It’s usually recommended to have at least five portions of fruits and vegetables every day. However, knowing and actually doing are two very different things. It can sometimes be difficult to fit them all in, and it’s just simpler to eat junk food and processed foods when we’re a little hungry.
If your family is anything like mine, it’s more likely that they would rather eat a bag of cookies, a bowl of pasta or pizza than a piece of fruit or some steamed broccoli. So if you want to help them get healthier, you’ll need to be a little creative.
These are some ideas to add more vegetables and fruits to your family’s diet.
1. You can start your day with a breakfast smoothie.
Just combine some fruits, low-fat yogurt, and ice. And for an extra boost of protein, you may also want to add some protein powder. Blend for a few seconds and you’ll get the perfect breakfast. If you have kids, you can make the smoothie even more appealing to them by adding some frozen yogurt and cocoa powder.
My own breakfast for a long time used to be not a smoothie, but a mix of instant oatmeal, a couple mashed bananas and honey. It’s not only healthy, but also super delicious.
2. Dried fruit makes an excellent snack any time of the day.
Add some small cartons of raisins to your child’s lunch box, pack some yogurt-covered raisins in your partner’s backpack and keep some trail mix sitting around for snacking. You can also add dried fruit to oatmeal and cereal in the morning.
3. Add some fruits and vegetables to your family’s sandwiches.
A peanut butter sandwich could also contain some banana, or sliced strawberries or apples. Top a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and anything else they will eat. You can even make a sub-shop style vegetable sandwich by combining many different veggies with some mayonnaise and cheese on bread.
4. Have a salad bar at dinner.
Provide a variety of chopped vegetables, some cheese and croutons as well as several choices of salad dressings and let everyone create their own perfect salad.
5. Keep an assortment of fruit and vegetable juices in the fridge and encourage everyone to drink them as a snack.
You could get creative and start a “family cocktail hour” by pouring everyone a glass of their favorite juice over ice. Add some straws or cocktail umbrellas and sit together to talk about their day.
6. For dessert, you could put a small scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt in a bowl and top it with lots of fresh or frozen fruit.
Another option could be having the one thing that most people absolutely love: chocolate. A chocolate fondue with fruits such as strawberries, bananas, kiwis or apples will be an irresistible dessert that will have everyone excited.
7. Offer fruits and vegetables as snacks.
You can cut apples into slices and top them with peanut butter, Nutella, or cheese. Cut some cheese cubes and serve them with grapes, or maybe some fresh veggies like carrot and cucumber slices and serve them with ranch dip. And of course there’s ants on a log. Spread some cream cheese or peanut butter on the inside of a stick of celery and sprinkle raisins on it; a fun way to mix fruits and vegetables in one snack.
8. Try some new fruits and vegetables that they’re not very familiar with.
Pick something exotic to spark your family’s curiosity. With a little luck their curiosity will outweigh their initial apprehension to trying something new. You could try artichokes, plantains, star fruit, papaya, mango, or anything else you can find in the produce department of your local store.
9. Make a pot of vegetable soup or a stew that’s heavy on veggies and easy on the meat.
Both of these make some great comfort food when it gets cold.
10. Start a family tradition.
Everyone gets to pick a vegetable and a day of the week. Plan your meals so that each chosen vegetable is the main ingredient of its corresponding day.
You will see your family eating a lot more fruits and vegetables in no time once you incorporate a few of these ideas. And of course, now that everyone has gotten a taste for it, make sure you always have plenty of fresh fruits and veggies available and ready to snack on.
