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

What worked form mine to get them eating fruit was to offer a 'fruit salad' instead of a whole apple or banana. So they got the same fruit but more variety as I would cut up various different fruits between them. Veggies I just keep putting them on the plate in the hope that one day they will actually eat them.

My 2 are quite fussy eaters at least with regards to my cooking.

however they both LOVE a lentil, lemon and greens soup I make. It looks ugly, but tastes great and they both love it every time.

Having a fruit bowl for them to chose their own snacks works well now DD2 is no longer of the age where she will take a bite out of everything and put it back. They are free to eat as much as they like.

They love cucumber and will eat one a day between them as a snack. Also carrot sticks etc. I give them these as a 'first' snack option.

I try lots of things and always look for new ideas to try.
here are some that have been successful:
big sharing bowl of berries
frozen fruit blended in yoghurt or smoothies
take kidddies shopping/to the market (if you have the time/energy)
involve them in cooking/preparing if possible
blend veggies into a tomato sauce to hide mushrooms, onions, celery, courgettes.
fruity flapjack/muffins with grated apples/orange zest/berries

My children were really adventurous but now quite picky so things change!

We make a shape out of the food or a character, he thinks its fun then :)

Chop up lots of different vegetables finely and put them into a tomato based pasta sauce.

Make it the most normal thing to do. Eat them yourself. As snacks, with meals etc. Have them freely available. Don't make a big deal about them.

And for introducing, do buy the best looking. Once they love bananas then you can introduce them to the fact that some of the best tasting bananas are hidden by the most manky looking skins .

And lots of variety. DD doesn't like regular broccoli much but she loves the purple sprouting broccoli though.
DS doesn't like apples or pears but loves oranges and just about every other fruit.

Smoothies. They will have kale, spinach and avocado plus berries etc. The fruit they would eat anyway but leafy greens no way, in a smoothie though they seem to think its entirely acceptable!

I don't agree with 'hidden veg' in sauces etc, because they will never see what a vegetable looks like and when presented with them, will automatically refuse. All my minded children eat vegetables right from weaning in the real shape and form, they are great veggies eaters. I don't comment on food eaten or not eaten, as that is drawing attention to it - eat your veggies, automatically means a no in toddlerdom.

I never give jars, pouches, etc, just plain simple REAL food, which they enjoy from the beginning.

Usually in our house the best way to get them to eat more fruit & veg is to get them to cook/bake it themselves, works everytime (only hope they don't read this or it will be back to the drawing board).

say 'eat all your vegetables up and I will let you play on minecraft on Saturday' works a treat!

TURN IT INTO A GAME OR COMPETITION

Making smoothies is a great way to include more fruit in their diet. I also cut things up into 'fun size' snacks - cut up apple or carrot slices are a lot less intimidating than the full thing!

My daughter will eat colourful veg - if we struggle we add gravy or ketchup and then she'll eat them (she'll eat any fruit).

To start with it was deception! Hiding fruit/veg in many different foods. But as they grew up they were receptive to the idea of 5-a-day and were happy to talk about it and try stuff. The big win for both of them was trying melon & pears which they still both enjoy

Flora loved eating trees (broccoli)

my kids love their fruit & veg, I think kids should help with the cooking - they always eat what they have helped make!

Spag Bol is always a good plan for hiding veg...

But a real favourite is vegetable spaghetti. I use a julienne cutter to cut carrots, courgette, leek etc and then cook in a little oil with the lid on the pan. You can flavour with herbs and spices if you like too. Sounds really faffy but absolutely isn't and is SO colourful

I used to leave little plates of colourfull veg chopped into small strips out on the table. The other fail safe way is homemade soups, you can hide a lot of veg in a soup.

My little un is only 1, so I just make sure I offer lots of different types of fruit and veg, in handy grab-able sizes!
If he's really fussy, purees work really well!

Hide veg wherever possible - great things that you can hide veg in are cottage pie, pasta sauces, fish pies, chilli, curries etc.
Use veg that can be mashed down into potato easily
Use fruit to make smoothies
Add fruit to porridge and cereals
Bake things like banana bread, muffins etc - some recipes you can even use veg in

i blend veg down into a puree and mix it into pasta sauce , they're usually none the wiser.

I have 3 ds's, all who adore vegetables and salads and fruit.
I totally disagree with hiding said items in sauce or whatever it is you are preparing, as this just perpetuates the myth that kids don't like such ingredients and should not see them in their natural form, which is ludicrous. From the outset they are given a wide variety and as a family it's an integral part of the meal and of our food ethos. I have never given my DS's any choice in what they get for dinner, it's eat up or go hungry. It works.

Make it fun for them, so have little nicknames for broccoli, like trees, and so fourth, play games while they eat, but i found that telling them if they are good they can have some carrot sticks, works wonders cause then they see fruit and veg as like a treat and they have a completely different attitude towards it

Cut them into animals

I find homemade soups the easiest. My kids love soup and as long as it is blended they have no idea what is in it! :-)
They also love finger foods, so if I have a good selection of colourful bite-sized vegetables with dips etc they will happily eat them.