introduce new things alongside tried and tested.
Fresh veg (chopped peppers) n fruit when they're peckish, just hand it to them and don't ask.

I cut vegetables like mushrooms and courgettes very tiny into meals like bolognaise. Smoothies watered down for drinks occasionally too. I also feed dd the fruit I know she will eat daily.

My take is rather different.

for veggies, do cheese fondants or raclette and for fruit, chocolate fountains - nothing will inspire DCs more to eat their 5 a day than if presented with a desirable treat too!

Obviously this isn't an everyday answer to fruit and veggie fussiness but it works a treat particularly during winter months!

Make faces with the food, or disguise them in pies and casseroles! :)

I puree the veg I give my kids, then add them as a topping on toast . . . my kids love it!!

Cauliflower cheese is a fail safe with my son. He also enjoys vegetable lasagne. Milkshakes with fruit go down a treat!

We dress fruit up as a treat, strawberries particularly! Fruit is also always part of breakfast, whether it's an apple or banana on their own or in a smoothie or porridge. Vegetables served with dips normally cause a bit of excitement, who doesn't love to dip!

Make it into a competition, e.g. I bet you can't eat all of your carrots before me........ works every time.

We try to lead by example as well. We try to offer fruit and veg as much as possible. I also often try to disguise veg in his food which sometimes works!!! Also I try to offer veg and fruit as snacks.

i think the truth is always the best way to get kids to eat more fruit and veg explain what health benefits are included and how much more active and healthy they will feel if they eat the right foods.
I have always used this option and my children would rather have a carrot or apple than sweets or chocolate but so it does work :D

My tactic is to treat fruit and vegetables no differently from their favourite cakes and biscuits... I think they almost believe they're treats!

I'm with the rest of you on the smoothies though - the kids think they're getting something special!

I put it in soups, which my DD loves and I always add it to naughty foods like home made pasta bake and chow mein.

Eat more yourself.
Make it as normal a part of a meal as the potatoes/rice/pasta.
I never hid it,sit it there loud and proud and never insist on more than a bite.
By regular tastings mine have developed a liking for pretty much anything between them -brussels,cabbage,spinach.
Its simply not seen as something there's any reason to dislike.

When DD was small I always ate fresh fruit with her, cut up into smaller pieces. Same with raw veg...

Treat them sensibly and find out what they like and don't like. Our son hated carrots, but was happy enough to eat anything green, including broccoli. Maybe the threat of carrots convinced him!

My kids love soup so I add as many vegetables as possible to a variety of homemade soups. Pumpkin is a particular favourite.

It's a good idea to put extra veg in sauces and less meat, and flavouring veg with the likes of garlic and ginger helps to make it more tasty and palatable. I also buy a wide range of veg so that meals don't become 'stale' (pardon the pun), a good variety of vegetables is more interesting for the child, and means many different meal varieties too!

My kids love soup so I make lots of vegetable soups such as broth, chicken and vegetable, lentil and carrot etc. I also make boiled rice dishes and add veg such as sweetcorn, peas, green beans, carrots, peppers etc - a nice colourful variety and they eat them too. We frow a few vegetables in our greenhouse and garden and I encourage the children to help grow them as I have found that they are quite proud of the vegetables they have grown and want to eat them!

Mash we add cauliflower fruit we make juices mixing all different fruits, the children love it as they get to choose and do it with us.

Put extra fruit in there yoghurts or extra veg on there pizzas etc

They love fruit, but not vegetables. S-o-o-o add vegetables into dishes rather than serve by themselves... usually works

I'm affraid I don;'t have recipie as my children ate them from the very off, as soon as they were old enough I pureed veg & meat etc and gave them what I had obviously without the salt added etc and they've all eaten veg np's as there used to the taste

Fruit & Veg Make Delightful Tools When Building A Universe -

We Build Solar Systems With Our Food

And I Tend Sometimes To Make Up A Story Of How Fruit And Veg
Come From The Stars .
And That ..That Food.. Is Full Of Special Star Stuff -

I Have Alway Found It A Winner