How do you make fruit and veg fun to help your children reach their five a day? Share your ideas with Change4Life for a chance to win a £300 voucher NOW CLOSED

[EllieMumsnet]

We all know that fruit or veg is the healthiest option, but it can sometimes be tricky to get your children eating their 5 a day. With that in mind, Change4Life would like to hear about the ways you make fruit and veg fun so your children happily tuck in to the fruit and veg on offer.

Whether you arrange fruit and veg into faces, create fruit kebabs or have other creative ways to make fruit and veg fun - share your tips and ideas below.

Feel free to share images of your creations if you have any!

All who leave a comment below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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Getting them involved in cooking and preparation from an early age as possible - even toddlers can help getting "3 carrots" out of the bag etc

Luckily I don't need to do anything special in terms of dressing up or disguising fruit as the kids really like it. I am careful to offer it first, rather than assuming a biscuit or similar can only count as pudding or snack

The first thing i do when making dinner is to cut up a plate of fruit or veggies which i leave on the kitchen table for the kid s to munch whilst i cook

We don't make it fun, but have always just served it. If it gets eaten, great, if not we serve the same types again another time, sometimes it gets eaten - the main thing is having it there - they can't eat what's not put out for them to eat...

My kids like hummus so I steam broccoli or green beans and put on a plate with a spoonful of hummus. I also put out plates of raw veg at their eye level and they tend to end up eating some, because they found it.

I serve up batons of veg for the kids to put into wraps. I find if they're responsible for wrapping them up however they want they'll eat an awful lot more of the veg!

I like to mash vegetables with mashed potato as my son eats it like that looks more colourful and tasty also vegetables are hidden also i do like to make a pineapple upside down cake as my son likes this doesnt like much fruit but if with a cake thats more appetising also i like to make a orange loaf cake not so much the oranges but the juice makes a good vitamin c also banana cake is a winner sometimes i think having hidden fruit in cakes helps as i know children dont like eating fruit on its own

My almost 2 year old loves fruit and we have to ration it otherwise he gets tummy ache! Bananas are his favourite as he can hold and eat it himself, but he also loves having a bowl of cut up grapes or a clementine broken into pieces for him. We make sure all of his (and our) meals have plenty veg in, whether it be pasta, curry, risotto, casserole etc.

I have had my dc helping cook meals from a very young age. With this comes learning about a healthy diet and the importance of fruit and vegetables.

When they were very little I would try to put something I knew they liked and would eat together with something new and we always encouraged them to try it. Also as others have said I did put extra veg, ie spinach, leeks etc, into wet foods like bolognaise so that upped their intake.

Dh does not like broccoli at all but when dc were little he did always eat it so that they didn’t learn to refuse foods. Now they are older they do know that he doesn’t like it!

We have a fruit bowl on the table and if hungry between meals they can help themselves. It’s really all about showing them by example and constant encouragement until it becomes secon nature.

Always always have at least one type of vegetable with dinner. I have found my DS eats lots more if he helps chop stuff up for dinner. He has his own step,chopping board and plastic knife.
Also he cannot say he doesn’t like something without trying it at least once.

My daughter loves a banana, a pear and strawberries, I suppose because they are sweet, so I don't really have to do much to get her to eat these.
She is also the same with broccoli, she likes it so will eat it, not necessarily other items but if there is broccoli on her plate she tends to eat it.
If I feel she needs a bit more I'll make her a smoothie which she loves, again because I think it is naturally sweet so she thinks it's a treat. Also something simple as arranging fruit or veg into smiley faces on their plate can work.

my boys choose seeds to grow every year, different foods to try or something a bit different. They love to water and grow them as well as the excitement of harvesting and cooking a meal with them. They can't wait to tuck into them!! Last year we grew yellow courgettes and blue potatoes :)

By just making them a normal part of every meal. And also when it’s time for special treats making those fruit too - so instead of apples and bananas which are for everyday, having strawberries and blueberries as a treat.

When my daughter was a pre-schooler, we practiced counting with grapes - and we ate them when we took away. It was great fun. Now we are doing multiplication and division, and we also eat the grapes in the end :)

I have always given my daughter lots of fruit and vegetables since she was weaned but now she’s older, making sure she has her 5 day can be a challenge. We make smoothies, and incorporate vegetables or salad into all meals.

Mine loved veg with cheese sauce - like au gratin or dauphinois potatoes. Fruit served in yoghurt or a crumble/pie went well in my house

All my children get a veg and fruit smoothie in the morning, that I make fresh, and sometimes one in their lunchbox too.

We have veg with lunch and supper too, and big portions of it. So it's normal for them to eat veg.

They love anything we have grown and variety to find what they like best.

We make sure that we eat plenty of fruit and veg with eat meal and comment on how much we like it. That seems to do the trick and both DD's eat most things

I have always made one meal, I very rarely make a DC’s meal that is different, yes at times it has meant they are not keen on what’s in front of them, but slowly they have tried foods they would otherwise not choose or turn their nose up at.
I set the example, meals always include vegetables, in different guises, from raw in salads, in stews and casseroles, to soups with lots of vegetables.

When they were younger I could hide lots of veg in a lasagna, cottage
pie or soup by grating or chopping them up.

Grated carrot with some raisins and grated apple makes a great sweet treat

Fruit or vegetable kebabs. Somehow eating food from a wooden stick magically makes it more palatable!

Start at the very beginning by encouraging young children to grow their own by giving them a small vegetable plot. The whole process of growing plants is fascinating to kids - they can choose their own seeds and help them to germinate and flourish. Mine liked growing their own pumpkins for halloween and tomatoes, peas and beans are easy for a beginner. Strawberries too, yum!

I think eating the fruit and veg yourself is very important, and I often will buy veg for myself that I like and do other veg for them so, for instance some peas and avocado. They might only try one bite, the pressure is off, in fact I don't want them to eat it! By doing this we have seen them becoming more curious and adventurous with veg because they are not being forced, just familiarised.

Today I experimented with a lasagne filling that was half meat and half grated carrot and corgette in the ragu. It tasted good and obviously was at least one portion of veg in there per serving.
I also regularly just serve fruit as a dessert. Occasionally as a treat we will let them put yoghurt, or squirty cream, or custard with the fruit. Everyone gets very excited by this but its still basically mostly fresh fruit.

As a family we have had fruit and veg in our meals to encourage the kids to eat healthy from an early age. Occasionally I will cut the fruit in different shapes and the kids find that funny and find eating it fun.