I like to get the kids involved in growing their own vegetables, and going to 'pick your own' farms. Then they really get an understanding of what it is and where it comes from. Allowing them to 'help' with the cooking from a young age gives them that feeling of control too - I find they're so much more likely to eat what they've had a hand in preparing! Yes it's time consuming, messy and a strain for us adults, but by the time they're teens they'll have learned those important skills and hopefully have picked up the basics of nutrition and the importance of a balanced diet. For fussy little ones there are some great ways of hiding veg in meals; Peas stirred into mashed potato, sweetcorn into cottage cheese, broccoli with cauliflower and carrots into a cheese sauce, or ratatouille vegetables pureed into chopped tomatoes (works well with pasta or on a pizza base). If your kids eat cheese on toast, why not try them with mushrooms on toast with a little grated cheese melted on top? If they like hummus, thin sticks of carrot, celery, baby corn and mild pepper are fab for dipping. For 'side dish veg', a small spoon of pesto or a dab of butter melted over them can make all the difference, and perhaps a sprinkling of grated cheese. It might be unconventional but a little cheese stirred in seems to calm the spice in a mild chili too. Some convenience foods, like Tesco 'Vegetable fingers', appeal well to little ones - they don't even notice the content! For egg eaters, a spanish omelette can take all sorts of ingredients and hide them beautifully from suspicious eyes. Soup is often a popular choice with kids. A favourite recipe in this house is chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic, celery and carrots simmered until nice and soft and then pureed. It's great for freezing too. If it has a smooth texture it can be given in a mug to be drunk, which helps make it fun!
Fruit often doesn't need much encouragement, but home made smoothies and ice lollies go down very well, especially in the summer months. A freshly prepared fruit salad mixed into jelly before it's set is a nice healthy desert, and really awesome to look at! Reduced sugar banana bread, carrot cake and apple cake recipes doled out into bun cases make a lovely dessert or snack time treat.
A good way of teaching little ones about the different nutrients and having a balanced diet is to encourage a 'rainbow day', aiming to eat as many colours of the rainbow each day as possible - strawberries at breakfast, carrot sticks at snack time, sweetcorn with lunch, blue berries for afternoon snack, broccoli for tea and a plum for dessert, for an example. Making a rainbow collage with pictures of different coloured food stuck on the corresponding layer is a good idea - it will be appealing to the kids and you can refer to it for inspiration!
At the weekend Tesco shop you can make it a family challenge to each choose a fruit or vegetable that you haven't had in the past week! Even the adults will find themselves eating new things, and discovering they like them! And it's a great way of combating boredom supermarket tantrums too...
But my biggest tip would be: eat well yourself. Kids are always watching and learning. If the adults around them are sitting down and enjoying a healthy, balanced family meal the little ones will be imitating that behaviour without even realising. Bon appetit!