Getting kids to eat the necessary 5-10 daily servings of vegetables and fruit can sometimes be a daunting task for parents of school age children. Do not despair…there are so many great choices available in the grocery stores today that choosing a variety of tasty fruit and vegetable choices that your kids will eat has never been easier.
What should I look for when shopping for fruits and vegetables?
When shopping for fruit and vegetables try to choose a variety of fresh, frozen and non-perishable products. Don’t shy away from frozen fruits and vegetables as the frozen variety contains more nutrients than fresh items that have been stored in your fridge all week! Read labels carefully and look for 100% fruit and 100% fruit juice. Products labeled as fruit beverages, fruit cocktails and fruit-flavoured do not contain 100% juice and are often higher in sugar. Choose orange and dark green vegetables and fruits whenever possible as they are rich in antioxidants such as Vitamin A (beta carotene) and C which are associated with health benefits. Fruits and veggies also provide fibre as well as carbohydrates for quick energy. Dried fruits such as raisins provide iron.
What is the correct child-size serving or portion of fruits and vegetables?
As a general rule of thumb 1/2 cup (125 mL) of cut up fruit and vegetables and 1/2 cup (125 mL) 100% juice or 1 medium-size fruit or vegetable is the recommended portion size for fruits and vegetables. It is recommended that children should not have more than 1 cup (250 mL) of juice per day as too much juice can fill kids up which may interfere with the consumption of other healthy food choices.
Bev Callaghan and Lynn Roblin are both registered Dietitians and busy Moms (between them they have 7 children ranging in age from 11-19). They have co-authored Suppertime Survival (2005), a best-selling cookbook that contains information on healthy eating as well as over 70 family-friendly complete supper meals! For more information on “What is a balanced diet” check out suppertimesurvival.com.
Yeah, Naomi! I remember doing that as a kid. Pardon my ignorance (I really try and avoid anything remotely culinary) but where do you buy the popsicle holders?
I’m lucky in that my son likes his vegetables, and loves his fruit.
One suggestion that has worked well, for getting extra fruit into the diet is to make popsicles.
I puree the fruit in a blender, add plain yogurt, a bit of vanilla, and some honey for sweetening. Freeze.
Yum. Much better then the sugar water ones you buy!
Another AMAZING product that I (and my kids) LOOOOOVE is the Sun-Rype Fruit PLUS Veggie bars. They have several servings of fruits AND veggies in each, but taste delicious. You can find similar things in health food stores for 3X the price! Wow…
I checked with Sun-Rype and despite the yummy, sweet flavour, this product has NO added sugar! It is all natural fruit. Wow!
Does the Sguiggles have added sugar? I just assumed all of these did.
I recently bought the new Sun-Rype Squiggles for my kids. They are so delicious that I have been packing them in my own lunch! What a great substitute for those sugary gummy products and your kids are eating fruit and they don’t even know it!
I LOVE the Sun-Rype Fruit-to-Go! I have a lot of trouble getting any fruit into my kids and this helps and is easily transportable. One hint, have your kids brush their teeth after or chew some sugar free gum as it gets stuck in their teeth.