Share your tricks for encouraging kids to eat healthily with Soreen - chance to win a £300 voucher NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

Behind every child's balanced diet is a healthy portion of creativity, and Soreen want to find out about all the imaginative ways in which you jazz up healthy foods to make them more appealing for your DCs.

Here’s what Soreen has to say: “At Soreen we created our individually wrapped lunchbox loaves to feature our malt loaf character, in order to keep lunchtime and snack time healthy but exciting for young children. We’re always trying to come up with new ways to help children make heathier choices and would love to hear how you do this with your DCs.”

So how do you make healthier food choices more fun? Do you fashion food into faces? Draw smiles on bananas and egg shells? Or even blend fruit and vegetables to hide them completely?

Share your creative ways of making healthy eating more fun below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

I tell him that Batman/Thor/Iron Man etc eats it. Works every time 😂

Get kids involved in preparation and cooking as much as possible.

Kids always hungry when come In from school, so I have a healthy snack out. Since it's there, they just eat it.... cut up apples, cheese and almonds, for example. Hummus and carrot sticks....

I have one fussy eater and one who eats anything.

I often make the food into shapes or pictures on the plate and she will eat more of it.

All mine are pretty fussy. We cook together and the older one can now look at the packaging and spot added sugar and knows the difference between (mostly!) healthy and not healthy. Encouraging them for is just means serving healthy things again and again until they try them and then hopefully enjoy them! Other tips (that worked in the past) was calling food different things... like apples were rapunzel apples from Max or similar involving any 'in favour' character of the moment!!

Loving these! My other is a model maker, so he really did play with his food! If he cooked, he would build amazing things, like the chap with mashed potato in Close Encounters. Mine is more of a writer's brain, so I would tell stories and reinvent unpopular food. Sprouts were mini cabbages, wanting a new life in your tummy. Actually chatting to a child when they are eating, making a relaxed and happy environment that never becomes a battleground, really sets them up for life.

Get the face plated where you use food to make funny faces.
Blitz veg into sauces like spaghetti bolognaise
But all things they like on plate and always one new thing helps desensitize and eventually they will try at their own pace. If they like great if not try something else

Variety of fruit & veg & lots of colour! I have been very lucky as mine love them. By the way we all love soreen anyway

I food shop with my kiddiwinks,
As often as I can,
I encourage them to help me cook,
To chop and stir the pan,
They design pizzas with Daddy,
With me we tend to bake,
Sometimes we whizz up smoothies,
There's all sorts that we make,
I introduce all sorts of stuff,
And encourage them to try,
Some independent local shops,
Let them test before we buy,
Sometimes they scrumple noses,
Sometimes they spit stuff out,
But with our 'tried and tested' method,
At least there is no doubt!!

Keep the healthy foods fun and varied, that way they are not a drag or off putting to little ones. there are only so many carrot sticks anyone can face!

I add sweetcorn to cheesy mash and my daughter likes to 'find the treasure'

I just give them plenty of healthy things to eat and let them eat what they want.

I find that getting children involved with preparing food is a big help in getting them to eat those healthy veggies.

stampy cat videos... food placed in front of him is usually eaten even when it is not quite his favourite as he is too busy watching the latests game creation or a raid by hit the target.

Thanks Joseph!

oh and if he does not like something all of a sudden wait two or three weeks and re-introduce. he will usually have forgotten that he did not like it.

Cook with them, let them create food - and cook something healthy if possible. Also, try to prepare food they dont normally eat differently (my daughter doesn't eat boiled eggs, but eats them fried or scrambled)

Also, encourage them to eat with other children who eat healthy food (for example school dinners, snacks at home, etc)

I get them to cook with me. It's amazing how they will eat something they previously wouldn't touch if they helped make it themselves.

Grow food together. Our kids loved to eat fruit and veg straight from the plants in the garden. Cook together and let them experiment - though you might get some weird and wonderful combinations.

there are lots of tricks, incorporate blended vegetables in pasta sauce, smoothies packed with lots of fruit that they wouldnt normally eat. Alos making pictues out of their dinner is always a good one.

As soon as they are able, involve them in the cooking of family meals.

My children like to help me make the meals they seem to be more enthusiastic about eating it, their favourites are homemade pizza and spaghetti Bolognese :)

I chop veg up small & mix into sauces or mash or disguise in stews/ casseroles.

I really struggle since my little boy turned two he has become so fussy! But I leave healthy options about for him to pick at & really praise him when he does! Also he likes the competition so will eat what my nine month old girl eats & dried fruit is always a winner in my house hold I think he thinks they are crisps haha

I find a good way is to get them to help make the meal it then encourages them to eat it.

NO nagging and just putting a little of everything on the plate - I found they eventually starting to try new healthy things including the alien veg!

Cooking together is a great way to get the children's interest in food, always lots of fruit and snacks at the ready