Here are some great ways to include fruits and vegetables in your family's meals:
* Keep it colorful - Challenge your family to try fruits and vegetables of different colors. Make it a red/green/orange day (apple, lettuce, carrot), or pick one color and see how many fruits and veggies of that color you can find.
* Add it on - Add fruits and vegetables to foods your family already loves. Try adding frozen peas to mac'n'cheese, veggies on top of pizza, and slices of fruit on top of breakfast cereals or low-fat ice-cream.
* Try Smoothies - Smoothies are a great way to increase the amount of fruit you eat and are really easy to make. A basic smoothie is just frozen fruit, some low-fat or fat-free milk and/or yogurt, and 100% fruit juice all processed together in a blender until smooth. Experiment with different fruits to find out what you really like.
* Mix them up - Try including fruits and veggies in food that is cooked or baked. Add a bit of color in other foods by splashing in vegetables to pasta sauces, lasagnas, casseroles, soups, and omelets. Mixing fresh or frozen berries into pancakes, waffles or muffins is another great way to make fruits and veggies a part of every meal!
* Fruit Pops - Put 100% fruit juice in an ice tray and freeze it overnight. You can eat the fruit cubes as mini-popsicles or put them in other juices. Frozen seedless grapes make natural mini-popsicles and are a great spring and summer treat.
* Vegetable Dippers - Chop raw vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Try bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower and celery and dip your favorites into low-fat or fat-free dressings. Dip tip: read the food label of sauces and dressings to make sure they are not overloaded with
saturated fat and salt.
* Roast away - Try roasting vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, onions, carrots, tomatoes, or eggplant. Long exposure to high heat will cause the vegetables to caramelize, which both enhances their natural sweetness and reduces bitterness.
* Track it - Try the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's "Stick with it Chart" that can be downloaded at HealthierGeneration.org (in the 'For
Parents' section) to track the fruits and veggies your family eats. Set a goal that you can each "stick with" by using the stickers to track progress.
* Take the family fruit & veggie challenge - Use this alphabetical list of fruits and vegetables to see how many different types you can try!
Check items off the list as you've tried them.
o Fruits: Apples, Apricots, Avocados, Bananas, Blackberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Cranberries, Figs, Grapefruit, Grapes, Kiwifruit, Lemons, Limes, Melons (Cantaloupe, Casaba, Crenshaw, Honey Ball, Honey Dew, Persian), Pineapple, Nectarines, Oranges, Passion Fruit, Peaches, Pears, Pineapples, Plums and Prunes, Raspberries, Strawberries, Tangerines, Tomatoes, Watermelon.
o Vegetables: Alfalfa sprouts, Asparagus, Arugula, Artichoke, Peas, Bamboo Shoots, Beets, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Celeriac, Chard, Chicory (Endives), Cauliflower, Collards, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplants, Kale, Lettuce, Iceberg lettuce, Butter-head lettuce, Romaine lettuce, Leaf lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Okra, Onions, Leeks, Parsnips, Peppers (green, red, and yellow), Potatoes, Radishes, Rhubarb, Rutabagas, Spinach, Squash (Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti), Sweet Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Turnips, Watercress, Yams, Zucchini
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation - a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation - works to
help kids take control of their health and learn the basics of healthy eating. Parents and families can help keep their kids healthy by being role
models of good health. To download more tips for keeping kids and families healthy, visit HealthierGeneration.org.
