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 tell them they will grow big and strong

My son LOVES smoothies! They're a very easy way to get him to have bananas (but he loves those anyway!), strawberries, blackberries, along with almond milk. He's usually quite good with his fruit but he's not fond of his vegetables.

Lots of fresh juices and shakes that I make where they can chooses any combination they like. With vegetables its all about mashing it with potato mash so they don't realise

I don't see there's any point hiding (too many) vegetables in other food. In our home we can't have dessert (not even the adults) unless we eat our main meal and a bowl of ice cream or something equally enticing usually does the trick.

DD is a vegetarian so I have no problem with fruit and veg. But I would puree a lot of root vegetables to blend into a curry

Blend veg and add to most dishes.

main thing is to make sure you have a variety of fruit at home, many people moan that their children never eat fruit and you find that the adults don't either as they never buy any! can always be made into a smooth, juice, dessert or fun snack.

I blend fruit with yogurt to make smoothies. they also make great ice lollies when frozen too.
With veg I chop it very finely and make good risotto with it and include the veggies they do like which is mainly sweetcorn.

I let them help me prepare the fruit and vegetables as that makes them more likely to eat them, we sometimes see what strange shapes we can cut them into which also encourages them to eat more.

I make pretty (faces, flowers...) fruit platters for we're watching TV. They end up nibbling on it without realising it.

Get them to eat veg as soon as possible and eat with them at the same table so they see you eating it. They like to do what you are doing, so they eat the veg too.

DS loves his fruit and he's actually starting to like this veggies. Before he'd be really picky and take off all veggie toppings off his pizza but now I think his taste buds have changed. I'm trying out different recipes too and I try to grill or fry the veggies with spices which he likes. A little bit of grated cheese on top is even better and he'll finish that in no time.

Soups and smoothies are my saviour

blend it or make it fun play games

smoothies and hiding in food :P

I use my food processor to grind up veggies like onions and carrots so that when they go into sauces, kids can't see them and never know that they are in there

Roasted root vegetables whizzed up with some passata and cream cheese makes for a delicious pasta sauce that children love. Use it to make home-made pizza too or pour over chicken breasts and bake in the oven for 20 mins.

The first thing I put on the table when the children get home from school is a plate of crudites and hummus dip. They are so hungry at this time of day they will nibble apple, carrot and cucumber while they are waiting for their tea.

blend a mix of vegeatbles and add it to sauces.

I have always turned apples, carrots, celery etc into finger food & sometimes served with dips 'Crudites' style.
Its a winner - when the children see adults getting stuck in - they just follow.

Olivia really doesn't have any problems as she loves her fruit & veg but I would suggest making little pictures using the fruit & veg such as faces, trees & flowers

my kids love lasagna, we have it with roasted veg more than meat and cram all sorts of vegetables in it. Also veg sticks with dips and tomato ketchup.

my children have their own veg patch where they grow all of their own, then they wash peel and help to make them into part of the dinner, they love the fact they are eating something theyve done themselves. im very lucky though to have 5 children who all love their veg! especially my 2 year old with sprouts!!! :D

I've never understood why we try and hide things as I think it might cause issues with vegetables later on.

We just serve vegetables and enjoy them and let DD figure it out for herself. She loves broccoli and cauliflower, peas, carrots and cabbage.

Children learn from the example they are set.

The best thing we did was taking our eldest son to a garden centre and let him pick all the things he wanted to grow. Over the past couple of years we have grown strawberries, carrots, leeks, runner beans, sweetcorn, potatoes, onions, garlic, chillies, tomatoes and more. We also made him a little garden around his playhouse where he chose to plant raspberry, blackberry and blueberry bushes along with a pear and cherry tree. He absolutely loves the whole task of planting them, watering them, watching them grow, picking them and then most importantly eating them. We have introduced so many new foods to his diet, which he previously refused, by the fact he takes pride in growing them himself.

I hide it in their food, when I make pasta sauces I cut up carrot or grate some courgette into it. Cottage pie I usually grate carrot into it, a couple of handfuls of peas, sweetcorn. I also try and give them fun looking fruit, pomegranate is a favourite as it looks likes sweets and I find if I eat it and don't offer they want it!